Volume 93
the Prairie
Issue VI
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Students compete with livestock to learn skills Freshmen,seniors team up to get ready for competition Matt Lara
Staff Writer
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TAMU Agricultural Education majors team up with freshmen in an effort to learn more about livestock and leadership as they prepare for The Little International stock show. Approximately 145 students from two sections of Dr. David Lust’s ANSC 1319 animal science course have already begun training for the two-day competition that will be held on Oct. 11 and 12 at the Nance Ranch. “We’ve moved the Little I to the fall semester because a large percentage of the animal science classes are first semester freshman and we are very eager to engage those students, to help them build relationships with each other and with upperclassman,” Dr Lust said. Students are broken up into ten teams and each team will be assigned two seniors from Dr. Kevin Williams’ AGRI 4305 Supervised Ag Experiences course to help train and educate members from the ANSC 1319 class. “They’re dealing with freshman students which are just one year out of high school,” Williams said. “We’re just trying to mock that first years teaching experience as much as we can.” The upperclassmen have been putting together
Freshman Sarah Baldridge works with her steer.
lecture information since the beginning of Sept. and the freshmen have been training since the last week of Sept. for a competition that is based mostly on showmanship. “It’s emphasis is to teach basic livestock handling skills and showmanship skills, and embodied in that would be some basic care of animals,” Lusk said. “It’s very common in showmanship for a judge to ask questions about the animal and that could be breeds or strengths or just common knowledge about the animal.” A judge will score them primarily based on showmanship skills which includes how well the animal is presented and how well the student is able to answer any questions the judge may have for the individual. Monique Figueroa, freshman, said she thinks Little I is interesting and
MATT LARA
has provided her with the opportunity to work with animals she hadn’t worked with in the past. “I’ve only shown goats, and I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to show other animals, so this is my chance,” Figueroa said. To ensure that each and every student receives adequate training for the competition, a mandatory animal welfare and safety training clinic is required in addition to the training and clinics that is provided by the upperclassmen group leaders. In addition to showing livestock, this year students have the option of participating in a quiz bowl orchestrated by Kyndal Reed, a senior Ag Education major. In this event, students will form teams of five where they will face other teams in a tournament style competition. The students
will answer questions over a broad spectrum of topics ranging from breed identification to physiological information specific to each species. “Some students because of scheduling or possibly medical or physical or some other reason can’t participate in the working with the animals then they still have the quiz bowl activity that they can participate in,” Lust said. Several hours of preparation and teaching have gone into this event from both upper as well as underclassmen, but according to Juan Cantu, senior ag education major it is time well spent. “The best part is seeing the kids getting excited about coming out here and wanting to learn and seeing the kids who thought they didn’t want to learn call you up and ask you when can we do this again,” Cantu said ”It’s nice to know you gave them a good experience.”
The Little I gets its name from the International Livestock Exposition which is still one of the nation’s most important livestock shows. The International Livestock Exposition was originally held in Chicago and is currently held in Louisville, KY. It is the nation’s oldest livestock show dating back to 1903. Agricultural and animal science programs at several universities around the United States hold a little international showmanship competition. West Texas A&M has designed their specific Little I program to provide better teaching experiences to the universities upperclassmen, provide a great learning experience for the underclassmen and to make this function as fun as possible. The competition will be held at the Nance Ranch located at 3450 East Nance Road on Oct. 11-12 from 1 to 6 p.m. and is open to the public.
Dana Harper and Justice the horse walk around the arena.
MATT LARA
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TAMU considers proposed changes to faculty evaluation Cecile Charles Staff Reporter
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exas A&M University System is discussing setting a new accountability measure to evaluate professors and compare what they are costing the university versus how much revenue they are bringing in. According to James Hallmark, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at WTAMU, they started discussing more accountability measures for college professors across Texas about five years ago. Since then, many colleges have devised numerous ways to measure accountability. In fact, WT already has a few measures in place. One such measure is the student evaluations that students fill out regarding their professor at the end of each semester. These evaluations offer insight for department heads about how well a professor is meeting his or her students’ needs. Hallmark noted that this survey is not all inclusive when it comes to measuring the work professors do. “The faculty member isn’t just teaching,” Hallmark said. “The faculty member is doing research, advising, service, serving on committees,
serving as a department head, directing a thesis. They’re doing a lot of things that aren’t reflected in that formula.” This new measure being discussed by TAMU is only in the elementary stages of planning and will not be applied for a while, if at all. “The reason that this is even out in the public is because a state legislature was given [a copy of the proposed measure] so that she could look at it and kind of give them some feedback and at that point, word began to get out,” Hallmark said. “And so instead of requiring entities like [the Prairie] to file Freedom of Information Act stuff in order to get it, the system just said here it is. I guess if we had something to hide, we would have done that, but we don’t.” The new accountability measure, in theory, will work from an equation with numbers taken from class size and number of hours the professor will be teaching. Additionally, classes will be “weighted” by the state. Essentially that weighting is assigned based on how much it costs to teach that class. For example, a chemistry class would have a higher weight than an English class because of the supplies
needed to teach that specific science course. “They are taking that weighted semester credit hour plus the number of students who are in the class and dividing the faculty member’s salary by that formula,” Hallmark said. “To say that this faculty is, in theory which is an important word to have there, bringing in a whole lot more revenue from the state through tax dollars and student tuition than he or she is costing us in terms of their salary.” However, several professors and faculty of the TAMU system feel that an equation or number can’t define how good someone is at their job. There are several factors that educators feel are necessary to take into account such as how much a professor is willing to help a student after hours, or whether they encourage a feeling of enjoyment or frustration for the subject matter in the student. “It would be foolish, and really not even the intention, to take [the formula] and say, ‘This professor is a good professor because they’re generating a lot of money and this professor is a bad professor because they’re not generating any money,’” Hallmark said. Well, maybe the person that isn’t
generating money is doing a whole lot of other things that are very, very valuable to the university.” Dr. Hallmark, however, has stated that he has no opinions of the measure because he does not see it being applied in the near future. Also, there is no intention or way to rate a professor as “good” or “bad” based on the amount of money they are generating. This is just one way to collect data out of the many ways that the TAMU system uses. “My concern is that some individuals are putting more stock into this than there really is,” Hallmark said. “The most important thing is that this is just a draft and it is not a decision making paradigm, just something they’re playing around with.” The leaking of this information has caused uproar among the TAMU system’s professors. Some believe that this measure is currently in place and will be affecting their positions. However, this is not the case. Professor’s jobs will not be cut or added based on the information that would be received from this accountability measure. “They’re not looking for if an individual faculty member is doing well or if an individual faculty
The Prairie Editorial Staff 2010-2011 Editor- Maria Molina Assistant Editor- Katelyn Garrity Managing Editor- Halei Skinner
Web Editor - Georgia Romig Faculty Adviser- Butler Cain
The Prairie is a student-operated publication at West Texas A&M University. It functions to inform, educate, and entertain readers accurately and responsibly. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administration, faculty or students. The editorials that appear on these pages represent the opinion of the Prairie editorial board. The views expressed by other columinsts are the writers’ opinions and do not necessarily reflect the board’s views. Advertising rates are available upon request at (806) 651- 2410 or at theprairiemail@yahoo.com. Periodical postage is paid in Canyon, Texas. USPS Number 441-200. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by The Amarillo Globe-News.
member is not doing well,” Hallmark said. “They’re looking for patterns. For example, if we looked at our overall structure and said this department is costing us 10 times more than what another department is costing us and yet, they have a very similar number of faculty and expenses. So why is this one costing us so much more? Maybe we need to be looking at that and figuring out how we can have more efficiency.” In truth, this information will not be closely affecting the educational faction of the TAMU system. All of the numbers and statistics taken will be going through the business departments to the Board of Regents. Additionally, professors should remember that this will not be the only accountability measure taken into consideration during a professional review. University officials are keenly aware of how much teaching is done outside the actual classroom with students consulting professors during office hours or through email. This new measure, although it has not been implemented, is just one of many that the Board of Regents for TAMU is considering.
The Prairie want to know what you think about the TAMU proposed changes to faculty evaluations. Email us at: theprairiemail@ yahoo.com.
For snowflakes answer go to page 7.
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Campus Life
Graduate speaks
Former student discusses experiences DAVID MERAZ Staff Reporter
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TAMU graduate Kirk Scarbrough and current San Antonio ISD teacher recently made an appearance at WT to talk about what he is doing with Teach for America, one of the nation’s largest providers of teachers for low-income communities. Scarbrough gave a presentation Oct. 8 to students, professors and faculty. Scarbrough talked about the process he went through when applying with the organization, about the training he went through during the summer and his experience working with kindergarten and first grade students. Scarbrough said, “[Obvoiusly], the kids,” are really the reason he looks forward to his day at the school. He said during his presentation that he not only had to worry about himself, but also about his 22 children or babies, as he calls them. “I really appreciate the random things they say and do.” Scarbrough graduated in May 2010. Before graduation Kirk contemplated going to graduate school. He took the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) during Thanksgiving break in 2009. Searching online, a link took Scarbrough to the Teach for America web site. He applied in December and eventually it led to a final interview. He received an offer from Teach for America right before spring break. During the summer Scarbrough went through a lot of training and at the same time he taught summer school at Bruce Elementary in Houston to kindergarteners. Scarbrough talked about the program, Teach for America. He informed the audience that 14 million children are growing up in poverty today in America. He said that one in ten students from low-income schools will not graduate high school. Teach for America is designed for college graduates to commit for two years to teach in low-income communities. Eva Harder, a senior communication studies major, said that if students are interested in Teach for America, they can either go online or they can visit Classroom Center room 115B to receive help.
Students enjoy lunch and take notes during the presentation.
SARA SMITH
Scarbrough talks with students and faculty about his experiences with Teach for America.
SARA SMITH
Flu season approaches
Adriana Contreras Staff Reporter
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ith cold and flu season fast approaching, the WTAMU Nursing program is offering flu shot clinics for all students, faculty and staff. The program has offered a similar clinic once every year since 2008. The cost for students is $15.00 and the cost for faculty and staff is $20.00. Luke Lindsey, a senior nursing major stated, “[The clinic] is set up by the nursing directors and it’s like a learning experience for us and an opportunity for people to come out and get vaccinated here on campus.” Students enrolled in the WTAMU nursing program administer flu vaccinations to faculty, staff and students. This aids students in the process of further developing their vaccination skills for the future. Jackie Francis, a senior nursing major commented, “This experience is only for Senior Nursing Majors and is for our community class as part of our community project. It builds on the skills that we already have.” Last year it was reported that only 200 vaccinations were available and the clinic ran out of vaccinations quickly due to the H1N1 virus. This year, an abundant supply of vaccines have been received. These vaccines cover both AB strands of the flue virus and the H1N1 strand as well. The flu shot clinics will be located in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center and will be available October 5, 6, 12 and 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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Sports
SCOREBOARD Homecoming win v. Tarleton Buffs win against #10 ranked team 48-17 Lady Buff
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Buff Soccer
Oct. 8 the men’s soccer team played against UT Permian Basin. The team got a shutout victory. WTAMU
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Buff Soccer
Oct. 10 the men’s soccer team fell to Midwestern State. The men lost 2-1 against the Mustang. The next game will be at The Pitch Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.
Visit theprairienews.com for more sports stories including complete coverage of stats in the scoreboard.
Volleyball
The team swept Cameron 3-0, snapping a three game losing streak. This game gave Coach Skock his 50th win in charge of the Buffs. Sophomore Erin Dougherty hit .800 tying for the ninthhighest in pecentage in a single match in school history.
EVAN GRICE Staff Writer
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he #7 ranked WTAMU Buffs made sure that their fans went home happy on Homecoming night with a 48-17 victory over Tarleton State Oct. 9. After holding TSU on their first possession, WT drove 48 yards and running back Kelvin Thompson ran the ball in from 15 yards out to give the Buffs
touchdown reception. The play was the longest pass play in school history and only the third time WT has scored from 99 yards out. This made the score 21-3 Buffs. This was the score going into halftime. The Buffs increased their lead on their first drive of the second half. WT drove 77 yards on eight plays with Burton getting his second touchdown reception from 11 yards out making the score 28-3 Buffs with 11:33
Harris found WR Tyson Williams for a 13-yard touchdown strike to increase the Buffs’ lead to 41-3 with 10:36 left in the game. Tarleton finally broke WT late in the fourth when Deshaun Phillips intercepted QB Tanner Marsh’s pass and returned it 26 yards for the touchdown making the score 41-10. Marsh regrouped and drove 70 yards in four plays finishing the drive with a 36 yard strike to Aarrhon Flores making the
Lady Buff Soccer The team suffered their first loss in LSC play Oct. 8. The final score was 3-1. Goalie, Kelly Skehan, made six saves in the match bringing her overall record to 6-2-3 and 2-1-1 in LSC play.
Go to theprairienews.com for more sports stories. Sports stories are posted throughout the week. Check back daily to find out the latest sports story.
STEPHEN INGLE
Running back Kelvin Thompson gets tackled by a Tarleton defensive player.
a 7-0 lead with just 2:37 off the clock. Tarleton responded on their next drive. After converting a fourth-and-11 pass, the Texans converted a 25-yard field goal from Blake Wiest to make the score 7-3 with 6:37 left in the first quarter. WT scored again on their next possession thanks to a 76yard drive that culminated with running back Tevin Mitchell scoring from three-yards out making the score 14-3 Buffs with 3:13 left in the first quarter. Both teams’ defenses held strong during the latter part of the first half and kept each other off the board. That is, until the six-minute mark of the second quarter. With WT backed up on its own 1-yard line, quarter back Taylor Harris connected with WR Stephen Burton for a 99-yard
left in the third quarter. Sergio Castillo converted a 21-yard field goal with 5:21 left in the third to increase the lead to 31-3.
Tommy Hampton carries the ball.
STEPHEN INGLE
After Tae Evans intercepted a pass on TSU’s next possession, WT drove down to the Texan 21 yard line, where Castillo converted another field goal, this one from 38-yards to make the lead 34-3 Buffs at the end of the third quarter. WT’s defense forced another TSU punt early in the fourth.
score 48-10 with 3:52 left in the game. TSU scored one last time with Casey Page finding Jamal Mays from 36 yards out making the final score 48-17 Buffs. QB Taylor Harris was 33-49 passing for 419 yards and three touchdowns. WR Stephen Burton collected a season-high 144 yards on five receptions with two touchdowns. Tyson Williams had 11 catches for 120 yards with Kelvin Thompson also having 11 catches for 70 yards respectively. WT’s overall record now stands at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in LSC South play. The Buffs will hit the road next Saturday for a showdown with #10 ranked Texas A&M Kingsville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Javelina Stadium.
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News
Campus security report finds WT safe
Campus authorities ask for students’ help stopping cr ime DINO GRIEGO Staff Reporter
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very year, WTAMU, in compliance with federal law, publishes an annual Campus Security Summary and Campus Security Report, which include campus crime report statistics for the previous three years. “We are very fortunate here at West Texas A&M University,” President Dr. O’Brien said. “We live, work and study on one of the safest campuses in the country, and Canyon is routinely listed among Texas’ safest cities,” Dr. O’ Brien challenges the community to keep pushing forward, and encourages the population at WT to unite. “Reputation, no matter how well deserved, cannot ensure continued health and safety. Together, we will enjoy a safe and happy year.” The report for this previous semester shows favorable reviews. However, some students are still finding themselves the victim of small crimes around the Canyon area. Malissa Montgomery, a junior biology major, was recently robbed of 200 dollars while at her apartment. The complex is
directly behind the AC about fifty feet away from campus. “I was angry,” Montgomery said. “I went inside the apartment to drop off my school bag, and when I walked back outside, the money was gone. I was about to deposit it” The University Police Department provides safety tips. Three tip mentioned are to “always lock your car, never leave personal belongings unattended and to watch for strangers.” “This experience is very enlightening,” Montgomery said. “I will never leave my car unlocked again, even if it is just for a quick moment.” An email issued on Oct. 7 asked for people to step forward if they knew about an on-going crime. It asserted that “The Campus Security Act, a federal law, requires ‘campus security authorities’(CSA) to report crime statistics for inclusion in the University’s annual Campus Security Report.” CSA can be members of the campus police, officials of an institution, or Residential Assistants on campus. For a full list of the CSA, information can be located on the WT website. Logan Moore, a junior
communication studies major, is an R.A. at Guenther Hall. “I think our location, as well as our students, ensure great safety standards,” Moore said. “We are in a well lit area and I think that makes a drastic difference.” While Guenther is in a good location, their fire standards show a different statistic. This past year, they issued four practice fire alarm evaluations, just like every other dorm; however, this hall has no sprinkler systems for its residence. “It is true we do not have fire sprinklers,” Moore said. “Still, I think our practice evacuations run smoothly enough that we can still provide adequate safety measures. Guenther is not very big, so all of our students can get out faster than lets say students in one of the bigger dorms such as Jones.” To learn more about safety tips, WT provides educational workshops and programs on topics including: crime prevention, domestic/dating violence, sexual assault and property theft.
The Prairie wants to know what you think about campus security. Email us at theprairiemail@yahoo.com
For sudoku answers go to page 7. Let us know what games you like. Email us at theprairiemail@yahoo.com.
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News
Speaker wishes students strength, happiness Convocation invites students into the WTAMU family
KATELYN GARRITY Assistant Editor
STEPHEN INGLE
Somaly Mam speaks at Convocation.
“G
ive back. Create change. Help others.” Student Body President Tim Vela told freshmen to follow in the footsteps of Somaly Mam, author of The Road of Lost Innocence, during his Freshman
Convocation speech. During the ceremony, 14 freshmen discovered that they had been selected to travel to Cambodia as a part of Readership WT. “I feel like it’s a really big honor to be able to go, to be able to see what [Mam] has seen,” Samantha Pearson, one of the students selected for the trip, said. Pearson, a freshmen special education major, said she hopes this trip will change her for the better. “I hope this trip will change me to realize how good we have it,” Pearson said. Mam’s book focuses on her experiences as a child in a brothel in Cambodia. Mam discussed how difficult it initially was to share her story.
“For me it’s painful to write my story,” Mam said. “I don’t want to die without letting people know. I hope that people who read my book will go and help [the girl’s who are still in the brothels]. The Somaly Mam Foundation helps to save girls from brothels and give them opportunities to learn and work. “Helping them is helping myself,” Mam said. “Helping them and seeing them with hope gives me hope.” Mam had no name and no birthday. She had no family. She was sold into the sex trafficking industry when she went with a man who promised that he would help her find her family. “No one loved me,” Mam
said. “No one. Love is a big thing to me.” Mam compared her life, and the life of others girls in the brothel, to the life of students at the University to try and give them some perspective. “Life is short,” Mam said. “Life is so short for you here. Life is so long for us in the brothel.” Mam said that the transitioning process for the girls once they leave the brothel can be difficult. She said the key to surviving life after the brothel is acceptance. “They don’t want to know why,” Mam said. They just want to die. I told them I understand. Don’t forget just accept that we have been through many things.” Despite the fact that the she
was victimized by men, Mam believes that it is important to have men at her centers and to help her cause. “I need the man mentality,” Mam said. “I need men to help me change men.” Mam said that although it has been years since her time in the brothel, she still bears the internal scars of the experience. “The scar inside [is] not easy to forget,” Mam said. “It [is] not easy to disappear. I still cry, but I’m still strong, so strong.” Mam’s told students she wasn’t them to be happy and make a difference. “I want all of you to be happy for what you are,” Mam said. “All of you, each of the people can make something happen. Be strong.”
Feedback is essential to education Students need to know what they did wrong in classes ANDRES DIAZ Staff Writer
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ometimes we do not get the grades that we expected. We go through our graded evaluations and realize where we could have done it better. Other times we still think we deserved a better grade or simply do not understand what our mistakes were. In those moments some questions hang in the air: Am I really learning? How can I improve my grades if I do not know what is wrong? This is a common concern of students in WTAMU like Maria Clara Castillo, graduate MBA student. “When most of the tests are done using Scranton and online, usually we don’t get feedback about our mistakes, and because of that it is impossible to recognize where we have to improve in order to have a better understanding of the concepts,” Maria Clara Castillo said. Asked about this issue Dr. Neil Terry, dean of the College of Business, said that there is not a specific policy regarding the feedback that students expect from their faculty, however it shows up in the courses’
evaluations that students make, which are revised by the department head and the professor himself. Dr. James Hallmark WT provost also explained that there are two kinds of feedback. The first one is the summative feedback that refers to the grades which are the main measure of students performance. “Faculty must provide grades timely,”Hallmark said. One of the problems with the formative feedback is that it is more time consuming. Oftentimes professors have to correct not only the relevance of the content, but also the grammar and the compliance with presentation guidelines. In addition to that students are expecting to have clear and complete notes of their mistakes. All that work must be done within time constraints. Therefore, it is a doable task for small groups, but a difficult one for big classes, and even worse for online sections in which the amount of students can double the biggest classroom and almost all the communication between professor and students is in a written format. More problems arise when professors
do not give back evaluations to students because some of the questions might be used in future evaluations, or when the final paper is submitted the last day of classes, with few expectations of knowing its flaws and attributes. One of the alternatives is to ask for the feedback “You really have to go to the professor to know what you got wrong and get help,” Kimberly Alford, a senior Math Education major, said. Dr. Hallmark also points out other elements to that endeavor, among them the required new faculty orientation for all professors and the peer mentoring program in which a newcomer professor and an experienced one work together to improve their pedagogical skills. However, he also insisted in the student evaluation as a means to acquaint the professor with this concern. Evidently there is a tradeoff between feedback and time. However feedback is crucial in the learning process. It measures students and professors’ work, enriches their relationship and determines how well that process is achieving its goals. It is our responsibility
to ask for it and the faculty’s responsibility to deliver it. Fortunately, there are also good signals of this commitment. “I feel comfortable with the feedback so far,”Caitlin Woods, a freshman Animal Sciences major said. Hallmark said that feedback is a necessary part of the university system. “We have to have that form of feedback and it is both encouraged and evaluated by the University,”Hallmark said. Hopefully, more of us will keep that in mind. At the end of the day learning is why we are here. Let us know your opinion at theprairiemail@yahoo.com.
FRANKIE SANCHEZ
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Entertainment
If you have any story you would like us to cover, let us know at theprairienews@yahoo.com. If you are interested in writing, taking photos or copy editing please let us know. Visit www.theprairiemail.com for more stories and updates through the week. If your organization is interested in advertising an event through the Prairie, contact Halei Skinner at (806) 651-2410 or send us an email.
Moments in time: this week in history Oct. 13, 1953
Oct. 14, 1968
On Oct. 16, 1976
The world’s first art museum on wheels opens in Fredericksburg, Va. It was called the Artmobile, a $20,000, 34-foot-long air-conditioned trailer with museumquality lighting. The trailer was pulled around the state behind an enormous blue truck.
U.S. Defense Department officials announce that the Army and Marines will be sending about 24,000 men back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours because of the length of the war, high turnover of personnel and the tight supply of experienced soldiers.
“Disco Duck” hits the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. Created by bored drive-time radio disc jockey Rick Dees, the song got airplay in every town except Memphis, where Dees had his radio show.
On Oct. 17, 1931 Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion and fined $80,000. Elliot Ness and his “Untouchables” routinely broke up Capone’s bootlegging businesses, but it was tax-evasion charges that finally stuck and landed Capone in prison.
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