Why does it seem like MSU stu-dents have no school spirit and support for any sport that is not football?

Yes, I love our foot-ball team.

They play hard every time, but why doesn’t our 20-3 volleyball team get anyone to come out and cheer them

on or even our 12-2 men’s soccer team and 8-3-2 women’s soccer team?

In the case of soccer, I know there’s some NCAA rule that states our cheerleaders can’t cheer at the games as they would at a football game (in uniform). And I will give them their praise for actually show-ing up at soccer games, but I’m not in love with the way they show sup-port. They sporadically shout some little cheer, which the rest of the crowd can actually drown out by just talking while they’re cheering.

All I ask is that our cheerlead-

ers give us some more! Cheer like you’re happy to be there.

On the last Thursday in Septem-ber, we faced Cameron University in the Red River Rivalry volleyball game. Cameron came with quite a few supporters, their mascot and cheerleaders. And even though we beat them three straight games, they were louder than us, and their sup-porters only made up for one-third of the crowd. Their mascot kept dancing, their cheerleaders kept cheering, and their fans kept sup-porting.

I don’t know if people don’t

come out to support these sports because they don’t understand them or because of a lack of interest, but what I must say is that it is quite de-pressing to see how little support we show soccer, especially women’s soccer and volleyball.

This is a desperate plea from me, a fellow MSU student, to all of you.

Please come out and support our athletes. They deserve it.

This is our university. If we don’t have school spirit,

who will?

VIEWPOINTS Oct. 17, 2007

THE WICHITAN Finalist2004 Associated Collegiate Press

Pacemaker AwardSweepstakes Winner 2006 Texas Intercollegiate

Press Association

THE WICHITAN Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Krystle Carey Managing Editor Brittany Norman Entertainment Editor Konnie Sewell Op-Ed Editor Christian McPhate Sports Editor Josh Mujica Photo Editor Patrick Johnston

ReportersRichard CarterRachel TompkinsCourtney Foreman

PhotographersJoel AbeytaLauren Williams

Graphic ArtistRobert Redmon

Advertising ManagerRebecca Ferguson

Copy EditorHaley Cunningham

AdviserRandy Pruitt

Staff Editorial

Copyright © 2007. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Asso-ciation. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. First copy of the paper is free of charge; additional copies are $1. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before in-tended publication. Letters should be brief and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address for verification purposes. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 • Wichita Falls, Texas 76308News Desk (940) 397-4704 • Advertising Desk (940) 397-4705

Fax (940) 397-4025 • E-mail WICHITAN@mwsu.eduWeb site: http://www.mwsu.edu/~wichitan

The average American discards seven and a half

pounds of garbage every day.

Imagine how much waste is collected on any given

day. Multiply it by 300 million then by 365. Yeah, it’s a

staggering number but that’s not all.

Forests, rivers and other wildlife are damaged

every day due to the increasing amounts of garbage that’s

carelessly tossed.

MSU does its part to add to the wasteful glut. An

aluminum can here, a plastic bottle there. Forage through

garbage and you’ll find Styrofoam food containers galore.

Faculty do their part, too, by filling their office trash

containers with papers of all stripes. So much for computers

leading to a paperless society.

We can all plea guilty, but what are we doing about

it?

On campus, not enough.

Take a tour through the buildings and you’ll spot

very few recycling bins.

Sure, several are scattered about the Clark Student

Center but that’s about the extent of it. Even here, students

fall short. Peer inside them and you’re likely to discover

students are using them for trash instead of for their proper

use.

A big paper recycling bin has been set up outside

Moffett Library. However, with a wooden fence surrounding

it, most students are probably unaware of its existence.

As a nation, we continue to churn out more and more

garbage. When one landfill is full we create another. It’s easy

to shrug off the problem with the idea that someone will one

day solve it. If it’s going to be solved its going to take all of

us. For starters, MSU should do more and set an example.

The school spends money for new buildings and facilities.

Why can’t a little be set aside to start up a serious campus

recycling program?

More individual bins for aluminum, plastic and

paper need to be placed throughout the campus. Student

organizations could start a student awareness campaign to

get things going. Individually, each student needs to know

that he or she can make a difference.

Did you know that recycling four Sunday newspapers

each month is the equivalent of saving four trees per year?

Recycling five cans each week is the equivalent of saving

enough energy for 15 hours of TV viewing.

Yeah, it all adds up.

Unless things change America will some day be one

big wasteland. It could happen. We’re well on our way.

Recycle Please

Light of realization for victims of cancer Spiders ,

choking, the water grates and drainage d i t c h e s that line s t r e e t s and side-walks. T h e s e are the

things that I’m afraid of. But when someone asks me what my greatest fear is, my answer is al-ways cancer. Because out of everything in this world nothing scares me more than cancer. I’m afraid of losing someone I love to cancer. That’s a horrible, slow and painful way to die. As I learned this past year, there is nothing more difficult than hav-ing to watch someone go through surgery to remove a tumor only to discover that the cancer spread too much for the surgery to even help. Then having to watch that person grow weaker and weaker because of the different types of chemo-thera-py that were used. All you can do is watch, pray and hope that they will somehow get better. But what scares me even more than seeing one of my loved ones go through that?

The thought that I will probably one day have to go through that. But the fear is different. I’m not afraid of the actual cancer. I’m afraid of what the cancer might do to me. I’m a very independent person and cancer forces you to lean on other people for almost everything. Cancer is very humbling…some-times too humbling. From what I have witnessed, when a person has cancer it be-comes all about that person. They become the center of attention. Other people are either trying to help heal them, help them get around and do daily routine activi-ties, or they are doing things to help the people who are helping them. I enjoy being the center of atten-tion, but I do not want that to be a way of getting people to pay atten-tion to me. Then there are the effects of the chemo. This is where I really start to get scared. Chemo is supposed to help you get better, and a majority of the time it does work. But what about how tired it makes a person feel, or how weak it makes you? Your appetite changes and so does your behavior. You no longer feel like doing the things you used to do because you just don’t have the energy.

And who wants to go and do ev-eryday activities when they have this box constantly around their neck that is pumping chemicals into your body? Not something I would opt for. Then after the chemo gets under-way, your hair begins to fall out. For guys this isn’t always such a big thing except for the symbolism factor that goes along with it. But for most girls, their hair is part of who they are. It helps to make us feel good about ourselves. I know I wouldn’t feel like me if I didn’t have my hair. And then on top of already feel-ing self-conscious, people look at you with…THAT look. What’s THAT look? It’s the one that I have used so many times and I have seen other people use it so many times. It’s the “I want to know why they don’t have any hair but it’s rude to ask” like how long has she had cancer, is it really cancer or did she just shave her head, what kind of cancer does she have and how bad is it and is she going to die are the questions that people think when they have that look. It’s the look that comes along with the pity. The people who are nicer to you because you might be dying soon or because they think you are more fragile.

It’s the look that follows a cancer patient. For four months whenever I looked at my grandfather I had that look on my face and in my eyes. Whenever he moved I wanted to cry because it was slower move-ments. For the first time, I saw him move like someone his age might move. He stopped playing the piano as much because he didn’t have the energy to. On days when he had doctors ap-pointments that is all he did because it would wear him out so much that he had to go back home and sleep. I had that pity look because when-ever I looked into his eyes I saw the same twinkle that I had always seen, except behind the twinkle was pain and fear. He is in remission now, but I still can’t help but to look at him with that look sometimes when I think about what a different person he has had to become because he had to change. I had this fear of can-cer long before my grandfather got sick. For a while after he was diag-nosed I thought the fear might be gone because he had survived something that crept up so quick.But I can’t help to be afraid of it still because it’s such a powerful thing. How is a person not supposed to fear something that can come in and change how you look, act, feel and behave?

CARLY BURRES

FOR THE WICHITAN

Save for football, school spirit lagging

NICHOL PHILLIPS

FOR THE WICHITAN

THE WICHITANOct. 17, 2007 3Op-Ed

Christian’s HorrorscopesToday’s birthday (10-17-07): Domestic tranquility is going to be hard to obtain this year, for you are an asshole and your significant other does not like you. You should think about that divorce or separation your buddies have been nagging you about. You might not find peace from the creditors, but you will have silenced at least one of the annoying voices vibrating through your head.

Aries (March 21-April 19): You are being watched. It is futile to resist. The eyes of Uncle Sam continue to haunt your mind. Try being on your best behavior. You might come out ahead with some cool secret stories to pass down to your grandchildren (or your head on a platter once the long arm of Uncle Sam catches up with you).

Taurus (April 20-May 20): A light in the tunnel of your darkness has appeared before you. And you realize that the train of incompetence has finally passed you by. You are now free to make fun of the other incompetent morons running through our society.

Gemini (May 21-June 21): It is time to visit the personnel office, and you are in for a big surprise. Be sure to duck and cover when you walk into work this morning. Try avoiding the joint of incompetence this week. Cancer (June 22-July 22): Don’t be alarmed when you get into a fight with your other half this week. Just smile and remember that you want to be rid of them. Imagine them falling off a cliff or disappearing into a den of rabid wolves. It will not lessen the tone of their disgruntled voice, but it will put you in a better mood for a little while.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): It is time to start pushing out of the mound of crap piled on you these past couple of weeks. Try quitting your job and beginning a new one at a local fast food chain. It will not solve your financial problems, but it will help your body catch up to your attitude.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Relax, Halloween is around the corner... and you have a date with a zombie. Your world is looking darker.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You need to lock yourself in a dark room. Avoid all contact. If you do this, then you just might make it through the weekend.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Try to avoid Hell-Mart this weekend. It is best to purchase what you need at a local mom and pop gas station, or the clawed fingers of the capitalistic vampires will ring your neck and feed you to the machine of incompetence – have fun.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Heed Scorpio’s advice – avoid Hell-Mart at all cost.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your boss is needing your advice this weekend. Give him a couple of shots of Jack and then pay him back for all the raise screwings that you received this past year. It might not solve your financial problem, but it will make for a hell-of-a-good time. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You are screwed – hide.

Pices (Feb. 19-March 20): Satan wants a date with you this weekend. Prepare to throw your money around.

Homosexuals change in prayer T h e bong of i n c o m -p e t e n c e c o n t i n -ues on its path of mind-washing a r o u n d the differ-ent facets

of our society. From the oil-parched mouth of the president who took a deep hit when he vetoed health care for chil-dren to the religious leaders who took a hit and then puffed out the power of their god in smoke ring circles of ignorance, the bong of in-competence reaks through the walls of conformity. On September 14, Exodus Inter-national, a group of religious fanat-ics who believe that the power of God can change the very fabric of reality, reported that through the power of God they had found re-search “proving” religious leaders could reverse the effects of homo-sexuality. The group invented a bong for the incompetence ganga and took several hits before exhaling stupid-ity across the airwaves. During a gathering of the Ameri-can Association of Christian Coun-selors World Conference, research-ers Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse released their findings that indicated religiously meditated (prayer) sexual orientation change was possible… and it did not cause psychological harm—on average. And the bong hit continues to

bubble as the religious fanatics in-haled the smoke of ignorance and created their own truths for their flock of brainwashees to smoke up. The Christian researchers’ find-ings went against findings of the American Psychological Associa-tion and the American Psychiatric Association that stated: “Change in sexual orientation is impossible and attempting to pursue this alternative is likely to cause de-pression, anxiety or self-destructive behavior.” The president of Exodus Interna-tional and former homosexual Alan Chambers, also a chronic smoker, stated: “Finally, there is now scientific evidence to prove what we as for-mer homosexuals have known all along—that those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction can experience freedom from it. For years, opponents of choice have said otherwise and this body of research is critical in advancing the national dialogue on this issue.” Slater hit him in the head one too many times with the bong of incom-petence. What is wrong with the world today? I thought we were living in the 21st century. Why do people need to worry about things that just don’t really matter. Who cares if John and Steve or Jane and Jan want to be a couple? If there is a god in heaven or some other ghostly plain of exis-tence, do you think he really cares if two people of the same sex find happiness together? Somehow, I doubt that a god

with enough intelligence to create a universe so vast would care about something minute like same sex re-lations. The hate rhetoric spewed from the mouth of man not God. It is the hate of misunderstanding that guides the dangerous hand of our conservative society. And with the boiling pot of the Middle East exploding across the globe and the constant threat of ter-rorists, how can religious leaders find time to worry about something like a person’s god-given right to choose who he or she wants to be with? Shouldn’t you be praying to your god for a solution to this problem that you and your congregations are helping to prolong with your hypocritical rhetoric of ignorance blasting through the minds of the young. Even though they stare with hun-gry eyes at the bong of incompe-tence bubbling before their water-ing mouths. Isn’t it time to put the bong down and take a deep breath of fresh air? Stop your rhetoric of hate and become more like your god–a hip-pie–and start loving thy neighbor as thyself... or something like that. Jesus was a hippie, not a war-monger. He did not hang out in the houses of the rich, but in the alleys of the poor. He associated with the beggars, homosexuals and every other misfit living in those times. He did not try to change people. He witnessed through his own actions. Too bad the rest of Christianity has forgotten his words of love and peace.

CHRISTIAN MCPHATE

OP-ED EDITOR

Night full of panic and mysteryM y

M o n d a y night took a very interest-ing turn around 11 o’clock. I was in the li-brary, and yes, I was ac tua l ly

studying, when my phone rang.One of my somewhat good guy

friends was on the other end, pan-icking, and asking for me to come pick him up.

I’ve never had to go rescue a friend for almost being arrested.

As we drove around town for a little bit, he told me he just signed up to join the Marines that morn-ing and was going to find out his job and date of employment any day now. He told me he was finally happy with the choices he had made and they were only ruined by a mis-understanding.

I took him back to his apart-ment and we arrived only to find his roommate packing her belong-ings, obviously moving out. I had no idea what happened and I didn’t bother to find out.

They go outside to talk about things in a feeble attempt to come to an agreement, while I’m sitting there looking at a bottle of gin that is only one-fourth full.

My friend did smell like alcohol when he got into my car, but I could only hope he hadn’t had that much to drink.

I hear a car door slam and my friend comes back inside. He sits down next to me on the couch and I just give him a hug. I told him that it was late and I needed to go, but

before I did, I had to do something.I took the bottle of gin and the

two full shot glasses sitting beside it and walked to his sink. I told him the last thing he needed was the rest of the bottle.

A look of disbelief, followed by anger, passed across his face once he realized I meant to pour ever last drop down the sink and think noth-ing of it.

It’s not everyday I can say I have the guts to pour an alcoholic’s alco-hol down the kitchen sink.

He didn’t think I would, and hon-estly, neither did I.

A string of obscenities flew out of his mouth.

That night was the first time I’ve ever been kicked out of someone’s apartment for trying to do the right thing.

I pulled out of the parking lot only to turn right back around be-cause I knew he shouldn’t be alone. Something in me, for whatever rea-son, made me feel sorry and respon-sible for him at that moment.

We stood outside and talked for about 10 minutes. He told me he wanted to kill me for pouring out his alcohol, but out of his friends, none of them would have ever done what I did for him that night, that none of his friends would care enough.

He told me that when he got out of boot camp we could trade hood-ies, one MSU hoodie for one USMC hoodie.

I have never been that scared or upset for a friend than I was on Monday night. I probably left his apartment around one o’clock but didn’t get to sleep until almost three o’clock. Even then, I kept tossing and turning.

I went back over there Tuesday afternoon to check on him and make sure he was okay. He once again

told me that none of his friends would have cared for him that much and that not a single one of them would have had the nerve to throw away his alcohol.

He told me he was sorry for what he said the night before, and I think that was the first time I had ever heard him apologize to someone face-to-face.

I have a very eclectic group of friends and the events of the past two days only further proves that point. I like my friends and I know they’re all in my life for different reasons.

I learned a lot Monday night. I learned what I was capable of. I learned that I had the ability to see past all the fights and disagreements that had transpired over the course of our friendship.

I like to think I make a difference in my friends’ lives. I like to think they know just how much I care about them.

My close friends and I have been through some pretty rough patches with each other, but we always manage to make things right.

I know I may not always do the right thing, or say the right thing, but I know my friends can count on me to be there for them when they need me. Monday night proved that to me.

I walked away from that night with a different perspective on a lot of things and more respect for my-self.

I haven’t stood up to anyone in a long time, and I did that night. I stood up to someone I cared about.

I have no problem doing that with people who I don’t really know. It’s not a problem at all. But when I care about you, that is a completely different story.

REBECCA FERGUSON

AD MANAGER

Education Career Fair Thursday, November 1

Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event is open to all students and alumni who are

interested in pursuing a career in education. To view a list of those school districts registered to attend, visit www.mwsu.edu/career and click on “Education Career Fair.”

For more information, call ext. 4407.

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New Releases MUSIC: “Here I Am,” Eve; “Chase This Light,” Jimmy Eat World; “A Clas-sic Christmas,” Toby Keith; “The Art of Love and War,” Angie Stone; “Free Life,” Dan Wilson; “It’s A Wonder-ful Christmas,” Michael W. Smith; “Chrome Dreams II,” Neil Young; “Oblivion With Bells,” Underword. (Yeah ... it’s a lame week for music, y’all.) DVD: “Transformers,” “A Mighty Heart,” “The Reap-ing,” “The Hoax,” “My Best Friend,” “Crazy Love,” “The Invisible,” “Lights in the Dusk.” (Not spectacular for mov-ies, either ... ) BOOKS: “The Intellec-tual Devotional: American History,” David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim; “Become a Better You,” Joel Osteen; “Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography,” Da-vid Michaelis; “The Almost Moon,” Alice Sebold; “War and Peace (New Transla-tion),” Leo Tolstoy; “Harry Potter Box Set,” J.K. Rowl-ing; “The Conscience of a Liberal,” Paul Krugman; “Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life,” Don-ald Trump and Bill Zanker; “Musicophilia: Takes of Music and the Brain,” Oli-ver Sacks; “What’s So Great About Christianity,” Dinesh D’Souza; “The Abstinence Teacher,” Tom Perrotta; “The Politically Correct Guide to the Bible,” Robert J. Hutchinson; “Bloodfever,” Karen Marie Moning; “The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” Alex Ross; “Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy,” Mat-thew Reinhart; “Dark Mis-sion: The Secret History of NASA,” Richard C. Hoa-gland and Mike Bara. ( ... Better. Books, the sav-iors of civilization!) VIDEO GAMES: “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground,” PS3, X360, PS2, Wii, DS; “Heroes of Might and Mag-ic V: Tribes of the East,” PC; “Fury,” PC; “Beautiful Katamari,” X360; “Victori-ous Boxers: Revolution,” Wii; “Dawn of Magic,” PC; “Crash of the Titans,” PSP; “The Elder Scrolls IV: Obliv-ion - Game of the Year Edi-tion,” PS3; “Spider-Man 3,” PSP; “Mercury Meltdown Revolution,” Wii; “SWAT: Target Liberty,” PSP; “Guilty Gear XX Accent Core,” Wii; “Speedball 2: Brutal De-luxe,” X360; “Every Extend Extra Extreme,” X360.

Booksfor the Troops

Books-a-Million has a pro-gram allowing visitors to its Web site (www.booksamil-lion.com) to select and buy books for members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving overseas.

Shoppers select books from a list. Once a week BAM addresses and sends the books to the soldiers. Unit commanders distribute the books to the individu-als in their units. Buyers pay no shipping charges on the books they buy.

A wide variety of popu-lar, in-stock books at avail-able for purchase, including fi ction, biography, business, history, political science, re-ligion and self-help.

Golden JubileeThe Dallas Opera is cel-

ebrating its 50th anniversary with the 2007-2008 season.

This season’s theme is “Death by Diva.” Produc-tions begin in November with Verdi’s “Macbeth,” Lehar’s “The Merry Widow,” Strauss’ “Salome,” Gershwin’s “Por-gy and Bess” and Puccini’s “Tosca.”

For more information, go to www.dallasopera.org.

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I personally am not a huge fan of Christian music. I’ve heard a few songs here and there, but it is not my fi rst choice when it comes to music. So when assigned the task of seeing local Christian artist Jay Burnam, I wasn’t too thrilled, but was willing to try something new. He performed Thursday at the Mustangs for Christ building. I had never even been in that build-ing before, so I expected lots of weird looks and question-able faces. Instead I got a warm welcome and conversed pleasantly with the people there until Burnam performed. Burnam’s voice is very mellow and soothing. He plays mainly acoustic guitar, but occasionally will be accom-panied by other musicians. It wasn’t bubbly or catchy, it fl owed well and was peaceful. He is a Christian singer so

naturally there were songs about God, but he also sings about girls. Lots and lots of girls. Which was nice, considering everyone who listens might not have been crazy about Christian music. Burnam was very friendly in that between every song he managed to make me laugh with his com-mentary. There was only a small crowd of us there, but all the same Jay didn’t care and just played as

if he was just playing for you individually. He connected with the audience and for me personally, it was a good experience. Luckily there will be a few more chances of seeing him perform. Oct. 19 he will perform at First Baptist Coffee House at 10 p.m. and also Oct. 26 at South Weeks Park at 8 p.m.

Christian singer connects with manyLAUREN WOOD

STAFF REPORTER

Being at the Dashboard Confes-sional concert last Wednesday was one of the most intimate concert ex-periences of my life. Lead singer Chris Carrabba acted more like a friend than a big music star. Letting the fans sing most of the songs and thanking the crowd for inviting him to play made him seen very humble. For the entire two-and-a-half-hour set, Chris played acousti-cally and truly connected with the crowd. Playing classic Dash-board songs such as “Vindicated,” “Hands Down” and “Remember To Breathe,” Chris truly gave Dash-board Confessional fans an experi-ence to take home with them. I have been to many other con-certs and never have I felt like the band on stage took as much notice

to their fans as Dashboard did. As Chris told funny stories and thanked the crowd for “being the most loyal fan base he has ever seen,” I truly think Dashboard Con-fessional connected with their fans more than other bands do today. The opening acts were the John Ralston Band and Augustana. Nick Eberhardt, guitarist of the John Ralston Band, said: “If you can win people over in a city like Dallas, you can win over anybody” when asked what he loved about touring in the Dallas area. Overall, if you can catch Dash-board Confessional on tour this fall I would highly recommend it. Dash-board Confessional is currently on tour with the John Ralston Band and Augustana. Dashboard Confes-sional just released their latest al-bum “The Shade of Poison Trees,”and it’s in stores everywhere.

Frontman Carrabbabrings down house

COURTNEY FOREMAN

STAFF REPORTER

Dashboard Confessional, bottom, performed in Dallas Wednes-day, Oct. 10 with Augustana, top. Photos are the reporter’s own.

PSP ‘Tactics’ is perfectKONNIE SEWELL

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

If we have the opportunity, my brothers and I will sit around and play any of the original “Mario” games nearly all day long. When we do this, it’s all about the nostal-gia and gameplay. But other games don’t have it so easy. It seems to me that more than any other genre of video games, RPGs are the most dependent on graphics. There are many RPGs and SRPGs out there that have great gameplay and storylines, but these qualities don’t seem to make up for poor graphics with many gamers, and that’s a shame. So it is with the original “Final Fantasy Tactics” for the PlayStation. Completely overshadowed by “Final Fantasy VII” when it was originally released 10 years ago, this game has become a hallowed favorite among many fans. Now re-released on the PSP, older fans can experience the game a sec-ond time with oodles of goodies thrown in, and newcomers can expe-rience this masterpiece for the fi rst time. Plot-wise, it’s a deep and dark tale about politics, class war and reli-gious turmoil that was badly tangled and fl ayed by a terrible translation. At times, it was nigh impossible to comprehend. But the PSP brings with it a fabulous new translation. It’s quite often poetic, not to mention a whole lot easier to follow. The story follows the story of Ramza Beoulve. A naïve aristocrat in the beginning of the story, he is overshadowed by his two older brothers. Because Ramza is only their half-brother, the result of his father’s affair with a courtesan, he feels out of place. He is closest to his little sister Alma, who is his full sis-ter, and Delita Heiral, a commoner his father had taken under his wing. Starting out as friends, Delita be-gins to see he cannot walk the same path as Ramza. Though Ramza is a good person and friend, neither of them will be able to overcome the class differences between them. They meet a year later, both of them changed. They are both caught up in the War of the Lions. The war is a fi ght over the succession to the throne between the queen’s brother

and the late king’s cousin. As time goes along, many others become in-volved, including noble and peasant factions, a princess and the church. Eventually it’s revealed that the manipulators in this story are being manipulated, who are in turn also being manipulated. Delita emerges as a dynamic, Machiavellian character. He wants to change the world for the better, but unfortunately he believes in tak-ing the doctrine of “the ends justify the means” to the extreme. He is, un-questionably, one of the best villains in the series, better than everyone’s beloved Sephiroth (yes, that’s right, I went there. Kiss my ass, fanboys.) New cel-shaded cut-scenes are gorgeous to see and are voiced by a wonderful cast. The musical score is as great as it ever was, continually epic-sounding despite the small size of the PSP. There is also a new two-player mode if you are so inclined.

Gameplay itself is the same, a cross between playing a game of chess and being a DM. Two new job classes have been added, the Dark Knight and the Onion Knight. All the hidden characters are still avail-able, as well as two new additions to the cast, including Balthier from “Final Fantasy XII.” It’s especially a treat to see Balth-ier make an appearance, as it links the past Ivalice of “Final Fantasy XII” (which takes place hundreds of years before “The War of the Lions,” and where an all-important charac-ter is only just beginning to stir up trouble) with the future one of “Tac-tics.” The only thing that I can complain about is the load times, but once you get used to it, it’s bearable. In the end, “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions” is perfect, com-pletely justifying the purchase of a PSP if you don’t already own one.

Entertainment THE WICHITANOct. 17, 2007 5F O L I O L I N E M c C l a t c h y - T r i b u n eF O L I O L I N E

HALLOWEEN CANDYMCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

CANDY QUIZDid you know that Hershey’s

Kisses might have gotten their namefrom the motion and sound of themachine “kissing” out the choco-late? Or that Oct. 30 is NationalCandy Corn Day? Here’s a triviatest for candy lovers everywhere.

— Sally Dadisman, McClatchy-Tribune

1. What holiday has the highestcandy sales?A. HalloweenB. EasterC. ChristmasD. Valentine’s Day

2. What candy was named after themaker’s family horse?A. Three MusketeersB. Bazooka GumC. Reese’sD. Snickers

3. What U.S. regions consume themost candy?A. South and SouthwestB. Northeast and MidwestC. West and MidwestD. Mid-Atlantic and South

4. The candy bar “Baby Ruth” wasnamed after whom?A. Grover Cleveland’s daughter,Ruth, the first baby born in theWhite HouseB. Babe RuthC. The inventor’s wifeD. The inventor’s mistress

5. What country has the highest percapita candy consumption in theworld?A. CanadaB. United StatesC. DenmarkD. France

6. What were the first individuallywrapped penny candies?A. Charleston ChewsB. TaffyC. Tootsie RollsD. Caramels

7. How many miles of Twizzlers aremade in a year?A. 500B. 1 millionC. 2 millionD. 5 million

8. How long does it take to make abatch of M&Ms?A. 48 hoursB. Four to eight hours, dependingon if it’s milk chocolate or peanutC. Ten to 12 hours, depending on ifit’s milk chocolate or peanutD. Two hours

9. What is the most popular color ofgummi candy?A. GreenB. OrangeC. RedD. Purple

10. When first introduced, 3Musketeers were three separatecandy bars. What were their flavors?A. Chocolate, caramel and nougatB. Vanilla, strawberry and chocolateC. Strawberry, chocolate andcaramelD. Caramel, vanilla, chocolate

11. Who invented the candy bar?A. Milton HersheyB. Joseph FryC. Forrest MarsD. Count Chocula

12. How many Hershey’s Kissesdoes it take to make one pound ofchocolate?A. 417B. 220C. 95D. 225

13. Outside of the United StatesMilky Way bars have a differentname. What is it?A. Earth barsB. Venus barsC. Saturn barsD. Mars bars

14. What candy bar gained popular-ity after Bart Simpson became its“spokesperson”? A. SnickersB. Heath barC. 100 GrandD. Butterfinger

15. What state has the most cocoa-producing establishments in thenation?A. IowaB. CaliforniaC. PennsylvaniaD. New York

ANSWER S: 1 . A . , 2 . D. , 3 . B . , 4 . A . , 5 . C. , 6 . C. ,7 . B . , 8 . B . , 9 . C. , 10 . B . , 11 . B . , 12 . C. , 13 . D. ,14 . D. , 15 . B .

SUGAR OVERLOADSo your child is the star of the neighborhood,

having successfully filled his entire pillowcasewith chocolate treats. But you’d prefer he not eatit all on his own. Here are some suggestions onhow to share his haul.

� Donate it. Give it to the local hospital, foodbank, school or church. These places might beable to use it for parties or carnivals.

� Make a gingerbread house and decorate itwith leftover candy.

� Freeze some of it to use as ice cream top-pings.

� Bake candy into cupcakes or substitutecandy bar pieces for chocolate chips in yourcookie recipes.

� Put some of your child’s favorites awayand save them for occasional treats or as adessert.

� Make candy necklaces or hard-candymosaics.

� Take it to the office — it will likely getgobbled up by the end of the day.

— Sally Dadisman, McClatchy-Tribune

connection between Halloween and candy

Priorto 1920:At-home Hal-loween partiesserve roastingnuts and freshpopcorn.

1920s: Wealthy children

on the East Coast begin trick-or-

treating. Filling their bags: Hershey’s

Kisses, Sun-Maid raisins, Mounds,

Milky Way, homemade treats and

shiny pennies.

1939: First men-

tion in an Am

eri-

can mass-circula-

tion magazine

of the phrase

“trick-or-treat.”

1940s: Trick-or-treatingspreads to Texas, Flori-da and North Carolinawith M&Ms, Almond Joy and 3 Musketeersnot far behind.

1958: Peeps makes

its first orange marsh-

mallow jack-o’-lantern.1950s: All American childrenare on board; universally reject Sun-Maid raisins in

small boxes. Atomic Fireballsstart era of “extreme candy.”

1960: M&Msget colorized.

No black andorange yet.

1963: SweeTarts, the candy

pellets with the original sweet and tart

flavor combination, are introduced.

1967: There are

rumblings about

razors and sharp

objects in

Halloween

apples.1968: Thirteen

reported cases ofobjects in candyprompt the NewJersey legislatureto mandateprison terms forthose found guiltyof tampering.

1968: Marsintroduces the

“Fun Size”candy bar.

1972: Follow-up

study finds that

reports of razors

in apples

are hoaxes.

1978:

Hershey

Reese’s

Pieces candies

are introduced;

“E.T.” makes

them a star

four years later. 1979: Twix caramel cookie bars are introduced.

1980:

The first

appearance

of seasonally

colored M&Ms.

1981: Skittles!

1988: Hospitals

nationwide offer

free X-rays of

children’s

trick-or-tre

at loot.

1989: Universitystudy labels“strangers poisoningHalloween candy” an urban mythafter finding 78 reports of same; no deathsso attributed.

1981: Goelitz introduces the first American-made gummi bears and gummiworms. Formerly, these

candies had been imported from Europe.

1994: Candy shaped-

like worms and body

parts (all in sour

flavors) get

Halloween push.

2000: First proven incident of

child being injured by a stranger

putting needles in Halloween

candy. Appearance of Bertie Botts

Every Flavor Beans (including ear-

wax, dirt, booger, grass and soap),

just like Harry Potter eats.

2003:Pumpkin-shaped

Snickers,snack-size Snyder’s pretzelsadded.

2006: Fun-sizeQuaker gra-

nola bars,skull

andbones

SweeTarts and candy corn

taffy.

ILL

US

TR

AT

ION

S B

Y C

HR

IS W

AR

E/M

CC

LA

TC

HY

NE

WS

PA

PE

RS

TOP CHOICESAccording to the National Confectioners

Association, 84 percent of kids prefer candyor gum in their trick-or-treat bags. It’s proba-bly no surprise that kids would rather havechocolate than a bag of pretzels. Kids prefer � Chocolate, 50 percent � Non-chocolate candy, 24 percent� Gum, 10 percentKids least prefer� Toys, 2 percent� Baked goodssuch as cook-ies/granola bars, 2percent� Fruit, 1 percent� Salty snacks, 1percent

Parents also havefavorite Halloweencandy. As many as 90percent admit to

sneaking treats from their children’s bags,according to the NCA.

Parents prefer � Snack-size chocolate bars, 70 percent � Candy-coated chocolate pieces, 40 percent� Caramels, 37 percent � Gum, 26 percent

In fact, 35 percent of parents buy and giveout their favorite candies on Halloween.About 16 percent choose their kids’ favorites.

— Sally Dadisman, McClatchy-Tribune

SOURC ES: CANDYUSA.ORG, GLOBAL .MMS. COM, CANDY-CRATE.STORES.YAHOO.NET, FOOD. AOL .COM, M ILKYWAYBAR.COM, MASTGENERALSTORE.COM, H ERSHEYS.COM, CENSUS.GOV, KEEPKIDSHEALTHY.COM, TOOTSIE .COM

As many as 90 percent ofparents admit to eatingtheir kids’ Halloweentreats.

BY AMY WILSONMcClatchy Newspapers

lot of what looks like present-day Halloween had itsstart as many as six centuries ago.

An odd little assortment of autumn beliefs andpractices — like the one celebrating the night before AllSouls Day, the one celebrating fire or the end of the harvestor the one toasting the Day of the Dead or the Lord ofDeath — became party excuses for, among others, theEnglish, Romans, Druids, Irish, Norse, Greeks andChristians.

The whole harvest-season boo-fest hit the United Statesin the late 1800s, and it’s not going away.

Today’s kids likely have never eaten the next-door-lady’s warm popcorn balls or the granny on the corner’s

candied apples. They’ve probably heard stories, ofcourse, but even if by some chance a nice chunk of

homemade orange fudge got tossed into their goodiebags, no parents worth their weight in urbanmyths would let them eat it.

Which brings us around to pondering the his-tory of Halloween candy. This, more or less, is it.

Take a look at the sweet

TREAT TIMELINEKey events in candyland:

THE WICHITANOct. 17, 20076 News

Nu did not violate any of its bylaws since the party was not funded by chapter money and was not dis-cussed in any meetings.

Although 11 of 13 active fra-ternity members were present, in-cluding four pledges, the party was not a fraternity event according to IFC.

Lamb said that the fraternity is still on social suspension as far as the university and the national chapter are concerned.

MSU and the national chapter have a different definition of what

constitutes a chapter event. The university’s definition is more of a “reasonableness test” according to Lamb.

“If a reasonable person would consider it a fraternity event, then it probably is,” Lamb said.

Lamb said that he will not make a decision as far as university rules are concerned until the national chapter has completed its investi-gation.

“I will probably follow the lead of the national office,” Lamb said. “I don’t have to but I probably will.

If their national office determines by their risk reduction guidelines that they did not have a function of the fraternity, then I’ll probably follow with that as well.”

As far as Sigma Nu is concerned, Scott Oshman, social chair for the community, said that they have learned from this situation.

“We learned from what hap-pened to take every precaution necessary so there will never be another reason to go to the judicial board again,” Oshman said.

IFC_______________________________________________continued from page 1

turned 14. Her father moved from Jordan to the United States to pur-sue a higher education. Her mom, a Lubbock, Texas native, was born and raised a Christian. “My mom converted from Christianity to Islam when I was 8 years old. I decided I wanted to wear a hijab after seeing my mom choose to wear it,” she said. Javed said people see Muslim women wearing the hijab as a sign of suppression. She explains how it is more liberating instead. “Islam teaches girls to wear it once they reach puberty as a sign of self-respect that is meant to prove beauty comes from within,” she said. “It’s the parents’ responsibil-ity to get them to wear it. Then, it becomes the individual’s choice and responsibility to wear it after reach-ing adulthood.” Sachedina and Suleiman agree that wearing a hijab gives them a sense of pride and individualism. “Nuns are fully covered and peo-ple see holiness and purity so why do people think we are suppressed when we do?” Sachedina ques-tioned. Another misconception of the re-ligion implies that Islam constrains women only to the house and their children, making them inferior to men. Sachedina and Suleiman argue that different cultures might favor males over females but nowhere in the Quran does it suggest this. Men and women are meant to be equal in Islam. “Yeah, women are not allowed to

drive or are forced to cover them-selves up in certain countries but those are the rules of the extremists ruling that country and not our reli-gion,” Sachedina said. One MSU senior’s life can illus-trate the differences between men and women that stem purely from cultural customs. Roya Shariati sits on the MSU tennis court bleachers in her blue knee-length shorts and uncovered, blonde highlighted hair, watching a couple of her friends play. The 24-year-old native of Iran said she wished she knew how to play or even had the chance. The expression on her face, reflects the story of a stolen childhood. “There is no opportunity for women in Iran,” she said. “We can’t be our own person. We have to be women the government says we should be.” Life for Iranian women changed for the worse when the country un-derwent a political revolution 25 years ago. At the age of 7, Shariati was not only forced into wearing the hijab but she was also required for the rest of her body to be completely covered, only exposing her face. She described it as “the ridicu-lous dress code” that applies to all females in schools. Every part of their body, except their face, had to be fully covered in uniforms that were either black or navy blue. Even wearing white socks was forbidden - light or bright colors might attract attention and that was considered taboo by the Iranian government.

Participating in sports was dis-couraged. Playing fully-clothed in near hundred degree weather proved restrictive. “I love sports. Who knows, may-be I could be on an athletic scholar-ship if I had the opportunity to play when I was younger,” Shariati said. She has not worn a hijab since she moved to the United States four years ago. Her controlled ado-lescence she said, robbed her of a childhood. The hijab rekindles all the fury and frustrations that came with being a girl back in her home country. “It probably would be different if I was raised here. A lot of the other Muslim girls have the option and that’s why it liberates them when they wear it (hijab). I wish it were different, but that’s not the case with me,” she concluded.

Hijab_____________________________________________continued from page 1

• Bonfire – Thursday at 9:15 p.m. at South Campus.

• Fish Fry & Cardboard Boat Race – Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Sikes Lake Center. Tickets are $8 per person. Boat Race at 6 p.m.

• Retro Hip-Hop Dance Party – Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Don Flatt Gym, D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

• Tailgate & Football Game – Tailgate party and competition on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Football game to follow at 8 p.m.

married at 19 to an Arab. His ten-dency to control her soon led to a di-vorce. She has currently been mar-ried for 48 years and has a daughter and a son.

“Public radio is something that I never expected to become involved in,” Rehm said.

She said society has lost its abil-ity to to listen.

She placed the blame on politics, talk-show hosts, federal agencies and marriages.

“9-11 taught us that agencies in our own government don’t listen to each other,” she said. “Katrina taught us that individuals in govern-ment don’t listen to each other. The divorce rate is 50 percent, which is devastating. We can’t blame it all on incompatibility. We’re all in-compatible.”

The audience in Aikin Audito-rium laughed and applauded.

Rehm stressed that all politicians need to be able to listen to each oth-er and their constituents.

“If the politicians do not listen to their audience how they are going to know what the people want and how they are going to be able to ap-peal to audience and get them what they want?” she asked.

She suggested that talk show hosts be called listening-show hosts. Many, she said, do not do enough listening to their guests.

Rehm said people are al-ready preparing an argument before someone is finished with what they have to say.

“We need to be able to listen to that person and open ourselves up,” she said. Rehm referred to listening as a form of spiritual hospitality. To her listening helps strangers become friends and helps friends to become even better friends. Members of the audience pep-pered Rehm with questions follow-ing her talk.Regarding declaring English as the official language of the U.S., she said, “I would not like to see the country move to any official lan-guage.”On censorship – “Censorship is po-

litical. It’s done by people who don’t want to listen to what you say.”In response to an audience member’s complaint that the media are devot-ing too much to celebrity news at the expense of serious news, Rehm replied, “Don’t say it’s the media’s fault. It’s a two-way street.”Rehm noted that during her plane trip she noticed how many people were reading People magazine. “We should be reading maga-zines like Time and Newsweek,” she said. “I don’t think the public is totally engaged in what’s happening in the world. The public has decid-ed not to be bothered with Iraq and places like Israel and Syria. If we don’t like the emphasis on celebri-ties, we should say ‘enough,’ and say we’re not going to watch stupid programs that pander to the lowest common denominator. That’s the only way to get the message across to publishers and TV stations.” Rehm said Americans should be thinking about more important things. “We should be concerning our-selves with America’s standing in the world and be open to looking at ourselves.” She said her main concerns are world standing, health care and the economy. She pointed out that nightly net-

work news has shrunk to 18 min-utes. The best place to get network news is The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, she said, explaining that it not only has in-depth cover-age, but it also presents conflicting viewpoints. Rehm brought up the subject of her gravelly voice and how she suffers from a disorder called Spas-modic Dysphonia. A neurologi-cal disorder, it causes involuntary spasms of the vocal cords that inter-rupt speech and affect voice quality. She said she started suffering symp-toms from the disease in 1992. “In February of 1998 I wasn’t able to get a word out,” Rehm said. She said that she sat at home for four months not being able to talk. Her family thought that she might have been suffering from a rare form of throat cancer. “I couldn’t even say my own name,” she said. Her family eventually took her to Johns Hopkins University for further testing. She received treat-ment that allowed her to be able to remain on the air. Rehm has wrote two books, “To-ward Commitment: A Dialogue about Marriage” was published in 2004. Her other book is called “Finding My Voice.”

Rehm______continued from page 1

LAUREN WILLIAMS | THE WICHITAN

Diane Rehm speaks to MSU students Oct. 10 on the impor-tance of listening.

More Homecoming Events

Sports THE WICHITANOct. 17, 2007 7

The MSU cross country team traveled to Fayetteville on Saturday to compete in the University of Ar-kansas’ Chili Pepper Festival.

Even though the Lady Mustangs took on warm temperatures mixed with high winds they were still able to retain a positive learning experi-ence on how to run a 6K race.

Sophomore Hassie Sutton and Andrea Borgman posted the seventh and eighth fastest 6K re-sults in MSU history.

Sutton came in 203rd place

with a time of 24:48 and Borgman finished in 214th with a 25:02.

Junior Mindy Briones earned a 27:12 and freshman Chloe Lander sprinted to a 31:26.

The Lady Mustangs did well con-sidering they only had four runners competing against a field of 322 in the College Women’s Division.

“The weather affected the times as the whole field was off over a minute from last year’s times,” MSU Coach Koby Styles said.

The Lady Mustangs now travel to Texas-A&M Commerce next weekend to clock out in the Lone Star Conference championships.

Ricky Tims ... In Concert

The Kemp and

bring a native son home

for one night only!7:00 PM

Saturday, October 20Tickets: $20 / $15 with MSU ID

If you have an interest in the visual or performing arts,this will be a rare opportunity to meet a Wichita Falls native

who has made a satisfying life and successful careeras a composer, performer, and visual artist.

KEMP CENTER for the ARTS940.767.2787 13th and Lamarw w w . k e m p c e n t e r . o r g

YOUR community art center

RECREATIONAL SPORTS

WEEK OF 10/08FLAG FOOTBALL

MEN

SIGMA NU DEF. O D PHI, 17-14

GNABARIANS DEF. BALL WIZARDS, 26-20

ABN DEF. SHOCKERS, 41-28

SIGMA NU DEF. TKE, 23-0

BALL WIZADS DEF. DTF, 62-22

LONE WOLF DEF. SHOCKERS, 24-14

PHOTOS BY DEB DEF. D5W, 28-20

PHOTOS BY DEB DEF. BSM, 28-25

WOMEN

SIGMA KAPPA DEF. ALPHA PHI, 40-0

BADDEST CHICKS DEF. GAMMA PHI BETA, 30-0

CHI-OMEGA DEF. PONYTAILS, 8-0

Please

Recycle!

You see them at the games yell-ing their brains out.

Dressed in maroon and gold, with a loud roaring yell, they heckle the opposing team.

Chants of “Warm up the bus,” and “You need to find a new recruti-er” fill the coliseum.

The Midwestern Mustang Ma-niacs are a student organization that shows school spirit at sporting events.

The Maniacs were created in the fall of 2005 when students thought it would be a good idea to form a spirit group.

“We just wanted to make stu-dents feel involved in something on campus,” Maniac President Dustin Webb said.

Webb, a senior, has been a mem-ber since the beginning and has seen the group grow over the years.

The organization is appealing to students because no dues are charged and members are able to meet students from different back-grounds.

The Maniacs have grown from a handful of students to more than 70

active members.The group also elects officers and

holds meetings twice a month.The recent growth spurt in the

group can be attributed to more sup-port from the administration.

MSU officials make sure to leave the major decisions up to the mem-bers.

The Maniacs receive funds from the athletic department, which pay for expenses such as member t-shirts, transport to home games and transport to a few away games a year.

“The highlight of the year was the the football playoff games last fall when we had a good student turn-out,” Webb said. “It was great!”

Though the group has seen huge growth since its humble beginnings, Webb sees room for improvement.

“A majority of students and members are aware of major sports, such as football and basketball, but numbers are low for some of the other sports,” Webb said.

The Maniacs attend volleyball, rugby, soccer and softball games but would like to see an improve-ment in numbers.

The group has had a hard time of keeping track of members and

keeping them active.“A big problem we had last year

was, after passing out shirts for members, some people just stopped showing up,” Webb said.

The Maniacs have decided to combat this problem by keep-ing a log of attendance at sporting events.

The organization has many goals for this year and the future.

“Increasing attendance is our number one goal,” Webb said.

To up attendance, the Maniacs plan to keep dues at zero and to recruit heavily in the fall when in-coming freshmen arrive.

The group also plans on offering more shuttles to away games that most students wouldn’t be able to attend.

Last year, the Maniacs made a trip to College Station to attend a Texas A&M vs. Midwestern State basketball game.

The organization is always look-ing for new members, and it all starts by students attending sporting events.

“The original group of guys saw how Division I schools games are,” Webb said. “Midwestern can be like that.”

JERMEY ELLIOTT

FOR THE WICHITAN

Maniac attack hits Midwestern

JOSH MUJICA

SPORTS EDITOR

MSU spices it up in Arkansas

The Midwestern Mustang Maniacs get into the game from the stands as MSU battles West Texas on the field at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 6. The Maniacs are an organization dedicated to school spirit at every sporting event.

PATRICK JOHNSTON | THE WICHITAN

PATRICK JOHNSTON| THE WICHITAN

Both the MSU men’s and wom-en’s soccer teams had rough week-ends as both fell to their respected opponents.

The previously second-ranked men’s team moved to No. 8 in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings poll after having their nine-match winning streak broken by Incarnate Word on Saturday, 1-0, in San An-tonio.

Incarnate Word’s Dustin Lemly scored off a corner kick opportunity to give the Cardinals the win and keep his team in the playoff hunt with a 7-4-1 record.

The Mustangs’ only two losses of the season come at the hands of Incarnate Word who beat MSU 1-0 also on Sept. 7 at the MSU Soc-

cer Field.Midwestern (12-2) is still

No. 1 in Midwest Region Rankings but is tied with Metropolitan State.

The women’s team lost a close match on Sunday as they hosted Texas Women’s.

TWU’s Christine Hornisher post-ed a goal in the 76th minute to give the Lady Pioneers the 1-0 win over No. 24 MSU.

The Lady Mustangs outshot TWU, 19-11, but were unable to take advantage of some great chances.

The loss drops MSU to 8-3-2 overall and 4-2 in Lone Star Conference play.

The men will be in action again on Sunday to take on St. Mary’s in a contest set for 1 p.m.

The Lady Mustangs look to bounce back against East Central on Friday in a 4 p.m. match at MSU.

JOSH MUJICA

SPORTS EDITOR

The MSU Mustang’s volleyball team continued their red-hot streak this week, winning matches on both Saturday afternoon and Tuesday night.

Improving their overall record to 21-3 on the season, the Mustangs are currently on a winning streak of seven-straight matches.

The Mustangs kept their streak rolling in their Saturday match against Southeastern Oklahoma State, winning the match in four games.

After strolling through their first two games, 30-26 and 30-25, the team faltered during the third set eventually dropping a close game to

the Savage Storm, 29-31.Led by the 16 kills of senior mid-

dle blocker, Krissa Johnson, and the great play of junior setter, Allison Schreiber, who contributed 58 as-sists, the Mustangs brought it back together, smothering SOSU, 30-16, in the final game.

Midwestern State, then, headed home for a non-conference match against the Dallas Baptist Univer-sity Patriots on Tuesday.

Previously during the week, the Mustangs’ sophomore middle blocker, Sesley Graves, was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week, specifically for her play against SOSU.

The Mustangs won against Dal-las Baptist University in straight games, partly because of the stellar play of two of their middle blockers:

the before-mentioned, Graves and another sophomore, Alysha Pritt.

Midwestern found few road-blocks in their match against DBU, as they dominated this match: 30-19, 30-26 and 30-18.

The volleyball team has felt very comfortable playing at D.L Ligon as of late, rarely dropping any games in any of their matches.

In fact, MSU has won their last 10 matches at home, dating all the way back to October 14, 2006.

The Mustangs will look to extend their winning streak and stay atop the Lone Star Conference stand-ings, while on a two-match road trip this weekend as they face-off against both Texas A&M Kingsville and Tarleton State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

BOBBY MORRIS

STAFF REPORTER

Volleyball team continues to dominate

MSU’s Krissa Johnson, 12, hits the ball over two DBU players Tuesday night as Rachel Gilm-ore, 9, stands guard in case the ball is hit back. MSU won, 30-19, 30-26, and 30-18.

Mustang soccer teams stumble

PATRICK JOHNSTON | THE WICHITAN

MSU’s Katy Lukert, 10, attempts to score on a header from the right wing in the 84th minute against TWU Sunday at The MSU Soccer Field.

THE WICHITANOct. 17, 20078 Sports

The Dallas Cowboys were dealt

a healthy dose of reality Sunday af-ternoon when their showdown with the New England Patriots at Texas Stadium ended in a dismal 48-27 loss that raised more questions for the Cowboys than it answered.

The first question on Wade Phil-lip’s mind had to involve Dallas’ secondary.

The Cowboys’ defensive back-field isn’t nearly as strong as it was at the beginning of this season – not that it was ever too solid to begin with – and injuries to Terence New-man and Anthony Henry should be one of Phillips’ main concerns.

Newman’s decline in effective-ness was doubly proven in week five against Buffalo, when he inter-cepted rookie quarterback Trent Ed-ward’s badly-thrown ball and then was run down by Edwards before scoring on the return, a scenario rarely seen in the NFL.

Anthony Henry, who already has four interceptions on the season, hurt his ankle last week against New England, an injury that may

have been a catalyst for Brady’s three-touchdown kick at the close of the ball game.

Cornerback Courtney Brown and safety Keith Davis are also among the ranks of Dallas’ beat up second-ary, which could be troublesome if Dallas is forced to face New Eng-land (or, dare I say, the Colts) again in the Super Bowl.

Penalties are another concern for Dallas this year.

Dallas is near the bottom of the league in both penalties and pen-alty yards, something that Phillips seems a bit more lax about than his predecessor Bill Parcells.

Similarly, Terence Newman was fined for a helmet-to-helmet hit ini-tiated last week against a Buffalo wide receiver, though no penalty flag was thrown during the game.

Flozell Adams, who had a stag-gering seven penalties in Dallas’ first three games this season seems to have cleaned his act up, though; he only received one penalty against New England last week, though it was committed on a crucial third-down situation.

Against the Patriots, Dallas com-mitted a disappointing fare of 12

penalties for 98 yards.The penalties need to stop if Dal-

las wants to be an effective ball club and wants to compete against teams like New England and Indianapo-lis.

To Dallas’ credit, though, they played a closer game than the 48-27 score indicates.

Romo only committed one turn-over -- instead of last week’s six -- and threw for two touchdowns against one of the toughest defenses in the league.

Dallas rushed for over 100 yards against a crippling Patriots run de-fense, and were actually at a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter. That’s only the second time that’s hap-pened to the Patriots all season.

There’s some good here, and there’s some room for improve-ment here, too.

Dallas played the best team in the league Sunday (arguably the best team ever) and came out with little pride intact.

Now all they can hope for is another chance to play the Patriots in Arizona later this year.

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CHRIS COLLINS

STAFF REPORTER

The No. 23 Mustangs made the trip down to Stephenville last Sat-urday to challenge the now-ranked tenth Tarleton State Texans in a battle to avoid losing their second-straight game. Following yet another back-and-forth contest against a ranked opponent, MSU found itself falling into a two-way tie for fourth in the Lone Star Conference North Divi-sion, falling 44-32. This game proved to be just as nip-and-tuck as their 25-20 loss to the hands of rival West Texas A&M on Oct. 6. This game, however, featured both offenses getting cranked up early and not letting up until the game went final. The Mustangs finished the game ahead in most statistical areas, which lead to deciding a victor, by winning the turnover battle and out gaining the Texans by more than 60 yards. However, it was the often-over-looked special teams, which made the overall difference in the game. TSU drew first-blood in the contest, capping off a 5-minute, 14-play drive, with a 27-yard field goal by the Texans place-kicker, Stephen Arnold. MSU followed by doing what they do best. They went to the ground, and firmly asserted themselves running the football. They quickly drove down the field, ending the drive with an im-pressive 27-yard run by the Mus-tangs’ junior tailback, Joe Chat-

man. As the first half rolled on, the score went back-and-forth. With a total of seven lead-changes and ties in the first half, no team appeared that they were go-ing to allow the other team to gain momentum before the half. Then, while leading 23-20, the Mustangs punted the ball to the Texans, in an attempt to pin the Texans deep in their own red zone before the half. However, Nathan Robinson, the Texans punt returner, had other plans. As he returned the punt for an 87-yard touchdown, the momen-tum had squarely shifted into the hands of the Texans entering half-time. Senior quarterback, Daniel Polk, and the Mustangs weren’t going down without a fight. Needing a score, Polk led the offense down the field on a 9-play drive, capped off by a 7-yard run into the end zone by freshman run-ning back, Marcus Mathis. This gave the Mustangs the lead, 32-30, entering the final quarter. It was in the fourth-quarter, however, that the Texans took control of the game. Tarleton State dominated time-of-possession in the fourth-quar-ter. The Texans scored a touchdown on a 10-play, 6-minute drive to re-gain the lead. Yet, the defining moment of the game came on their next posses-sion. Failing to move the ball into scoring range, the Mustangs were forced to punt the ball back to the Texans.

Midwestern State’s punter, Ben White, excelled when he was brought out on the field to punt, pinning the Texans at their own 1-yardline, leaving plenty of time left on the clock for MSU. Then, deadening Midwestern’s hopes, the Texans methodically began to move the ball down the field. First down, after first down, the Texans’ quarterback, Scott Grantham, led his team down the field, driving 99 yards on their way to scoring the game-clinching touchdown, on a 3-yard run by Tra-vis Evans. Chatman finished leading all rushers with 128 yards on only 13 carries, two of which were touch-downs. Even while dropping this tight game, it was still quarterback Polk’s day. Polk became the first rusher in the history of MSU football to top the 3,000-yard rushing barrier. With his 101 yards rushing on 19 attempts, Polk has now totaled 3,062 career rushing yards. Polk also finished the game with 239 yards passing on 21 of 29 at-tempts. Place-kicker, Jose Martinez, kicked in two field goals last Satur-day, one being from 27 and the last from 30 yards out. However, after two of their four touchdowns, Martinez failed to convert the PATs. The Mustangs should receive just what they need to buck this two-game losing streak this week-end as they return to Memorial Sta-dium for their Homecoming match-up with the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas, 1-6 (0-2).

BOBBY MORRIS

STAFF REPORTER

MSU loses second straight, 44-32

MSU’s Frank Brown, 27, puts a halt to a West Texas A&M player as Glen Watkins, 99, and Jamaal Bouyer, 24, give pursuit on Oct. 6 at Memorial Stadium. The Mustangs lost to WT, 25-20, and fell to Tarleton State, 44-32, this past Saturday.

PATRICK JOHNSTON | THE WICHITAN

Midwestern State University will be facing Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Memo-rial Stadium as a part of the 2007 Homecoming festivities.

The Mustangs have to win all of their remaining games in order to have a chance to make the play-offs.

To add to this pressure, they will be playing in front of a larger crowd due to Homecoming.

“Sometimes it can be a distrac-

tion with all of the festivities and the alumni, friends and family that attend the game,” MSU Offensive Coordinator Glenn Thomas said.

MSU has been in similar high-pressure situations before.

The Mustangs also had to win out last year in order to make the playoffs.

The experience of successfully completing this before is beneficial to the team’s chances this year.

“We know it’s feasible and can be done,” Thomas said. “We can win out and the rest will take care of itself. Anytime you can put ex-perience in the equation, it’s human nature to benefit.”

The players are also not worried about the additional pressure of the game.

“It is just the next game on our schedule and we have to win,” wide receiver Andy Tanner said.

One concern the team does have ,though, is A&M-Kingsville who has a 1-6 record this season coming into the game.

“They’re playing for pride, so we can’t take them lightly,” redshirt tight end Sasan Faradineh said.

MSU is 10-9 since 1988 in Homecoming games, having won the last four games. They are also 3-5 against A&M-Kingsville, but MSU has won the last two games.

PATRICK JOHNSTON & CAILTIN MORRISON

FOR THE WICHITAN

Midwestern in a must-win situation

COURTESY PHOTO New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, 81, scorches the Dallas Cowboys second-ary including Roy Williams, 31, and Jacques Reeves, 35, on Sunday in a battle of undefeated teams at Texas Stadium. Moss had a touchdown in the Patriots’ 48-27 victory.

Boys unable to horseshoe Pats