The Prairie Issue XVII by The Prairie WTAMU

Volume 93

the Prairie

Issue XVII

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Gender, racial issues at forefront of talk Visiting scholar speaks to students about industry issues KRYSTINA MARTINEZ Staff Writer

he second event of Communication Week on Feb. 15 featured a lecture by visiting scholar Dr. Jean Kilbourne. Dr. Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her work on alcohol and tobacco advertising. Dr. Kilbourne has also closely studied the image of women in advertising. She has been featured on television shows such as The Today Show and Oprah. The Branding Iron Theatre was packed with students, faculty and local residents who came

to see Dr. Kilbourne speak. The lecture lasted about 45 minutes and featured a presentation of different advertisements. Although the lecture was short, it made an impact on the audience. Dr. Kilbourne opened the lecture with a few surprising facts. According to her research, the average person sees about 3,000 advertisements a day and spends two years of their life watching TV commercials. Babies at the age of six months can already begin to recognize brand images. As a result of the advertising industry’s message, “we live in a toxic cultural environment,” Kilbourne said.

Her presentation featured ads that had blatant photo-shopping, including a promotional poster for Pretty Woman and a recent Ralph Lauren ad, which actually got the model fired because “she was too fat.” Models are all too aware of the photo-shopping phenomenon. Cindy Crawford once commented that “[She] wished [she] looked like Cindy Crawford.” FRANKIE SANCHEZ While a woman’s world is Students crowd into the Branding Iron Theater to hear Dr. Jean Kilbourne speak. obsessed with thinness, Dr. Kilbourne pointed out that in a man’s world, masculinity is Jean Kilbourne Continued on p. 3 emphasized at an early age and “bigger is better.”

SIFE aids Food Bank Students help semester long MARIA MOLINA Editor

very semester, SIFE joins with the High Plains Food Bank, in an effort to help families in need. This project benefits families of low economical resources by providing food in the 29 counties of the Texas Panhandle. Marco Jimenez, SIFE marketing leader for the Food Bank Project, said that the organization is helping the food drive in three different ways. The first one is through the collection of non-perishable food. The High Plains Food Bank distributes an average of 375, 000 – 400,000 pounds of food per month. SIFE contributes every semester by collecting food in the WTAMU community. “The best way to help is through the collection of food,” he said. “Our goal

this semester is 5,000 pounds.” SIFE’s Chief Operating Officer, Karina Linardy said that the deadline to turn in cans is in April. “We are already 2,000 pounds,” she said.

The SIFE team partners with High Plains Food Bank.

Courtesy of SIFE

SIFE continued on p. 2

Galveston hospital dismisses illegal immigrant before treatment LISA HELLIER Staff Writer

uestionable hospital rules sparked a nationwide ethical debate after illegal immigrant Maria Sanchez was released from University of Texas Medical Branch’s John Sealy Hospital before having her scheduled surgery. Sanchez, 24, had been in the hospital for six days and was going to have surgery in order to remove a banana size tumor that was growing along her spine. The painful tumor caused her to lose the use of her right hand and was hindering movement to her arms and legs. On Jan. 12, 2011 she was told by a doctor to leave immediately because she was an illegal immigrant. According to Sanchez, the doctor said she should have surgery in Mexico. Medical records describe her health condition as being a non-

malignant but potentially lifethreatening tumor and state that she was released because she was “an undocumented pt [patient] with no insurance.” “There was nothing ethical about what the doctor or hospital did,” Crystal Pena, public relations/advertising major, said. There is no rule requiring hospitals to accept or reject illegal immigrants, but once they have accepted a patient they are responsible for treating the person until stable. Though, the definition of a stable patient does not seem to be clearly defined by hospitals. “Hospitals need to get a little stricter [about patient stability rules] and a lot less biased,” Juan Gallardo, Hispanic Student Association president and secondary education major, said. Some students are outraged at what the hospital did and share their own strong opinions on the matter.

Immigration continued on p. 2

the Prairie

2 SIFE continued from p. 1 Another way in which SIFE helps with the “High Plains Food Bank” is by assisting and helping organize the garden that the “Food Bank” has in Amarillo. SIFE also supports the “Kids Café Program”. Through this program, the “Food Bank” serves more than 750 meals to children at risk. Linardy explains that SIFE members go every Friday to San Jacinto and MondayFriday to Maverick. “We help serve food and interact with kids to be like role models,” she said. In addition, the organization started a nutrition program in Maverick that takes place every Friday. “We teach them how to eat and live healthy,” Linardy said. SIFE is currently in the process of collecting the 3,000 pounds left to meet their goal for the collection of food. Jimenez said that students can help by depositing non-perishable food in the SIFE room located in the Classroom Center room 301.

Courtesy of SIFE. Laura Beth Hallman, SIFE chief executive officer, helps collecting cans.

Immigration continued from p. 1 should have the right to some type

WT student Imelda Saavedra mentions that immigration topics can be upsetting to her because, “not a lot of people realize how hard it is to be an immigrant.” Saavedra is a resident of the United States who is also proud to be from Mexico. “I myself believe that it was in ways wrong that they kicked her out after already having admitted her as a patient,” Saavedra said. “I think that in any situation one

of healthcare.” “In this case, to me, it’s not about helping at all. It is about not having papers and not getting paid. Money should be the last thing on their mind,” Pena said. “They made that poor woman seem like she wasn’t worthy of getting their help because she has no insurance or documents.” Gallardo is surprised and angered over the incident. “Since when did being here

legally become more important than a human life?” Gallardo asks. Gallardo wants doctors to think about how they would feel in the situation and believes they would not accept it and wonders why anyone else should. “I honestly do not think it is fair that a hospital refuse to provide services to anyone. A life is too valuable to be tampered with,” Gallardo said.

AOL buys Huffington Post GEORGIA ROMIG Web Editor

n Feb. 7 AOL announced that it was going to buy The Huf�ington Post for $315 million. The purchase of the news, analysis and lifestyle site is just one of many purchases that AOL has made recently. Many believe these purchases are an attempt on AOL’s part to revitalize their old brand. Snatched up sites include Engadget, TechCrunch, Patch and others. These will be integrated into AOL Content, which the corporation is hoping to build into a new online hub. Perhaps, analysts suggest, AOL is hoping to build on The Huf�ington Post audience. The Huf�ington Post -- or HuffPo, as its readers call it -- gets nearly 25 million unique visitors a month according to their post on the merger, and has become one of the most prominent online communities. According to the now AOL owned TechCrunch, Yahoo! also wanted to purchase The Huf�ington Post.

The Prairie Editorial Staff 2010-2011 Editor- Maria Molina Assistant Editor- Katelyn Garrity Managing Editor- Randi Hudson Copy Editor- Krystina Martinez 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. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by the Amarillo Globe-News.

Analysts and commentators have questioned whether AOL, which has a more moderate and conservative readership, is the right �it. But Ariana Huf�ington, the site’s co-founder and editor, said that the site will remain the same. “Our readers will still be able to come to the Huf�ington Post at the same URL and �ind all the same content they’ve grown to love, plus a lot more -- more local, more tech, more entertainment, more �inance, and lots more video,” Huf�ington said in a statement. However, news outlets and bloggers are more skeptical. Old and new media mergers have been tried before with varying success. Bebo and MySpace, for example, faded away after buyouts from AOL and NewsCorp. “It will all come down to the execution: If they’re able to create content people want to read, if they keep on making good stuff, growing the audience, and if it makes money from advertising,” digital media commentator Kara Swisher, of All Things Digital, told Bryony Jones at CNN. “AOL is trying to revive itself -- we shouldn’t assume it’s not going to succeed just because there have been issues before.”

the Prairie

News

WTAMU alumna writes novel for adolescents

Archer goes from business professional to author

JES ROSKENS Staff Writer

Courtesy of jenniferarcher.net Alumni Jennifer Archer

TAMU graduate, Jennifer Archer has more than one interesting story to tell. First, those narratives

in her ongoing list of published novels seem to continue to attract her fans’ attention. But, as she awaits the upcoming release of her latest book, she doesn’t mind recounting the way that writing grabbed her attention. While creating stories was an early passion, Archer said she did not think writing was something she could get into because writing was “something someone else could do.” That did not stop her from still doing it for fun. “I wrote stories in junior high,” she said. “I never entered them in contests. “My poor friends had to read them though.” With her mindset stuck on thinking professional

Jean Kilbourne Continued from p. 1

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive,” Kilbourne said. “It’s wrong how narrow and stereotypical beauty is made to be.” Dr. Kilbourne also presented less obvious forms of discrimination in advertisement, including women of color, children, elderly people and female athletes. She pointed out how women of color are made to look animalistic in fashion ads and how body language can promote a sense of “infantilization” for women. “They promote a powerful double standard,” Kilbourne said. “Girls have to be sexy yet innocent and experienced yet virginal.” The presentation was eye-opening for Precious Wilson, an African American senior advertising and public relations major. “It’ll change the way I look at ads,” Wilson said. “I want to work in fashion [after graduation] and what hit me was [what Kilbourne said] about women of color because it’s so true.” Shannon Gray, a junior advertising/ public relations major, was more surprised at the advertising industry’s

writing was not for her, Archer went to WT for a bachelor’s degree in business management; a career path she describes as appropriate for her as being a lion tamer or World Federation Wrestler. Yet, she does not regret her education, as it has helped her support her family over the years. “My husband and I had a pharmaceutical business, where I helped run things on the business end,” Archer said. “I do [the business] for our new business where we rent houses to people,” However, Archer did get her writing career on track by taking weekly writing classes given at Amarillo College. Since she was raising two boys at the time,

portrayal of children. “[What impacted me] was how she talked about children being sexualized, like in pageants,” Gray said. Dr. Kilbourne was one of the first to start looking at this side of the advertising industry, and it has grown into a burgeoning form of study. However, many wonder if the idea of “sex sells” in the advertising agency will still prevail. “It depends on whether or not we do something about it,” Bob Buckles, a sophomore general studies major, said. “Boycotting [the products] or asking [the agencies] to change what they put out [can help].”

MARIA MOLINA Dr. Kilbourne lectured about the advertising industry.

Archer did find it difficult to find the time to write. To make time, she would wake up an hour or two before her family and write then. “The biggest barrier to get past, if you want to write, is just setting aside the time to write,” Archer said. “Sometimes I would just cut out some things from my day -- like TV time, I would devote to writing.” Eventually, Archer did finish her novel, Body and Soul, and sold it to Love Spell publishing in 1999. Since then, she has written several novels and novellas focusing on life and relationships for women, for the most part in a realistic setting. However, because of her love for the paranormal, Archer does enjoy throwing

in a bit of a fantastical twist to her tales. “It just makes sense to me because in real life there are just some things you can’t explain,” Archer said. This philosophy will be reflected in Archer’s newest book coming out April 5, Through Her Eyes, a supernatural mystery book designed for young adults. “I’ve always wanted to write a book like this, and once I had an idea, I went for it,” Archer said. For more information on Jennifer Archer and her books, go to her website at jenniferarcher.net. Fans and interested readers will also get to see Archer at her book signing at the Barnes & Nobles on Soncy in Amarillo, April 16, from 2 to 4 p.m.

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Sports

Poor shooting dooms Buffs against Tarleton

No WTAMU player scored more than 10 points Matthew Watkins Staff Writer

defensive game was probably the expectation of the Feb. 16 game between WTAMU and Tarleton State. The Buffs defeated the Texans 44-39 earlier this season. The Buffs did not anticipate shooting just 33 percent from the �loor and Tarleton wasn’t much better at 43 percent. However, it was just enough to extend the Texans’ winning streak in Stephenville to 16 games by a 47-42 score. WT jumped out to a 10-3 lead with 12:26 left in the �irst half. The strong start was short-lived,

as the Texans went on a 19-4 run to end the half, giving them a 22-14 lead at halftime. Tarleton’s biggest lead came about two and half minutes into the second half at 26-16. The Buffs appeared to have a chance to rally in them when senior Joe Mincey drained a three pointer, cutting the lead to one point with about 11 minutes thirty seconds remaining in the half. The Buffs downfall would be due to a 3 of 7 performance from the line and two missed three pointers in the last �ive minutes of the game, handing Tarleton the victory. The shooting performance of the Buffs was below par compared to earlier in the season. No player eclipsed 10 points, and two players, Mincey and junior Lionel Foster, had nine points.

WT, as a whole, were eight of 18 from the free throw line and 15 of 46 from the �ield. “You can’t win a game shooting free throws like we did tonight, especially on the road,” Head coach Rick Cooper said to gobuffsgo.com. “Statistically the game was very close. They missed free throws, too. They just hit a few more shots from the �ield.” Tarleton was led by a 13 point performance from Corin Henry, one of two players in double digits for the Texans, the other being Donta Smith, who had 10 points. The Texans shot 18 of 42 from the �ield, and just two of 14 from downtown. With this victory, the Texans managed to clinch a spot in the LSC tournament.

Lady Buffs shine on senior night

Four players score in double figures

EVAN GRICE Staff Writer

dversity is something that the WTAMU Lady Buff basketball team has been accustomed to overcoming in the past few years as well as this season. After losing freshman standout Ariel Robertson to an unfortunate knee injury against Tarleton on Feb. 16 in Stephenville, many fans were eager to see how the Lady Buffs were going to respond against Midwestern State on Feb. 19, at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. Senior Megan McLain was honored after the game as the lone senior on the squad. WT gained a double-digit lead and made sure not to let it get away this time as they never trailed and eventually came away with an impressive 75-59 victory over the Lady Mustangs. “I really feel like this win was impressive because of the way we won,” Head Coach Krista Gerlich said. “We were really emotionally spent after the Tarleton game and I thought they did a really great job of coming out there and staying focused.” The Lady Buffs got off to a fast start jumping out to a 6-0 lead at the 17:29 mark of the �irst half. Midwestern kept the game close and managed to claw their way back to 10-8 with 13:24 left before halftime. An 11-3 run helped spark the Lady Buffs to a 21-11 lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the �irst half.

MSU could get no closer than eight points the rest of the half as the WT offense kept scoring and the defense getting critical stops. WT went into the locker room for halftime leading 38-25. “It’s really good for us to come out and attack early on,” senior Megan McLain said. “We remembered the loss at Midwestern and we didn’t want to repeat that again. ” In the second half, it appeared as though the Lady Mustangs were going to mount a comeback as they got back to within 10 points at 40-30 with 17:42 left in regulation. However, this only seemed to spark the Lady Buffs into action. WT led by as many as 19 points in the second half and never looked back. MSU simply had no response to the Lady Buffs fast break offense and pressure defense. WT eventually came away with the victory at 75-59. Leading the scoring on the night for the Lady Buffs was junior Jamie Simmons with 14 points followed by fellow junior Ashley Leven with 12 points. WT’s overall record now stands at 15-10 with an 8-4 record in LSC play. MSU falls to 9-14 overall with a 5-6 record in LSC play. The Lady Buffs will now prepare for a matchup against Incarnate Word on Feb.23. Tip-off from the First United Bank Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. “Obviously we want to play in the conference tournament,” Gerlich said. “If we don’t take care of business against Incarnate Word then our backs are against the wall.”

Junior Aly Sherman looks for an opening to pass as the Mustangs head toward her.

FRANKIE SANCHEZ

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Lady Buffs go 4-0 in tournament Slattery hits first grand slam at Lady Buffs Yard EVAN GRICE Staff Writer

f there is one thing the No. 7 ranked WTAMU Lady Buff softball team is not short on this season, is con�idence. The Lady Buffs of�icially opened the new Lady Buffs yard on Feb. 18-19, when they hosted the �irst WTAMU Triangular of the season against Western New Mexico and Oklahoma Panhandle State. In the �irst game of the day the Lady Mustangs held the Lady Buffs at bay for most of the contest. WT broke the deadlock in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Alyssa Lemos hit a sacri�ice �ly to score the �irst run of the game at 1-0. History was made in the bottom of the �ifth when sophomore Meghan Slattery hit the �irst ever homerun with a grand slam off the left �ield foul pole, capping off a six run inning and giving the Lady Buffs a 7-0 lead. WNM got a consolation run but it wasn’t enough as the Lady

Buffs won 7-1. Junior Marci Womack picked up the victory (3-0) striking out six in getting the complete game victory. “We expect teams to bring their best effort when they play us,” Head Coach Kevin Blaskowski said. “Their pitcher did a good job of keeping us off the scoreboard but we made some adjustments and Megan Slattery blew the game open with her grand slam. Sophomores Meghan Slattery and Christie Russell each had four and two RBI’s respectively against the Lady Mustangs. Before the start of the second game, the opening festivities of�icially took place with WTAMU Student body president Tim Vela, throwing out the �irst pitch and sophomore in�ielder Brooke Webster singing the national anthem. WT got out to an early lead and had built a 5-1 lead after three innings of play. OPSU simply couldn’t keep the Lady Buffs bats quiet as the Lady Aggies fell in six innings by the score of 10-1 thanks to a walk-

off two run homer from senior Christie Russell. “This group is playing very con�ident softball right now,” Blaskowski said. “Our offense is our strength and Shelby only gave up three hits. What a way to end it with Christie Russell a walk off two run home run, with a full count and two outs. ” Junior Shelby Cockrell picked up the victory for the Lady Buffs (2-1) giving up one run on three hits while striking out seven and pitching six innings. Sophomore Christie Russell led the offense for the Lady Buffs with two RBI. On day two, the Lady Buffs took an 8-0 lead after the �irst inning against WNM. By the end of the second inning it was 10-0. Although the Lady Mustangs managed to plate three runs in the top of the third, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lady Buffs. For the second day in a row, it was sophomore Meghan Slattery with a grand slam. This time it came in the bottom of the sixth inning and ended the contest

Staff Writer

FRANKIE SANCHEZ

followed by freshman catcher Mallory Wyatt with two RBI. Junior Shelby Cockrell got her second win of the weekend (3-1) giving up two runs on four hits while striking out nine in the complete game victory. WT’s overall record now stands at 7-1 on the season. The Lady Buffs will now travel to Las Vegas, NM for a double header against New Mexico Highlands on Feb. 22. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Buffs slow down Mustangs EVAN GRICE

Junior Lionel Foster gets a foul from Midwestern States’ Charlie Logan.

Freshman Mallory Wyatt stands at the plate for the Lady Buffs.

with WT winning 15-5. Senior in�ielder Kaitlyn Witte and sophomore in�ielder Brooke Webster each had two RBI in the contest against WNM. Junior Marci Womack picked up the victory (4-0) giving up �ive runs on six hits while striking out two batters in four innings of work. WT completed the weekend sweep with a 10-2 run rule victory over the Lady Aggies in the �inal game of the series. Junior out�ielder Kim LeComte led the offense for the Lady Buffs with three RBI

ith just two games remaining, WT is playing for its post-season lives and were looking to make life easier as they took on a high-powered Midwestern State team on Feb. 19, at the First United Bank Center for senior night. Midwestern came out with the lead early on at 7-2 with 17:09 left in the �irst half. WT fought back and tied proceedings at 7-7 with less than 14 minutes left before halftime. Midwestern took the lead right back and held it for nearly the rest of the half. Thanks to a strong comeback by

WT, they were able to reclaim the lead just before halftime and go into the locker room leading 27-26. A strong offensive effort combined with stingy defense left the Mustangs falling behind. One of the big exclamation points of the half came at the 5:44 mark when senior Jacquiese Holcomb had a thunderous dunk that brought everyone to their feet. At that point the Buffs were leading 60-52. “My mom, before the game, asked me to dunk it,” Holcomb said. “She said I hadn’t dunked for her all year and she was proud that I took the opportunity to dunk it.” MSU couldn’t �ind the same rhythm in the second half. The Buffs came away with a crucial 68-56 victory. Leading the scoring on the night

for the Buffs was senior LaDarius Hall with a game-high 22 points followed by fellow senior Jacquiese Holcomb with 13 points. Sophomore Mason White scored nine points on the night. “We prepared really well for this game,” Hall said. “We’ve got another game to prepare for and we’re not going to quit.” WT’s overall record now stands at 20-5 with a 7-5 record in LSC play. MSU falls to 19-6 overall and 7-4 in LSC play. The Buffs prepare for a showdown with Incarnate Word on Feb. 23. Tip-off from the First United Bank Center is scheduled for 8 p.m.

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Entertainment

Gaga,Glee make billboard history New music ians sma sh records of ar tists pa st DAVID MERAZ Staff Writer

t has been a big week for two different music entities. Lady Gaga and the cast of Glee both share this week’s spotlight on the Billboard Charts. Lady Gaga’s new single, Born This Way, released Feb. 11 has made its way to the Billboards number one spot making it of�icially the one-thousandth song to reach the Billboards charts in history. The Billboards bases and ranks its hits on the songs selling’s, the amount of airwave playtime and streaming activity data. Despite the criticism of

the song and comparing it to Madonna’s Express Yourself, it is number one on iTunes and is being played over airwaves continuously across the world. “A lot of people say that it sounds a lot like Madonna’s song, Express Yourself, but I think being inspired by different artists helps Lady Gaga develop her music and the different sounds, and I love Gaga so I love it,” Adriana Contreras, senior international business major said. The song, Born This Way, talks about being born the way God intended. Gaga mentions different groups that might feel pressure from society and she tells them in her song, “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life.

I’m on the right track baby I was born to survive. No matter black, white or beige chola orient made, I’m on the right track, baby I was born to be brave.” Some fans think that Gaga’s succes is impacted by the timeline she uses to release new music. “I think she is genius because she’ll hold her new songs until just the right moment until they should be released,” Sheryl Proctor, sophomore broadcasting major, said. “People are so ready for her songs to come out, it’s not surprising she has another number one song.” In addition to Lady Gaga making her mark on the music industry, FOX’s own Glee has made history beating Elvis

Presley’s number one spot as artist with the most songs on the charts Hot 100. This week, the cast of Glee surpasses everyone on that list with the most songs on the Billboards in history with 113 songs. Some music listeners feel T.V. shows should not earn a place in the Billboards. “I think that the musicians and performers should be on the Billboards and the T.V. shows like Glee should be somewhere else,” Jessica Wyers, senior broadcasting major, said. “They don’t do any original music and they are beating artists who paved the road and now Glee is beating them.” Other groups and artists the

cast of Glee has beaten on the Billboard charts include Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, James Brown and Ray Charles. “It would be really cool if they made their own songs instead of using other people’s songs,” Chris Brigham, junior music performance major, said. “The fact that they put their personal spin into the songs makes up for it, taking oldies and making them for our generation.” So far the show has not had any original songs performed by the cast, however a little hint that all that might change was noted in the last episode.

Guitar Hero cancelled Radiohead release is Activision ends franchise unexpected surprise JES ROSKENS Staff Writer

he famous video game that inspired several competitors in the music genre has been cancelled until further notice by its publisher, ActivisionBlizzard. In addition, the company announced the lay-off of 500 employees. Guitar Hero is a rhythm game that came out in 2005 by game developers Red Octane and Harmonix Music. The game series allowed players to play guitar and bass to famous songs. It went on to inspire other developers to create rhythm games such as Rock Band and DJ Hero. “Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar

Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011,” Activision said in a press release. This action has left many wondering how such a prominent and well-known franchise burned out so quickly; going from Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, which earned more than a billion dollars in pro�its, to Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, which still has not made more than $60 million since its release last October. Some, like former Red Octane CEO Kelly Summer, said that Activision is to blame for the discontinuation because it overused the franchise and then abandoned it just because it no longer brought in billions of dollars. “[Activision] tried to get too much out of the

franchise too quickly. They abused it,” Summer said to G4 TV. “I’d be surprised if they sold the brand as it’d prove to the world there is still a market for this product and show them up.” As far as fans are concerned though, this could be a good thing for the franchise since Activision has not announced plans to sell off the rights to Guitar Hero, indicating that rather than a permanent death, Guitar Hero could instead just be getting a breather. “Chapter closed? Sure, okay. Book burned? I doubt it.” Activision’s Dan Amrich said in a blog post This has left fans hoping that the time Guitar Hero is off the radar will allow the game’s developers to come up with something fresh to bring the ailing

DANNY GROSS

KWTS Music Director

n a fashion that seems predictably unpredictable, Radiohead released their new album without the traditional fanfare that usually goes along with a band of their stature and ranking within the music community. It was released FRANKIE SANCHEZ Guitar Hero has been discontinued a day early to boot. There were no because of a decline in the genre advertisements, no radio spots, no of music games. MTV appearances and no magazine franchise back to life. “I hope with a little covers, just a simple posting on their Internet. Radiohead has emtime they might come braced and tapped into the Internet up with some new culture yet again. Their last release, features,” WTAMU In Rainbows, was released on the student JR Alvarado said. Internet �irst and fans were able to Others, like WT pay whatever they wanted for it. student Jacob Kemp, I’ve listened to The King of have expressed Limbs several times and I’ve been indifference for whether searching for a recurring theme Guitar Hero comes back or unspoken message that ties or not. everything together. At times I can “Guitar Hero has almost grasp lead singer, Thom a more original feel Yorke’s message and then another than other games like song emerges and I feel lost all over Rock Band,” Kemp said. again. Listening to Bloom I �ind my“Really though, it didn’t self slowly bobbing my head to the have much further to rhythm and then out of no where, a go.” digital snap from the synthesizer or

a pop from the snare comes in and the rhythm is gone and a momentary disorientation sets in as my tapping foot tries to adjust. If anything, that feeling is the theme that I feel is ingrained into this album. The King of Limbs is not In Rainbows, nor is it anything the band has done before. If anything, I feel this is an extension of Yorke’s solo work, The Eraser. Bass and guitar take a back seat on the majority songs while swelling sine waves, piano, and a reservoir of synth �ill in the gaps. I can’t tell you how I interpret these songs to be, simply because I do not know. Radiohead has created another album that deserves your attention and your dissection. Take this music and form your opinion. I know this album will be playing through my headphones for months to come and then, maybe, I’ll be able to put more of a label on this album. To be completely honest, I don’t want to label this album as one thing or another at this point. I want to continue to enjoy it in the state I do now, in all its disorienting, melodic glory.

the Prairie

Entertainment Can you finish first? Bring your correct answers to the puzzles to the Fine Arts Complex Room 103 and win a $10 iTunes card.

the Prairie

F o r e n s i c s S p e e c h Greater Book Series Team qualifies for Nationals Literary discussion for all KATELYN GARRITY Assistant Editor

en members of WTAMU’s Forensics (speech) team have quali�ied for Nationals. The team will travel to Norman, IL. to compete at Illinois State University during the third week of April. “So far the team has quali�ied 26 events in which they are able to compete,” Team Coach Connie McKee said. “We hope to have [quali�ied] 33 events by the end of the season.” Shay Ward, a member of the team who has quali�ied for Nationals, said that preparation is the key to having success in speech competition. “Preparation for our events is everlasting,” Ward said. “Generally it takes about a week to get our events up and memorized, but then we edit then, rewrite and �ine tune based upon ballets we get at tournaments.” The Forensics team has grown and boosts a few new members. “Three of the members are �irst year competitors in the college circuit,” McKee said. “One of them has never competed in speech before this year.”

Ward said participation on the team helps prepare people for the future. “As a communication event, this organization is creating the future public speakers who can create change in society,” Ward said. McKee said that they have some high goals for this season. “Our goal is to place �irst in sweepstakes,” McKee said. “This really is a possibility this year. We will be in the top three.” Ward said one of the keys to the success of the team is the cohesiveness of the group. “We are a family,” Ward said. “While competing in forensics its hard to maintain friendships elsewhere due to the time involved in the activity. We are each others backbone in our trek to Nationals as well as an entertaining social life.” McKee agrees that the team is in fact a team and not a group of individuals who refuse to work together. “They have worked very hard and they have worked as a team,” McKee said. “They help and encourage each other.” The team still has over a months worth of competition to qualify for more events.

KATI WATSON Staff Writer

he Greater Book Series was started by WTAMU English professor Bonnie Ross and it is open to all members of the community. “With the Greater Book Series we are trying to bring what we do with out classes to the community,” Dr. Jeff Doty, WT English Professor, said. The Greater Book Series meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Hastings off Georgia. WT English and Philosophy professors prepare lectures on speci�ic historical text or �igure. On Feb. 16, the topic of discussion was Romeo and Juliet and Dr. Doty presented the lecture. Dr. Doty started his lecture by presenting the group with a discussion on the history of Romeo and Juliet as well as some history of the time period. Then he seemly moved into the text of Romeo and Juliet. Dr. Doty’s lecture slowly turned in to a relaxed educational discussion about the text and Shakespeare’s thought

processes while writing his plays. The Greater Book Series meetings include people of all different age groups, all hoping to get some thing different out of the lecture. WT English major Joshua Adams was one student in attendance. “The lectures will be something I’ll add to my knowledge tool box, having interaction with people who care about the material is great,” Adams said. “I attend the lectures to hear a bunch of different perspectives.” Not only do students attend the lectures, 85-year-old retiree Hugh LeClair also joins the discussions. “Even at 85 I still enjoy learning,” he said. The Greater Book Series offers people of the community and students an opportunity to come together and explore literature in an environment that is relaxed. The next Greater Book Series Lecture will be March 17 and will focus on the Shakespearian play Julius Caesar.

New study may show increased stroke risk MELISSA BAUER-HERZOG Staff Writer

study published by the American Heart Association on Feb. 9 reveled that strokes fell by over 25 percent in people 45 and older but rose by at least 30 percent in people aged 5 to 34 from 1994 to 2007. While researchers admitted the results could have been skewed by better detection of strokes during the latter part of the study, a rise in obesity, diabetes and other health problems could explain some of the increase. “As the article says, do we note higher stroke rates because of better monitoring and surveillance, better reporting or is it a true phenomenon that we are seeing more strokes in younger people?” Dr. Melvin Yamase of Providence Health & Services said.

Dr. Yamase noted that the change in lifestyle of the younger generations over the last decades could be a contributing factor to the possible spike in strokes. “It does make a lot of sense that strokes are increasing in the younger population because risk factors are increasing as well: high blood pressure, sedentary, diabetes, smoking, higher sodium diets and other health risks that have been on the rise,” Dr. Yamase said. While doctors and other professionals look closer into the causes of these troubling results, the information will not drastically change the way some young people live their lives. “Worrying about strokes isn’t on my mind right now, but I’ll continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy and working out.” Equine Business major, Lindsay Raften said when asked if she would change anything after learning the results of the

study. Morgen Ayers. environmental science major, decided to tackle most of the factors that cause strokes by focusing on one thing that she feels can help lower her risks. “Knowing that strokes in our age are increasing, exercising is something I’m going to focus on even more because of the fact that obesity and diabetes increase your chances of having a stroke.” Ayers said. While this study is troubling for doctors and other medical professionals, researchers admit that the reasons for the increase needs to be looked into before too much is changed in response to the results. Dr. Yamase recommended that those worried about early aged strokes educate themselves about health risks, while also being active and monitoring their blood pressure to make sure it

stays below 130/80. Researchers will continue looking into these recent results to �ind out if the increase is truly only a result of better detection methods or if the deteriorating health of the younger population is impacting the amount of strokes within that age group.

National Stroke Association’s FAST action for stroke victims:

F A S T

Is face drooping?

Cannot raise arm?

Is speech slurred?

Time: Call 911