April 9, 2008 Vol. 100, No.9www.txwes.edu/rambler

The RamblerThe students’ voice since 1917

T E X A S W E S L E Y A N U N I V E R S I T Y

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Congrats Rams!The Texas Wesleyan

University baseball team(ranked 18th) extended itswinning streak to a school-record-tying 15 games.Keep up the good work!

Get your tickets nowTheatre Wesleyan’s

54th annual Spring musicalLittle Me finally graces thestage of TWU’s ThadSmotherman Theatre start-ing at 7:30 p.m. April 10-12,17-19 and 2 p.m. April 13and 20. Come supportWesleyan students and fac-ulty in a production directedand choreographed by guestartist Joel Ferrell and featur-ing musical direction byAimee Hurst. Tickets are$12 for general admission,$6 for faculty and staff and$5 for students with an ID.the box office can bereached Monday-Fridayfrom 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m. at(817) 531-4211.

Get your books now!The Eunice L. West

Library is hosting the Half-Price Scholastic Book Fairduring normal businesshours through April 10 andfrom 8 a.m.-3 p.m. April 11.Purchases can be made atthe circulation desk.

Become an RA!If you are interested in

becoming a resident assis-tant during the fall 2008semester, take note of theseimportant dates:

April 9: Applicationsdue by 4 p.m.

April 14-25: Interviewprocess.

April 30: Decision let-ters sent out.

For more information,e-mail housing@txwes.edu.

FAFSA time!The office of finanacial

aid reminds all students thatit’s FAFSA time, for the2008-2009 school year.Remember that it’s manda-tory for all students seekingfinancial aid. First, eithercomplete your 2007 taxes ormake sure your parentscomplete theirs. Next, get apin number atwww.pin.ed.gov. Next, fillout your FAFSA atwww.fafsa.ed.gov and enterin the Texas WesleyanUniversity federal schoolcode (003645). For extrainformation, visit the officeof financial aid on the thirdfloor of the administrationbuilding or call (817) 531-4420.

Calling all alumniWesleyan’s All Alumni

Reunion will include a pic-nic in front of the Eunice L.West Library followed by aspirit rally with perform-ance by current and formercheerleaders April 18. TheAlpha Chi/Golden Shearsbreakfast and a performanceof the spring musical LittleMe take place on April 19. Afull schedule and links toregister can be found atwww. txwes.edu.

NEWS BRIEFS

The Rambler broughthome nine awards from theTexas Intercollegiate PressAssociation’s conventionand awards banquet April 3-5. The staff was awarded fora variety of work completedin 2007.

Staff alumna AmandaMay received second placefor an original illustration,and staff photographer CheyBostock earned secondplace in the sports featurephoto category. Managingeditor Tiara Nugent earnedthird place for opinion pagedesign and an honorablemention for a single subjectlayout on the keys to study-ing.

Also receiving awardsfor design were editor-in-chief Shawn Poling andentertainment editor ColleenBurnie. Honorable mentionswent to staff alumnus MikeMeier for sports news writ-ing and to Nugent for head-line writing.

The Rambler was alsorecognized for its Web site,receiving an honorable men-tion in the statewide catego-ry for student-producedsites.

“This award is particu-larly exciting because it wasthe first year we were able toenter the competition,” saidKelli Lamers, faculty advis-er to The Rambler. “It alsomakes our staff proud to beable to enter the ‘student-produced’ category.”

The site went live lastyear after being designed byPoling and Burnie. It wasthen enhanced by May, theformer Web editor, and isnow being maintained andenhanced by current Webeditor Rachel Horton.

“This recognition is alsonotable because we werecompeting against everyschool — from major uni-versities to community col-lege systems — in the stateof Texas. Only three otheruniversities placed higherthan us in this category,”said Lamers,

Other categories aredivided into divisions basedon size of school and fre-quency of publication.

“This is not to diminishthe other awards, becausewe are in a division that isquite challenging for aschool of Wesleyan’s size,”Lamers said.

Wesleyan’s divisionthree includes such schoolsas Tarleton State and TexasA&M Commerce.

Lamers, Poling, Nugentand Horton attended thisyear’s convention in CollegeStation, Texas. The eventincludes a day of speakers,workshops and roundtableson college media.

“I’m so glad we uppedthe awards ante from lastyear,” said Poling. “Somewere flat-out unexpected.We are really proud of whatwe do and it’s amazing toreceive affirmation fromsuch an organization.”

TIPA will celebrate its100th anniversary at nextyear’s convention and awardbanquet.

-The Rambler

Rambler wins 9 state awards

GAMEON

International Games Day drew in crowds for games like kubb, five stones and floorball, seen above. Vernon Elisher,sophomore business marketing major, and Ryan Authier, junior psychology major, prepare to face off. Read the wholestory on page 5.

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law has appoint-ed a new school dean in Frederic White.

“As the law school celebrates 10 years in downtown FortWorth, we need a dean with the vision and passion to furtherdevelop the law school to its fullest potential. Dean Whitehas the experience and knowledge to do this, and the entirelaw school community will benefit from his appointment,”said Dr. Hal Jeffcoat, Texas Wesleyan University president.

White is the first African-American dean at the school oflaw and the fifth dean of the school. Hisappointment follows professor of lawCynthia Fontaine’s stint as interim deanfor the law school.

“It was an honor to serve TexasWesleyan as interim dean during theselast two years,” she said. “Dean Whiteis joining an outstanding school and awonderfully talented group of people. Ihave no doubt that the law school willflourish under his leadership, and I lookforward to seeing what the future holdsfor the law school.”

White is currently the dean of SanFrancisco’s Golden Gate Law School, aposition to which he was appointed in2004. In 1973 he was admitted to theOhio Bar after receiving his bachelor ofarts from Columbia College and hisjuris doctorate from ColumbiaUniversity School of Law. White has

experience as a law professor and associate dean atCleveland-Marshall College of Law.

“It is my pleasure to be asked to join in fulfilling the mis-sion of Texas Wesleyan Law, a ‘young’ law school thatalready has a fine faculty and staff, great students and sup-portive alumni and friends,” said White.

TWU Law Moot Court Wins Nationally:In other news, Texas Wesleyan School of Law’s moot

court team, composed of third-year students Jim Graham andNathan Miller and second-year student Jennifer Fettingerwon first place in the 15th Annual John J. Gibbons Criminal

Procedure Moot CourtCompetition. The competition wasMarch 29 at Seton Hall Universityin Newark, N.J.

“Nate, Jim and Jennifer havebeen amazing for the law schooland its moot court program. I’mtremendously proud to call themnational champions,” said RobSherwin, director of advocacy pro-grams.

The national moot court win isthe third for TWU Law, which pre-viously won the PepperdineNational Entertainment LawCompetition and the John MarshallLaw School InformationTechnology and Privacy LawCompetition (Graham and Milleralso participated in the latter).

Frederic White

SHAWN R. POLINGEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Wesleyan Law appoints new school dean

TWU starts text message emergency system

Nearly a year after 33 people diedat Virginia Tech by the hand of a suici-dal student gunman, another five peo-ple were shot to death by another suici-dal student gunman at Northern IllinoisUniversity Feb. 14.

Startled students present on campuseither tragic day feverishly text mes-saged fellow students and loved onesabout the chaos that was taking place.

That “texting,” generally known toolder generations as a new fad or frivol-ity, may very well have saved lives.Now Texas Wesleyan, along with otherschools across the nation, is implement-ing a text message alert system by theend of the semester.

This system will further ensure stu-dents’ safety in such situations as wellas natural disasters or other emergen-cies.

“We need to notify students quick-ly to get them out of harm’s way,” saidJose Ortega, chief officer of informa-tion and technology center at Wesleyan.

Prior to the implementation of thetext messaging emergency system, stu-dents could only get contacted in the

event of a campus emergency throughWesleyan’s Web site and e-mail.Through the text messaging emergencysystem, students are assured that theycan be reached immediately if a crisisarises on campus.

Administrators said they foreseegreat potential for the success with theprogram on the Wesleyan campus.After shopping around and talking tovarious companies, Ortega, along withother Wesleyan officials, chose thecompany MIR3 to provide Wesleyan itstext messaging alert system.

“This company proves to be veryreliable,” said Ortega.

Wesleyan joins Rice University inthe pool of higher education institutionsin Texas that use a MIR3 text messag-ing alert system. Neighboring schoolslike the University of Texas atArlington and Texas ChristianUniversity already use a similar com-munication system to text students incase of campus emergencies.

Along with other methods such asposting messages on its Web site, send-ing campus-wide e-mail and enabling arecorded information phone line, TCUuses TCU ALERT, its text messagingemergency alert system, to notify stu-

dents of emergencies on campus. Holding a communications cam-

paign in September 2007, TCU ralliedhuge student and faculty support forTCU ALERT, according to TCUspokeswoman Tracy Syler-Jones.

Around 2,000 students and 1,000faculty members registered their cellphone numbers through the TCU portalWeb site.

During a test run in October and aninclement weather day last year, thesystem proved successful, said Syler-Jones, missing only 10 people whocomplained via e-mail of not receivinga text message on the bad weather day.

“We were very pleased with theresults,” said Syler-Jones.

A Web site similar to TCU’s portalwill be put up where Wesleyan studentscan register their cell phone numbers toreceive the text messages. Along withbeing notified in case of emergencies,students can also choose to be notifiedthrough the text messaging alert systemabout non-emergency events happeningon campus.

There will be several options stu-dents can select on what informationthey would like to receive.

SHAMEKA HYATTSTAFF WRITER

Photo by Gaston Schoonover

News2 April 9, 2008 The Rambler

How does going to college for free sound? For many students, going to college meansamassing amazingly large amounts of debt and hoping that when you are handed a diplomayou can find a job that will pay those loans back. As tuition rates continue to rise, the gov-ernment and individual schools are finding ways to help take some of the burden off offamilies, particularly those in the lower income brackets.

In 2003, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that made the Be-On-Time loans forgiv-able for students who made good grades and graduated on time. Supporters found this to bea step in the right direction for many Texans. Now other schools throughout the nation arereaching into their own pockets to make higher education more affordable for the next gen-eration.

From big to small, Ivy League to state, schools are all moving toward less debt fortheir students by replacing loan money with grants. This is an effort largely motivated bythe pressure that large schools are receiving from the federal government to spend theirendowment – donated funds that colleges invest and use the proceeds to support theschool’s mission – on students.

“At a time when the cost of college continues to rise at an alarming rate, are wealthycolleges just hoarding, or is enough of their growing endowment meeting the public policyof fostering education and helping students?” Rep. John Tierney (D., Mass.) asked inCollege Journal.

The process of determining who qualifies for what is complex. After students fill outtheir FAFSA (free application for federal student aid), the financial aid departments atschools determine what the family should be responsible for paying. That figure is thensubtracted from the cost of attendance and the financial aid office offers students a packageof loans, grants and scholarships to make up the remaining “need.” Rather than offer loans,schools are becoming more inclined to pull money from their endowments, administrativebudgets and fund-raising ventures to offer students grants.

According to www.finaid.com, a Web site devoted to answering financial aid questions,there are currently 56 schools in the nation who are offering some sort of loan replacementprogram. Some schools are offering no loans programs that eliminate loans from thefinancial aid package of low income students. In the case of Princeton University, the loans

are eliminated from the aid packages of all students, not just low-income students. In thecase of other schools, it only applied to those students who fell below a specific incomelevel.

Other schools are offering loan cap programs that institute a low cap on student loansfor low-income students like the program in place at Brown University, or no parentalcontribution programs that eliminate the parental contribution but retain the student con-tribution along with the standard self-help level.

The University of Minnesota has implemented a Pell Grant match program thatmatches the student’s federal Pell Grant, thus significantly reducing but not eliminating theself-help level.

According to College Journal, families will still be able to take out loans such as theStafford and Parent PLUS loans to replace their contributions, but many times they will notbe offered in the financial aid package.

The only Texas school currently on board with the no-loan tuition is Rice University,but according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, other schools are starting to take notice.Texas Christian University is increasing its financial aid 18 percent next fall. TheUniversity of Texas in Austin is offering its undergraduate students whose families makeless than $40,000 a year full tuition and portion of their room and board, while those whoearn less than $80,000 will receive half that amount.

According to Texas Wesleyan Financial Aid Director Shanna Hollis, schools cannotdeny students loan packages if they are eligible. Even if loans are not offered up front inthe package, loans are available if students need the money that goes beyond what isoffered in endowment funds.

“We are always working to provide funding to all students with internal, federal andstate funds before we look at loans,” said Hollis. “It’s important to always borrow conserv-atively, but we don’t want students to feel that they can’t borrow.”

Wesleyan has been focusing more and more on getting endowment funds up over thelast few years.

“We are always exploring new avenues for increasing our endowments,” said Hollis.“We are working closely with the advancement office to see how to best use the endow-ment funds that we have now.”

“There is a lot of strategic planning that goes into how to best award a student,” shesaid. “I applaud every school that works to creatively to get their students funding.”

National universities seek out loan alternativesCOLLEEN BURNIE

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Sixteen candles flickered in the hands of 16 Wesleyan juniors March 4 in the LouellaBaker Martin Pavilion during the conjoined Mortar Board initiation and Mortar Board’sannual Top Prof Banquet.

Mortar Board, a national honor society founded in 1918, recognizes college seniors forscholarship, leadership and service to their universities. Wesleyan’s chapter is today overseenby Dr. Jane Moore, head of the mathematics department, and Dr. Betsy Alexander, associateprofessor of history.

“Originally, [Mortar Board] was an honor society limited to senior women, but in 1972it became a co-ed honor society,” said Alexander. “I was inducted into Mortar Board in 1969at Vanderbilt University.”

Inductees, who came from all academic disciplines and departments, were carefullyselected for membership from the slew of applicants based on previous campus involvement,volunteer service and academic achievement.

Each inductee brought along a faculty member who has had significant impact on his/herpersonal and educational journey at Wesleyan. A segment of the day’s program was devotedto recognizing these outstanding faculty as students’ introduced their “top prof” and publiclythanked them for investment, support and guidance.

The main responsibility of Mortar Board members is to remain an active member by par-ticipating at meetings and any service projects planned throughout the year. In addition,members rotate vendor-duty at Wesleyan graduations selling roses for the convenience ofgraduates’ family members and friends to present to their successful student.

Nearly a quarter of a million members have been initiated into the 225 chartered chap-ters existing nationwide: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, astronaut on the ChallengerJudith Resnick and professional football player Drew Brees, just to name a few.

Additionally, numerous international leaders and other notable figures have been namedhonorary Mortar Board members. In this category are the names of Former Supreme CourtJustice Sandra Day O’Connor, internationally-acclaimed poet Maya Angelou, formerPresident Jimmy Carter and former New York Mayor RudolphGiuliani.

“Being a Mortar Board member has been an honor this pastyear,” graduating senior business major Meg Krause said. “Beingan active member, it has also been beneficial to be able to putMortar Board on my resume as well.”

TOURNAMENT FORMATCo-Ed 4 person team must have one female on the courtat all times.

The entry fee includes a t-shirt and prizes for 1st, 2nd,and 3rd place bracket winners.

Tournament format will consist of pool play and bracketplay.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to a sin-gle elimination bracket.

Pool play will be two games to 25 points, 27 cap.Bracket play is 2 out of 3 games to 25 (cap @27); 3rdgame to 15 (cap @ 17).

USAV rules apply.

REGISTRATION$15 PER PLAYERINCLUDES T-SHIRT FOR EACH PLAYER. 4 PLAYERMIN. NO MAX.

TEAM NAME: __________________________

COACH _______________________________

Contact information:Address: ______________________________

City, State Zip_________________________________________

Phone (area code) Alternate Phone

PLAYERS: 1. ________________________2. ________________________3. ________________________4. ________________________5. ________________________6. ________________________

For more information, call Christy Clawson at 817.531.4850 or email cclawson@txwes.edu

SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE

7:30 AMCheck-In & coaches’ meeting

8:00 AM*Pool Play

*Rolling Schedule

*Bracket playstarts immediatelyfollowing the conclusion of theChampionshipmatch.

Concessions will beavailable. All conces-sion and tournamentproceeds will go the toWesleyan Volleyballprogram.

MAKE CHECKSPAYABLE TO:

TEXAS WESLEYAN

VOLLEYBALL

RETURN TO:

CHRISTYCLAWSON

HEAD VOLLEYBALLCOACH

1201 WESLEYANFORT WORTH, TX

76105

CO-ED 4’S INDOOR VOLLEYBALLTOURNAMENTFUNDRAISER

SATURDAY, APRIL 19TH,2008

Texas Wesleyan University1100 Collard Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76105

2008 Inductees

Carlos Chiu Kevin Doskocil

Beth FleagleApril Folta

Martin GarciaWhitney GreerKeegan HarryBritni Hollar

Michael KreitzingerAlex MusserTiara Nugent

Terri PriceAmber Rayhorn

Rene RosserKatie SlatenSarah Young

Mortar Board inducts 16 new membersTIARA NUGENT

MANAGING EDITOR

The Rambler...is now interviewing for Fall 2008 senior staff, including page editors!

www.txwes.edu/rambler twurambler@yahoo.com

Meetings every Thursday free period in the Stella Russel hall lobby

Dr. Ibrahim Salih and senior business major Megan Krausehost the March 4 Mortar Board induction.

Photo by Kevin Keathley

OpinionsThe Rambler April 9, 2008 3

The RamblerFounded in 1917 as The Handout

Harold G. Jeffcoat, Publisher Kelli Lamers, adviser Shawn R Poling, editor-in-chief Tiara Nugent, managing/college life editor Bryce Wilks, sports editorColleen Burnie, entertainment editor Skyla Claxton, advertising manager

Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.Opinions expressed in The Rambler are those of the individual author only

and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole. Letters to the editor: The Rambler, a weekly publication, welcomes all letters.

All submissions must have a full printed name, phone number and signature; however, confidentiality will be granted if requested. While every consideration is made to publish letters, publication is limited by time and space.

The editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity and style. Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinions page.

"We are not afraid to follow the truth...wherever it may lead." -Thomas Jefferson

Address all correspondence to:Texas Wesleyan University, The Rambler, 1201 Wesleyan St., Fort Worth, TX 76105.

Newsroom: 531-7552 Advertising: 531-7582 Fax: 531-4878 E-mail: twurambler@yahoo.com

Rambler RatingsThumbs up to the WesleyanLaw School’s national MootCourt victory.

Thumbs up to the newly-paved driveway to ElizabethHall.

Thumbs down to the tempo-rary closing of Boogie Burger.

Thumbs up to the campus’upcoming emergency textmessaging plan.

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The time has come to makean executive decision. It’s 2

a.m. and Big Brother After Darkhas just ended. Now I have achoice: go to sleep, or re-watchthe evening’s Big Brother 9episode. What to do, what todo…

Hi. My name is Shawn R.Poling, and I am a Big Brother-holic. Yes it is me, the outspo-ken hater of reality television,

who is addicted to what is probably the worst of allreality shows.

In the wake of the writer’s strike, my DVR’slist of recorded programs was quite empty, so I wasforced to feed my large television appetite withreality television. Top Chef, Project Runway, YourMama Don’t Dance, High School Confidential andeven High School Reunion made at least one guestappearance on my DVR’s ever-revolving list ofrecordings.

But alas, even after my favorite fictional showsslowly return to the air, Big Brother 9 remains aliveand well on my DVR.

The night of this season’s premiere, it had beeneight years since I had given up on season one ofBig Brother, and it’s time to remind myself why.

Put simply, Big Brother is the laziest realityshow in history. It broke out onto the scene shortlyafter Survivor, clearly a more realistic approach toreality, ala The Real World or Road Rules. But thecontestants of Big Brother aren’t trying to surviveon a deserted island, hold down jobs, host events,party all night, travel the country or even leave thehouse.

In fact, they don’t do anything. Every year thecontestants are locked in the house without televi-sion, phones, computers, books, music, games, etc.Two or three hours out of the week, they competein a brief physical or mental challenge for food

privileges (losers eat slop), head of household priv-ileges (ability to put two contestants up for evictionby the house), or the power of veto (ability to takesomeone down from the eviction block). One isevicted a week, and the last one left wins half amillion dollars.

Otherwise, they are sitting and talking, record-ed by literally HUNDEREDS of cameras andmicrophones. Viewers not only have the option ofwatching any of the three weekly one-hourepisodes, they can also enjoy Big Brother AfterDark, a three-hour block of uncensored live camerafeed airing nightly from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. If that’s notenough, you can pay and register online to watchlive camera feeds from the house 24 hours a day,seven days a week.

Now, I haven’t registered online for the 24 hourcamera feed, but I’m almost there. I watch all threeweekly episodes and yes, I do record After Darkevery night.

I’m ashamed of my new obsession, but I can’thelp but embrace it. More than any other realityshow, you get to know the people living in the con-straints of the show. After all, all the contestantshave to do is talk, strategize and backstab. You getto see them manipulate each other, get manipulated,fight, scream, cuddle, confess, laugh, eat, cry,smile, hide, scheme…and then pour their hearts outto us, the viewer, in the sealed diary room.

In a strange way, you bond with everyone asyou get to know them better than you know yourown family. I love Shannon (you go girl!), Natalie’sthe stupidest person alive, Matty and Joshuah werescumbags that deserved to be evicted, Adam’s awhiney baby of a pushover and Allison is probablyschizophrenic.

It may be crazy, but I love it. I can’t wait untiltonight’s episode!

Dear editor,

I enjoyed reading The Lambler article(March 26) by Acorn Spielberg about thedinosaur egg found during demolition ofthe Boyd House making way forWesleyan’s first themed night club,“Dinosaur Rapture.”

Curiously, while Spielberg was writ-ing said article, I was spending time withone of the latest additions to thegeology/computer science departments,Pleo the dinosaur robot. Pleo is a week-oldbaby Camarasaurus, a plant-eater fromthe Jurassic period. It is a very advancedrobot containing cameras so it can see,microphones so it can hear, speakers so itcan roar and sensors so it can walk andrespond to pats on the head and scratcheson the back. It is powered by 14 motorsand has 106 gears.

Pleo is so advanced that it has to be“birthed,” and that is what I was doingwhen Spielberg wrote the Lambler article.I think there can be no doubt now that lifeimitates art, and I can hardly wait to drinka Jurassic cool one at the Dino Rapture.

Dr. Bobby DeatonProfessor of physics and geology

Shawn R. Poling is a senior writing major and is the edi-tor-in-chief for The Rambler.

SHAWN R.POLING

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Life imitatesApril Fool’s art

Giving back?Ihonestly love being a

Wesleyan student. Likeevery Wesleyan student, I canfind faults to point my fingerat, but numerous positivetraits – like the personablefaculty and friendly environ-ment I picked this school forin the first place – far out-weigh the faults. If I were togo back three years, I wouldchoose Wesleyan again. I am

sorry, then, to sense a threat to the campus’ com-munity. More and more I am hearing complaintson campus that there’s nothing to do and no oneto do it anyway. Whose fault, may I ask, is that?

I am truly frustrated with the apathetic lackof participation on this campus. Not only areStudent Life events and projects frequentlyunder-attended, but other organizations – includ-ing almost everyhonor society – oncampus are fizzlingout as well. Even pop-ular and crucial organ-izations on campus, such as the StudentGovernment Association, are suffering a decreaseof involvement.

I can understand if the activities campusoffers aren’t your ideal avenues of entertainment.Based on event participation (or, should I say,lack of participation), I would guess most stu-dents feel that way. Rather than lament, make a

move to let Student Life know what you want. Ifthey don’t have that information, how can theybe expected to channel their efforts and moneyinto those activities?

Those societies holding on in spite of dimin-ishing human involvement are being held abovewater by a sparse few and often the same few.

Recently, a certain honors group on campushosted their once-a-year fund-raiser. Myself andone other person showed up to man the booth.After endeavoring to contact 20 or so fellowmembers, we fall back on plan B: calling on afriend – who happens to be an anchor for morethan one organization as well – from anothermajor to fill in for us during class time.

I am tired of showing up to meetings withonly one or two companions. I understand mostcollege students are going to school full-time,keeping up with a family/personal life and work-ing at least part-time to support themselves. Imyself am no exception that stereotype, but canattest that most honor societies/organizations oncampus demand no great chunks of your time.Appearance at one or two short meetings amonth plus maybe one activity is all that isasked.

Consider the situation of student leadership.These proactive visionaries take on the dauntingtask of hauling a vanishing group out of regres-sion, pouring time and energy into schemingevents that will entice member participation. Totry time after time to get even a handful of mem-bers to adhere to their commitment only to fail

time after time is both discouraging and depress-ing. In order to lead, a leader must have follow-ers. A gross deficiency of supporters not onlycreates a weak society, but also inevitably dropsa ball of failure on the leader.

I’m speaking mainly of students, but I regretto admit that I have witnessed a comparablelethargy in more than one faculty member. WhileI do not consider it to be the faculty sponsors’task to recruit members or pick up any slackfrom student leaders, I do expect their specificduties to be accomplished and to have their sup-port and encouragement in projects.

I’d thought my fellow students not cooperat-ing or backing me was dispiriting, but having afaculty member cut down the triumph of a schol-arly opportunity slashed my excitement andcrushed my personal satisfaction.

So I ask each Wesleyan student to evaluatehis/her investment in campus life. The rewards ofinvolvement are far-reaching, impacting theorganization itself, its leaders, the school, thecommunity and yourself. Giving to others –especially when it calls for a sacrifice of yourself– provides the greatest degree of fulfillment, notto mention giving your mind a break from pro-cessing all those theories, equations, facts andstatistics.

On the broadest scale, get involved to savestudent life on this campus from becomingextinct.

TIARANUGENT

In order to lead, aleader must have followers.

Tiara Nugent is a senior writing major and is manag-ing editor for The Rambler.

Big Brother rules my world

Don’t be apathetic. It’s timeto evaluate the value of youron-campus investment.

Dr. Bobby Deaton’s robotic pet dinosaur

FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS ANDPAID SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

AVAILABLE FOR TWU SOPHOMORES!Scholarships include $4500-$5000 yearly stipend and

$1200 per year for books.

For more information contact:LTC ROD JOYCE817-531-4273

rjoye@txwes.edu

ARMY ROTC. START STRONG.

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SportsThe Rambler April 9, 2008 5

Log on to:www.ramsports.netfor the latest game

information andprofiles of your

favorite WesleyanTeams and Athletes

Quick Quotes“All my career, all Ihave ever really done, allI ever have accom-plished, is to talk aboutthe accomplishments ofothers. We can't all beheroes. Somebody has tostand on the curb andapplaud as the paradegoes by.”

- Vin ScullyHall of Fame Broadcaster

April 93 p.m. JV Baseball @North Lake

5 p.m. Softball @ TexasWoman’s

April 11*3 p.m. Baseball vs.Northwood

April 12Noon Softball @Houston Baptist

1 p.m. Baseball @Northwood

3 p.m. Baseball @Northwood

April 13*2 p.m. Baseball vs.LSU-Shreveport

*4 p.m. Baseball vs.LSU-Shreveport

April 14Men’s Golf @ TheBrickyard ClassicIndianapolis

April 154 p.m. Baseball @Oklahoma City

Men’s Golf @ TheBrickyard ClassicIndianapolis

*denotes home game

Upcoming Events

Sports BriefsRams move to No. 18 innation, tie consecutivewins record

By sweeping a RedRiver Athletic Conferencedoubleheader from Collegeof the Southwest, the No.18 ranked baseball team(26-8) extended its winningstreak to a school-recordtying 15 games.

The Rams took gameone 10-0 and game two 9-2.

At 15, the Rams tied aschool record that was setin 1980, four years beforeany of the current Ramswere born.

During the streak theRams have hit .407 as ateam and have outscoredtheir opponents 166-49.

Included in the 15 winsare seven against nationallyranked competition.

Senior pitchers AaronWimpee and StevenDeFratus each picked uptheir sixth wins of the sea-son.

The Rams are currentlyatop Red River Conferencestandings at 9-0.

- Sports Information Office

Students hailed Wesleyan’s 2008 InternationalGames Day with pleasure April 4. A handful ofpatrons turned out for five stones and boule on themall, but kubb – a game similar to bowling playedwith sticks rather than balls – brought in the day’srecord-high crowd.

Sweden native Joakim Soderbaum, president ofthe Wesleyan International Club, believes kubb is sowell-liked because of its simple rules and adaptabil-ity to the desired level of difficulty.

“It seems like kubb is turning into a favorite;several people played last year too,” saidSoderbaum. “Kubb was the only one of the games[offered this year] that we actually had last year too,and I am sure we will have it next year as well dueto its popularity. I even had one person asking mewhere she could buy her own kubb game.”

In light of the difficulty in scheduling student-friendly practice times, the Wesleyan floorball teamhas faced challenges getting off the ground, but the

thriving team’s connection to one another and devotion of much energy andhard work to the young sport and team’s cause is paying off. Though the

turnout was small as far as numbers areconcerned, the game itself proved to bequite a competition.

“I am impressed by how goodsome players have become after only acouple of practices,” said Soderbaum.

The last weekend of April holds atleast one more game for the Wesleyanfloorball team, complete with a realrink and the “official” works.

A vigorous practice session by thetable tennis team – dominantly com-posed of international students –wrapped up the day.

Overall, the International Clubdeems this year’s sports day a success.As for the future of InternationalGames Day, Soderbaum feels confi-dent that International Games Day isdestined to become a noted Wesleyantradition.

TIARA NUGENTMANAGING EDITOR

Photo by Gasten Schoonover

It’s All Fun and GamesWith finals approaching and bringing stressful times, students blowoff steam by playing games like kubb, nine stones and boule. Huh?

Photo by Tiara Nugent

Junior busi-ness psycholo-gy major DeanBarrett wasone of manywho tried outkubb atInternationalGames DayApril 2. Kubbis like bowling,except playedwith sticksrather thanballs and pins.For the secondyear in a row,kubb attractedthe most par-ticipantsamong stu-dents and fac-ulty.

Hendon leads hopeful golf team

The Texas Wesleyan golf team has now com-pleted half of its spring tournament schedule. TheRams remain positive and look to build on a suc-cessful season to propel them to a strong finale.Outstanding individual performances have high-lighted the teams’ season so far. However, it isonly a matter of time before the squad fires on allcylinders and continues their confident marchtoward the 57th Men’s National GolfChampionship.

Senior Mitch Hendon has continued his con-sistent golf play, racking up two more top-five fin-ishes this semester. He said a variety of thingshave come together to make the season successful.

“A lot of hard work, patience and reaching alevel of maturity that has helped me overcomepressure situations,” he said.

Hendon has accumulated a 72.84 stroke aver-age this season and ranks 11th in the NAIA indi-vidual standings only one and a half strokesbehind the national leader, Bruno Buccolo, ofOklahoma Christian.

“I am confident our team is going to be a fac-tor in the national championship. We have a greatchance to compete for the national title this year,”said Hendon. “A team win this year can prove wehave the potential. Personally, I am playing with a

lot of confidence and am looking forward to fin-ishing my senior year strong. I hope to be celebrat-ing come national tournament time in May.”

The Ramsr e c e n t l yclaimed thirdplace in theUST TexasIntercollegiateMarch 17-18 inFort Worth.Strong individ-ual performanc-es by PacoS a r a c h o(Fourth, 74-70),A r m a n d oV i l l a r r e a l(Fifth, 71-74)and MitchHendon (Fifth,73-72) gave theRams a goodshowing in theirhome tourna-ment.

The golfteam mostr e c e n t l yclaimed fourth

place in the 2008 Sleep Inn & Suites Classic inEdmond, Okla., March 24-25. Hendon led thesquad with outstanding individual play firing

rounds of 71-73-76 to capturethird place in the tough windyconditions. Villarreal addedrounds of 77-76-75 for a top-20finish in the 71 player field.

Coach Kevin Millikan is opti-mistic about the remainder of theRams’ season.

“I see many positives from ourseason so far. We have clearly notplayed up to our potential and weare trying to find a way to getthings going at the same time,” hesaid. “It is that time in the seasonwhere we are going to have toprove we can do it.”

Texas Wesleyan Golf will findits next action on April 14-15 inIndianapolis at the BrickyardClassic. This will be its final tune-up before heading to the RegionalChampionship in Lubbock,Texas, where they will face thetop two teams in the country,Oklahoma Christian andOklahoma City.

Tune-ups approaching for links-lovers on their way to nationals

Although there has been a struggle to schedule student-friendly practice times, the Wesleyan floorball team is pressing on. An April 2 exhibition forInternational Games Day sparked more interest among students and faculty. The team’s connection to one another and devotion of much energy and hardwork to the young sport and team’s cause is paying off. Though the turnout was small as far as numbers are concerned, the game itself proved to be quite acompetition. “I am impressed by how good some players have become after only a couple of practices,” said team co-founder Joakim Soderbaum. The lastweekend of April holds at least one more game for the Wesleyan floorball team, complete with a real rink and the “official” works.

KEVIN DOSKOCILSTAFF WRITER

Photo by Kevin Doskocil

Senior Mitch Hendon has accumulated a 72.84stroke average this season, which is good enoughfor 11th in the nation. He is just a stroke and ahalf off the pace of the national leader and planson getting even better by season’s end.

Entertainment6 April 9, 2008 The Rambler

AALLOOKOOK

AHEADAHEAD

On Campus:

*Baptist Student Ministry: SidRichardson Building, noon,free lunch served

On Campus:

* Little Me:Thad SmothermanTheatre, 7:30 p.m.

* Rahr & Sons Brewery - FreeTour and Tasting: Rahr & SonsBrewery, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

On Campus:

* Little Me:Thad SmothermanTheatre, 2 p.m.

Off Campus:

* Fort Worth SymphonyOrchestra - Beethoven!Beethoven! Beethoven!:Bass Performance Hall, 2 p.m

On Campus:

* Last day to drop a class

Off Campus:

* A.R.T.S.: Fort WorthCommunity Arts Center 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Free)

Off Campus:

* Dinner & A Movie: FerreRistorante & Bar, 4:30 p.m. to6:30 p.m ($25.95)

DVD Releases: Juno andLawrence of Arabia (two-disccollector’s editon.)

9

To submit an event forthe calender, e-mail

twurambler@yahoo.com.

Wednesday

On Campus:

*The Rambler staff meeting:Stella Russell Hall lobby,12:15 p.m.

*Methodist StudentMovement meeting: PolyUMC, noon, free lunchserved

* Ram Jam: University Mall,11 a.m.

10Thursday

On Campus

* Gay Straight Alliancemeeting: B17 basement ofthe library, 12:15 p.m.

* Little Me: ThadSmotherman Theatre, 7:30p.m.

Off Campus:

* Movie Releases: SmartPeople and Prom Night.

11Friday

15Tuesday1312 SundaySaturday 14Monday

Horror flick leaves its audience in Ruinns

Music students tour Bean TownMembers of Texas Wesleyan’s music department visited greater Boston over spring

break to fulfill a degree requirement for music majors. The group was led by music profes-sors John Fisher and Jerry Bierschenk and included students Andrea Talladino, CaitlinFanning, Jeremy Smith, James Brennaman, Janna McKinley, Jessica Steels, Ryan Amador,Roman Coronado and Sylvie Ndjungu. Adjunctvocal instructor Joe Davisson, department coordina-tor Dan Loudermilk and parent Sandra McKinleyrounded out the list of travelers.

The students were all from the Music Travel andEnrichment class, a class in which all music majorsat Texas Wesleyan must enroll once during his orher undergraduate career. Trips are offered annuallyand alternate between domestic and internationaldestinations. Previous sites chosen have been NewYork City (’04, ‘06); Salzburg-Vienna (’05) andParis (’07). In order to receive credit, students arerequired to attend group activities and keep a jour-nal of their experiences.

“My trip to Paris was amazing,” said sopho-more Stephanie Darbo. “I wouldn’t have traded itfor anything.”

Scheduled activities included welcome andfarewell banquets in locally-owned, upscale Boston restaurants; an all-day walk on the 16-stop Freedom Trail (which was enjoyable despite being windy and bitterly cold that day!); a

visit to the von Huene Workshop, one of the nation’s top-ranked makers of early instruments,primarily recorders; a student-led tour of the New England Conservatory, where 2007 musicgraduate Mark Appling is now a graduate student; attendance at a concert by the BostonSymphony Orchestra, with legendary pianist Leon Fleisher playing the Beethoven EmperorConcerto and half-day visits to two art museums – the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, with itsspectacular music instrument collection room, as well as the utterly unique, privately-ownedIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

The group also took two separate full-day trips. Thefirst was to Concord, Mass., which included SleepyHollow Cemetery, Walden Pond and the Old NorthBridge, which is referred to by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flagto April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farm-ers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.”

The other day trip was an outing to Salem, Mass.,with its Witch Museum and House of the Seven Gables.

The final day of the trip was free for follow up andoptional activities. Some took the opportunity to ride thethree-and-a-half-hour day train to New York City andback. Others set out for Cape Cod by car, and still othersvisited the Boston Red Sox’s home venue, Fenway Park.

There was even a bonus: on the first night, a pro-posal – and acceptance! – of marriage. All in all, the stu-dents seemed very pleased with this trip because they sawand learned so much. Certainly all came home with mem-ories to last a lifetime.

DR. JOHN FISHERGUEST CONTRIBUTOR

There’s something in the dark waiting for you, and if you’re not careful, it could killyou. Scared yet? What if I tell you the thing you are supposed to fear is a plant? Yes, a

killer plant. That’s the order of the day in Dreamworks’ latest horror release The Ruins, a surpris-

ingly scary flick that also features one of cinema’s most original villains in years. We begin the story predictably enough with four friends (it’s always four, isn’t it?)

vacationing in a foreign country. This time they’re in Mexico and decide to join a fellowtourist (there’s always a plus one!) on the search for his brother, who hasn’t returned fromthe site of an archeological dig at an ancient Mayan temple. After a strange and violentrun-in with the local Mayans, the group is forced to the top of the temple, the nativesrefusing to let them leave.

At this point, The Ruins seems like just another Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Hostel orTuristas, pitting the silly Americans against inbred cannibals, organ harvesters or seekers of human sacrifice.Probably thinking the same thing, the tourists journey into the temple, only to discover that the real enemy isflesh eating/parasitic foliage, and the last thing the Mayans want is for the dreaded plant life to spread outsidethe temple.

Trapped between two untimely and violent deaths, the five youths struggle to survive, hoping they will befound and rescued.

Now you are probably thinking, “what’s so scary about a plant?” The notion of a killer plant most oftenbrings to mind Little Shop of Horrors or Day of the Triffids or something equally silly. But if you think aboutit, carnivorous plants, like the venus fly trap, do exist. And they don’t actually eat animals, but instead absorbtheir nutrients, and the iron in human blood would be awfully beneficial to a hungry plant.

Taking that into consideration, and without spoiling the scares or the plants’ tactics, the killer plants of TheRuins almost seem realistic. That brings me to the gore. If the evil plants are realistic, the gore of the filmmight as well be real. Shy or squeamish viewers need not apply, because almost all of the imaginatively graph-ic violence happens on-screen and up close. After watching countless horror films, even I had to cover my eyesat certain moments. The film’s climax was met with a resounding “Oh, my God!” from the packed audience.

And for those looking for something besides scares and gore, the film’s young cast packs quite a punch.Supporting actors Laura Ramsey (The Covenant), Shawn Ashmore (must-see indie thriller Solstice, X-Men’sIceman) and Jonathan Tucker (Pulse) bring the proper amount of dread, paranoia and fear of the unknown totheir characters, all of which are given plenty of dramatic and scary situations to work with.

That being said, all three talented actors are blown out of the water by Jena Malone (Saved and Stepmom),a truly gifted young actress who really brings the film to life. Every moment of her electric performance wasperfection, creating one of the most believable and strong lead female characters in a long time.

The biggest surprise of the film was that it was actually entertaining. I’m not saying The Ruins is myfavorite horror film, but it is without a doubt the best horror film of 2008 (not to mention the first one to actu-ally scare viewers). It has scares, atmosphere, dread, a solid plot and even some beautiful scenery of Mexicofor good measure.

So if you’ve been disappointed by Shutter, One Missed Call, or any of the other lame horror films of 2008,hurry up and catch The Ruins. After all, the next one on the way to theaters is the Prom Night remake, and thatcan’t be any good.

SHAWN R.POLING

Shawn Poling is a senior English major and the editor-in-chief for The Rambler.Photo courtesy of Dreamworks Studios

The Ruins takes an unlikely plot and creates one of the goriest and scariestmovies of the year.

JJaazzzz BBaanndd bbrriinnggss tthhee ttuunneess

Wesleyan’s jazz band is gearing up fora good time in this spring’s concert.

“There is less of a theme this semesterthan there was in last semester’s swingconcert,” said Jeremy Smith, a junior whowill play the bass guitar and sing in theconcert. “You might notice a lot of solowork in this concert.”

The production will include more than10 pieces to excite the ears and get the foottapping. Two of these were also in lastspring’s concert.

“Rompin’ At the Reno is from lastsemester’s concert,” said Smith. “It was anaudience favorite, and we just had to do itagain, and the same for Kay-Do.”

Dr. Bryan English, director of the bandwill play trombone, his primary instru-ment, throughout the entire concert.

“It’s always fun,” said Smith. “Having

the director playing with the band insteadof directing requires a lot of listeningamongst the musicians. We really have towork as a team instead of individuals.”

Smith will be adding vocal features onthree of the concert’s pieces, one of which,Last Pay Day, he arranged.

The concert will feature some of theensemble members in solo roles.

“Billy Privette on the alto sax gets a lotof opportunity to let loose,” said Smith.“And of course Ricky Johnson on the key-board is always incredible.”

There is something for everyone in thelineup, including a piece that was writtenfor intermission.

“Intermission Riff is exactly what itsounds like. Originally performed as atransition, it’s just a good fun tune.”

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m.April 10 in Martin Hall. Admission is freeand open to the public.

COLLEEN BURNIEENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Photo courtesy of John FisherWesleyan music students tour historic Boston during spring break.