Pg. 6 Continuing the LegacyFriday, Feb. 17, 2012

Vol. 78 No. 18www.asurampage.com

Pg. 8 Baseball

Spring Break News: Up ‘til Dawn

News: “Emancipation, 1862”

Review: Songs of the Week

pg. 3

pg. 3

pg. 5

President’s Day

March 12 through 16

Countdown: 24 days

George Washington’s 280th birthday

Feb. 20, 2012

In their honor...

Contest winner interprets nation’s modern priorities

Adam WashingtonStaff Writer

Trumpets blared as the ASU ROTC program’s first spring flag retreat ceremony commenced Wednesday at Fort Concho.

The national anthem played and the cannon went off at 3:40 p.m., as the U.S. flag was lowered into the arms of two cadets.

The flag ceremony shows respect to the men and women who have fought for our freedom, Cadet 1st Lt. Kenneth Chalupa said.

It’s an honored event that pays tribute to all of the fallen men and women who served, Chalupa said. “It’s the official ceremony to end the day.”

The flag retreat gives cadets a unique opportunity to experience local historic military culture, Cadet 3rd Class Scott D. Vander Ven said.

Over 70 cadets led the event. This is the first year the flag re-

treat has been held in the spring and at Ft. Concho, Chalupa said.

After the flag was lowered and folded, it was handed off to Cadet Col. Andrew Schurman.

“We wanted to do something different,” Schurman said. “Fort Concho is a nice setting for the flat retreat.”

Schurman handed the flag to ASU President Joseph C. Rallo.

“I was proud to be a part of the ceremony,” Rallo said. “It’s impor-tant for people to know the history of our military.”

Robert Bluthardt, site manager of Fort Concho said he was happy to have the event at Fort Concho.

“Anytime the military wants to

hold events we are glad to accom-modate them,” Bluthardt said.

Flag Retreat: Cadets experience local historic military culture

Photo by Mark McDanielCadet Col. Andrew Schurman Wednesday hands President Dr. Joseph C. Rallo the American flag. The AFROTC conduct-ed the flag retreat ceremony at Fort Concho in honor of those who have fought in U.S. military.

Feb. 22, 2012

Sawyer RicardStaff Writer

An ASU student won the 2011 Holland Sympo-sium Student Contest Feb. 9 with “Pigskin Pledge,” a piece designed to show the impact sports make on the average American’s values.

Postbaccalaureate student Sean Halstead, a digital graphics major, designed his piece to reflect the theme of the contest, which was “Sports in America: The Hype and Hypocrisy”.

Halstead said he wanted to use his project to display the changes in the average American’s val-ues due to the impact of sports.

“My piece was going off the theme of the Hol-land Symposium,” Halstead said.

His piece for the contest was a digital print of a football draped with an American flag against the background of the U.S. Constitution and the slo-gan ‘I pledge allegiance to the pigskin’.

He said he drew the inspiration for the print from both the theme of the contest and the speech given by Frank Deford at the Holland Symposium.

Certain elements of the print had certain meanings, he said.

See Sports

Holland Symposium: Student draws inspiration from theme, speech

Block and Bridle prepares for rodeo

Adam WashingtonStaff Writer

The ASU Block and Bridle Club will help with many events at the 80th annual San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, which will be held at the Foster Communications Coliseum, Feb. 14 through 26.

“It’s something we look forward to every year,” said Corey Owens, ad-

viser for the Block and Bridle Club and chairman of the Midway Mut-ton Busting committee. “It’s a really busy time; all of the faculty mem-bers [in the agriculture department] are involved in some way.”

The Block and Bridle members along with thousands of high school students from across the state will help judge events including this year’s new event, Midway Mutton Busting.

Mutton Busting is similar to bull and bronco riding, in which chil-dren ride sheep until they fall off.

Children under 50 pounds can try their luck at Midway Mutton Busting by paying $10 to ride a sheep until they fall off, Owens said.

“It gives young kids a chance to participate in the rodeo,” Owens said. “It’s really entertaining and the crowd really likes it; a lot of the kids like to do it.”

Due to limited time during the rodeo, only a few kids were allowed to participate, but Midway Mutton

See ASUpg. 4

Events: ASU club, high school students to help judge

ASU reaches record spring enrollmentRallo: Enrollment numbers ‘right on track’ with projections

Photo by Pam BelcherPostbaccalaureate Sean Halstead Feb. 9 won the Hol-land Symposium contest with his graphic illustration titled “Pigskin Pledge.”

Photo by Mark McDanielCivil War reenactors prepare to fire a cannon as the flag is lowered.

Lisa DeesManaging Editor

According to an ASU news release, for the third consecutive year the university broke the enroll-ment record, and has 6,379 students for the spring semester.

With 6,191 students enrolled for the past spring semester, ASU enrolled 188 more students for the current spring semester, which is a 3 percent in-crease.

Currently, 5,538 undergraduates are enrolled at ASU, a 1.1 percent increase over the 5,480 under-graduate students enrolled in the previous spring semester.

For the sixth consecutive semester, graduate enrollment has also set a record of 841 students, which is 24 more than the 817 enrolled last fall. With 711 students enrolled for the 2011 spring en-rollment, graduate enrollment is up 18.2 percent this semester.

See Enrollmentpg. 2

Det. 847 pays tribute to fallen soldiers

It’s important for people to know the

history of ourmilitary.

Dr. Joseph C. RalloASU President

Friday, February 17, 2012Page 2 NEWS

Enrollment indicates success

Events Calendar

Friday, Feb. 17Art Exhibit: “Shady Grove,” by Sarah Irvin at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday in the Art Gallery in the Carr Education-Fine Arts Building

Harlan Cohen, Author: “The Naked Roommate” at 7 p.m. in the C.J. Davidson Center

Monday, Feb. 20Advising begins

HSI Speaker Series: Engaging Lost Males from noon to 2 p.m. in the Nasworthy Suite

Meeting: Staff Senate from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Nasworthy Suite

Cafe’ et Conversation at 5 p.m. weekly in the University Center rooms 110 and 111

Russian Enrichment: “Russian Theatre” by Mr. Mike Burnett in the Academic Building room 105

Tuesday, Feb. 21El Cafecito at 9 a.m. in the Multicul-tural Center

Conversation Partners from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Mathematics-Computer Science Building room 119

Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Information Meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Center for Human Performance building room 143

SMART Workshop: Exploring Majors I from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Academic Building room 119

Business Goalsetting from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Rassman building room 100

UCPC Great Jazz Divas at 7 p.m. in the C.J. Davidson Center

Wednesday, Feb. 22Tax Tips for the Self-employed (Webinar) from noon to 2 p.m. at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/245937753

LiveWhale Training: Introduction to LiveWhale from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Mathematics-Computer Science Building room 111A

Student Recital from 4 to 5 p.m. weekly in the Eldon Black Recital Hall

Art Lecture: Sarah Irvin from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Carr Education-Fine Arts Building Room 101

UCPC Monthly Movie Series: The Immortals at 6 p.m. in the Plan-etarium

Understanding Financial State-ments from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Rassman building room 100

Thursday, Feb. 23SMART Workshop: Exploring Majors II from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Academic Building room 119

Sales Tax Seminar from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Rassman building room 100

Sixteenth Annual ASU Writer’s Conference in Honor of Elmer Kel-ton from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the C.J. Davidson CenterSubmit event requests by 5 p.m.Tuesday for Friday publication torampage@angelo.edu

Get involved on campus!Remodel to make better use of space

Dillon BrollierStaff Writer

ASU will renovate study areas on the second floor and basement of the Porter Henderson Library over the summer.

“With the first floor be-ing so popular, our usage has gone off the chart and students are now migrating off the first floor looking for additional spaces similar to what they have on the first floor,” Executive Director of Library Services Dr. Mau-rice G. Fortin said.

Fortin said he hopes that work will start the week after the spring semester ends in May and that it

should be finished by the fall semester.

The study rooms that are currently on the second floor and basement are too large, Fortin said. Two of the study rooms will be split in half to make better use of the space.

“The group study rooms will be designed to seat four to six people comfortably, add in extra sound-proof-ing, add carpet, and flat screen panels,” Fortin said. “The rooms will also go onto the reservation system so that students can reserve them ahead of time.”

One of the study rooms in the basement will also get the same treatment, Fortin said.

Many students said they like the idea of the group study room renovations,

and some have a few sug-gestions.

“I think adding the in-door and outdoor carpet to the room will cut down on echoes,” sophomore Caleb Renfro said.

Adding a white board for group note taking would be a nice addition, as well, he said.

Junior Tanya Bieson said adding more study areas like those on the first floor would help out a lot.

The second floor already has independent study desks, Fortin said. Those work stations will receive carpeting and power and network connections so that hardwired desktop PCs can be added to the second floor, he said.

The carrel desks in the quiet study room on the

second floor will be re-placed with more modern carrels, Fortin said. The newer carrels will provide better lighting and electri-cal connections for laptops, he said.

Fortin said ASU also plans to get more comfort-able chairs for all the work stations.

ASU has a contract with Job Order Contractor, which the university uses for smaller jobs, said Clayton Smith, construction project manager for Facilities Plan-ning and Construction.

The floor plans are still being laid out so the cost of the project is not yet known, Smith said.

The goal of this proj-ect is to give students more quiet spaces to study, Fortin said.

Quiet: Renovated rooms to have extra soundproofing

Continued from Page 1

“Led by our growth in graduate students, the spring enrollment totals re-flect the many positive steps we are taking as an institu-tion to increase both our en-rollment and our retention,” President Joseph C. Rallo said.

The university will con-tinue to endorse online classes because many grad-uate students are taking advantage of these courses, he said. With graduate and undergraduate enrollment increasing, ASU can more flexibly meet budget chal-

lenges and the state can provide more resources.

The Centennial Master Plan calls for ASU to in-crease enrollment to 10,000 by 2020. Rallo said the uni-versity still has work ahead to achieve this goal, but the faculty and staff deserve recognition and credit for the accomplishments thus far.

“Angelo State’s enroll-ment success is yet another indicator of the outstanding advancements being made at the university thanks to the dedication of President Rallo and his team,” said Kent Hance, chancellor of

the Texas Tech University System.

Hance said ASU’s en-rollment progress is crucial to the region’s economic development, as well as promoting ASU as an insti-tution excelling in higher education.

Currently, graduate and undergraduates are tak-ing 77,746 credit hours this semester, a 2.62 percent increase from 75,761 last spring semester.

“The Centennial Master Plan has an enrollment tar-get for each fall and spring until the year 2020,” Rallo said.

Spring numbers are smaller than fall numbers because there are more December graduates than there are incoming and transfer students in January, he said.

“The spring 2012 enroll-ment numbers are right on track with our projections and reflect both recruit-ment of new students and retention of existing ones,” Rallo said.

In the 2011 fall semester, ASU enrolled 7,084 gradu-ate and undergraduates, which was the first time the university surpassed 7,000 students. ASU’s num-

Applicants must:

· be a junior, senior or graduate student in the 2012-2013 academic year

· be a journalism/mass media major or minor, or have the equivalent undergraduate courses in journalism/mass me-dia

· have been enrolled fulltime @ASU at least two consecutive semesters prior to application

· have served on the Ram Page staff in some major capacity for at least one year

Now accepting applications for 2012-2013 Editor-in-Chief

If no applications are received,exceptions may be considered.

A letter of application and supporting information must be submitted to Dr. Shawn Wahl, head of the Department ofCommunication, Mass Media, and Theatre, 3rd Floor Library, B309.

Application Deadline: March 2, 5 p.m.

Department in need of skunk carcasses for research

Dillon BrollierStaff Writer

The biology depart-ment is in need of skunk carcasses for an ASU gradu-ate student’s thesis research over the genetic makeup of urban skunks.

Graduate student Wes-ley Brashear began con-ducting a study of the DNA structure of striped skunks in San Angelo in December.

“We are looking at the genetic structure of the ur-ban population of striped skunks, and so through dif-ferent molecular analysis and computer modeling we can determine what land-scape features are barriers to gene flow or dispersal,” Brashear said.

In order to get samples of skunk DNA, Brashear said the biology depart-

ment needs more skunk carcasses.

“We have 30 skunks so far (as of Monday) and we are hoping for a sample size of around 150,” Brashear said.

Lately, two to three skunks are delivered per day to the study, he said.

Brashear said Animal Control has been helping to collect skunks by picking up roadkill and letting the de-partment know of any nui-sance skunks that had to be euthanized.

“With the weather warming up, the skunks are becoming more active and it is about the time that they start mating, so you have a lot of males that get hit by cars,” Brashear said.

The research will use a combination of field tech-niques such as collecting the skunks and working in the molecular lab, Brashear said.

Brashear said the re-

search will use a combina-tion of field techniques, such as collecting the skunks and working in the molecular lab.

Dr. Robert Dowler and Dr. Loren Ammerman are co-directors of the research project.

Dowler helps to find the deceased skunks to use in the research project that is done in Ammerman’s mo-lecular lab.

The project will see how the environment can have an effect on the DNA struc-ture of skunks, Ammerman said.

“I am advising the molecular side of his (Brashear’s) project,” Am-merman said. “He is work-ing on the genetic structure of the skunks in San Angelo and it involves doing a lot of DNA work and I run the molecular lab.”

Hopefully the study will show how the skunks get to where they need to go in or-

der to find a mate, Brashear said.

There should be more skunks coming in as the weather warms up in the spring, Brashear said.

Dowler said he is cur-rently working on a book, currently called “The Skunks of Texas”, with coau-thors Dr. Jerry Dragoo at the University of New Mexico and Adam Ferguson, at Tex-as Tech University.

“The book will summa-rize the biology of the five species of skunks that occur in Texas,” Dowler said.

Data from Brashear’s undergraduate and gradu-ate research will be in in-cluded in the book, Dowler said.

Thesis research: Sample size of 150 skunks needed

If you see any dead skunk in San Angelo, call 486-6639 or 486-6699 or e-mail robert.dowler@angelo.edu or wesley.brashear@angelo.edu with information on the location of the skunk carcass and when you saw it.

Sawyer RicardStaff Writer

Speaking at Fort Concho Commissary in a panel discus-sion, an ASU professor said that, contrary to popular be-lief, “Lincoln was happy to let slavery be contained in the area where it already existed.”

This panel discussion, “Emancipation, 1862”, is just one of many in a series being held in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

The main point both As-sistant Professor of History Dr. David Dewar and Assistant Pro-fessor of History Dr. Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai spoke about was the impact the politi-cal parties had on the United States at this point in time.

The parties faced many is-sues, but the most debated is-sue leading up to the election of 1860 was slavery, Dewar said.

The parties were wide-spread on their views on slav-ery.

Democrats were in favor of slavery while Republicans only wanted to stop slavery from spreading to the new territory in the west, because that would throw the balance in politics off, he said.

“They wanted the West to be even playing field while the East was not,” he said.

Another party, the Abo-litionists, wanted to do away with slavery completely, he said.

Every party had an ideol-ogy about the issues of the time and in order to gain support of the people they tried to add a “moral component,” Dewar said.

In the end, it was these ideologies and arguments that would lead to the begin-ning of the war, he said.

Wongsrichanalai spoke about the parties and their impact as well.

The issue of slavery had become so controversial it split the Democratic Party right before the election of 1860.

The split allowed the Republican Party to win the election, he said.

Once the election was over and the war had started, parties continued to make an impact on the politics, Wongsrichanalai said.

One of these impacts was the abolitionists and the role they played in creating the Emancipation Proclama-tion.

The abolitionists saw the war as a chance to end slavery for good, he said

However, they had a dif-ficult time with Lincoln, who was at first not in support of abolition, as President, Wong-srichanalai said.

“Every chance to end slav-ery was thwarted by the Presi-

dent himself,” he said.However, the party was not

giving up. The abolitionists published

books revealing the evils of slavery in order to gain support, he said.

“The Abolitionists made use of new technologies,” Wongsrichanalai said. “When canals and railroads came up they traveled far and wide to spread their message.”

This message caused the ideal of the party to spread and spawned creations such as the Underground Railroad, which was one of many ways to help slaves.

“It’s not known how many people exactly were rescued by the Underground Railroad,” he said. “Perhaps several hundred each year headed to the North.”

Despite this, eventually ab-olitionists were able to provide

an argument that convinced Lincoln to end slavery in or-der to damage the Confed-eracy and ultimately help win the war.

Both speakers, in ad-dition to speaking on the impact of the political par-ties, spoke of important fig-ures and their actions both before and during the Civil War.

Dewar spoke about peo-ple such as Abraham Lin-coln and Fredrick Douglas and their views on slavery during the Lincoln Douglas debates.

“Neither of them was an absolute abolitionist,” he said.

The professors also mentioned people other than politicians.

Wongsrichanalai spoke about William Garrison,

writer of the Liberator which was an anti-slavery newspaper.

Garrison was against the continuation of slavery and wanted the “Northern states to leave” and form a separate country before the Civil War,

he said.Garrison said he believed

slavery was a mockery of “American freedom.”

“He advocated the separa-tion of the Union before the Civil War,” He said. “He want-ed the free states to leave and form a pure constitution, in his words, so there would be no slavery.”

The final point in the speakers’ discussions was the problem with ending slavery in the United States.

“No more than 10 percent of the population” supported the idea of emancipation, Wongs-richanalai said.

Along with a high rate of support, slavery had been around since the beginning of the nation and was a staple part of the economy.

“Like it or not the United States was a slave-holding na-tion from the start of the Con-stitution in 1787,” he said, “and although the Constitution does not explicitly address the issue, it did acknowledge that slavery existed in many different ways.”

At the end of the session both speakers answered ques-tions from the audience.

The next discussion, “Civil War/Total War” is scheduled to be held on March 20.

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Sawyer RicardStaff Writer

A new service group at ASU will hold a letter-writing event April 3 to raise money for St. Jude’s.

In the event, held by Up ‘Til Dawn and known as “Quest for a Cure,” people form into teams of five and bring 50 addresses of people they know to write on envelopes. The inside of the let-ters explain what the program is and its goals to help St Jude’s Children Research Hospital

Martha Esquivel, team chair of the service group, said she hoped the letters will moti-vate people to make a donation.

The money donated will then be given to St. Jude’s, she said.

In order to raise interest for “Quest for a Cure,” the group hopes to have games and com-petitions taking place at the event.

“We’re trying to have spirit points for the teams,” she said.

Teams can earn the spirit points from their involvement in activities held by the pro-gram and can add them up to try and win the grand prize that the executive board plans to of-fer.

“We’re still working out the details for the points and priz-es,” she said.

Because this is the pro-gram’s first year at ASU, further events have yet to be planned.

“The letter-writing event is

our main one for the year,” she said.

However, Esquivel said, the board hopes to have more events in the near future.

“We have looked at what other campuses do for events,” she said. “One of them is an awareness week for St. Jude’s.”

The service group hopes to have an awareness week, which is a week in which several events are held to inform college stu-dents of what they could do to get involved in the program’s goals, sometime soon, she said.

Other events include games and competitions held by the program to raise funds for the hospital.

“It’s just our first year,” she said. “But we hope to have more events like the ones the other campuses hold in the

next couple of years such as the awareness week and fundrais-ing competitions.”

Due to their status as a ser-vice group, meetings are held for executive board members only, but as they become bet-ter known around campus and have more people involved, the meetings will hopefully be open to everyone, she said.

“Anyone is welcome to come to one of us if they’re in-terested and see if in some way they want to participate,” she said.

Part of finding people to participate in the new program is to inform the campus of their goals.

The board accomplished this by contacting other orga-nizations on campus, she said.

“Each person on the board

has divided the organization list and contacted the presi-dents to see if we can talk to their organizations,” she said.

They have also posted fli-ers around campus to inform people of the arrival of the new program, Esquivel said.

As the program grows, Es-quivel said, she’s excited to be a part of it.

“I think it’s a really good idea,” she said. “I just hope to make a difference and set a high goal to earn money for St Jude’s and the children.”

The group, which focuses on raising funds for the hospi-tal as well as for their studies, has just recently become active on campus and has yet to be-come an organization.

However, Esquivel said that the board hopes the group will

Up ‘til Dawn: ‘Quest for a Cure’ to take place April 3

...Although theConstitution does

not explicitlyaddress the issue, it did acknowledge that slavery existed in many different

ways.

Dr. Kanisorn WongsrichanalaiAssistant Professor of History

“”

Friday, February 17, 2012Page 4 NEWS

Sports transform values

Continued from Page 1

“I used the football in place of the flag to show how America’s values lean more towards football and other sports,” he said.

Another symbol was the NFL logo in gold to symbolize that the league and its players are now “royalty and above every-one else,” Halstead said.

The last symbol was the Constitu-tion.

“I put the U.S. Constitution as the background,” he said. “It was used to show how NFL and some other sports figures were above the law like they seem to be in America.”

His piece is also a symbol of how the change in values has allowed nationally known figures in sports to almost disre-gard the laws of the nation and receive little to no severe punishment.

“They can commit some crime and be suspended for a week,” he said. “Then they get a fine of about $40,000, which is nothing to them and they get to keep playing. There’s no jail time for them.”

The initial planning and process of completing the process took about two weeks using various programs such as Photoshop, he said.

“I would work on it probably a couple of hours a day,” Halstead said.

The completed print was not part of the idea at first, however.

“From the beginning I had the gen-eral idea but I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going to go with it,” he said. “It just evolved over time as I tried different im-ages and styles.”

The piece was chosen for several rea-sons, Head of English and Modern Lan-guages Department Dr. Laurence Mus-grove said.

Musgrove, who was a judge in the contest, said he believed “the winning entry was the most maturely developed piece” out of all those submitted.

“It best fit the criteria for the submis-sions,” he said.

Musgrove said they chose Halstead’s piece also because the message involved “was direct, simple, balanced, and im-mediately clear.”

After the announcement of the con-test winner, Halstead had one reaction.

“I was excited,” he said. “Very excit-ed.”

The “Pigskin Pledge” and the other entries of the contest will be on public display from March 1 through the 23 in the ASU art gallery and all student par-

Graphic Courtesy of Sean HalsteadWinner of the Holland Symposium contest Sean Halstead said he designed “Pig-skin Pledge” to reflect the average American’s values that have been influenced by the impact of sports.

Adam Washington

Staff Writer

Native American author Leslie Mar-mon Silko will speak at the 16th Annual Writers Conference in the C.J. Davidson Center Feb. 23 and 24.

The event is hosted by the English and Modern Languages Department.

“One of the primary goals of the Writers Conference has always been of-fering our students the opportunity to interact with and hear award winning writers,” Department of English and Modern Languages Director Dr. John Wegner said.

Silko has written several novels, po-ems and other literary works.

She will read her work Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and hold a book signing afterwards.

“I’m excited to see Ms. Silko read from her book; I’m a fan,” sophomore Gabriel Golson said. “I’m going to get my copy of her book signed after she reads.”

Wegner said Silko will participate in a public interview at 11 a.m. Feb. 24 and answer questions from audience mem-bers.

“Our hope is that more ASU students and more members of the San Angelo public will attend the two sessions with [Silko],” Wegner said.

Undergraduate students from ASU

have the opportunity to enjoy a lun-cheon in Silko’s honor, Wegner said.

Previously, there has been a problem with students leaving during the perfor-mances, Wegner said.

“While we understand that students might have other commitments when a speaker is reading, if they choose to at-tend we encourage students to stay and listen,” Wegner said. “Too often students do leave in the middle of an event, partly because they’ve only attended in order to earn extra credit or as a class assign-ment.”

Because Silko’s performance is in the evening, the English and Modern Lan-guage Department encourages students to stay until she is finished speaking.

If students need to leave during the interview, they are encouraged to sit in the back of the room near the door and leave quietly.

“The Department of English and Modern Languages works to help stu-dents appreciate and understand lit-erature, language, and culture,” Wegner said. “The first step is exposing students to those people who engage in writing and thinking.”

In previous Writers Conferences, other authors would read during the day around the key speaker; this year, the English and Modern Language De-partment has eliminated the additional readers.

First step: Exposing students to people who engage in writ-ing, thinking

Continued from Page 1

Busting will allow hundreds of kids to try it outside of the rodeo, Owens said.

The Block and Bridle Club plays an important role in the judging contests, Owens said.

“They help with the livestock judg-ing, wool judging, meats judging, wild-life judging and horse judging con-tests,” Owens said.

All the contests will be on Saturday, Feb. 18 from 8 a.m. to noon in the Coli-seum.

The Block and Bridle Club has pre-pared for the rodeo by holding meet-ings and assigning people to commit-tees.

“The committee volunteers do a lot of the planning but the Block and Bri-dle Club do the [work on] the day of the events,” Owens said. “Volunteers help us out a lot.”

Owens said he is heavily involved as a committee volunteer with Block and Bridle and has a workforce to back him up.

Along with Block and Bridle Club, Delta Zeta, Lambda Chi Alpha and other organizations will volunteer.

All volunteering students will gain experience and community service

hours, Owens said.“Most of these students want to

be [agriculture] teachers and agents so they get experience working with animals and kids,” Owens said. “It pro-vides those students with an opportu-nity to gain experience in the field they are interested in and make contacts with other FFA teachers or 4H agents.”

Owens said the abundance of stu-dent volunteers is a good indicator of how involved ASU is in the environ-ment.

“It’s great for San Angelo,” Owens said. “It brings in a lot of people and shows San Angelo’s hospitality.”

Block and Bridle Club is also re-sponsible for ASU’s live mascot, Domi-nic, Owens said.

“We’ve had a big push this year to try and increase the awareness and presence of Dominic,” Owens said.

Dominic has been at all of the foot-ball games, Ram Jams, and has also been the grand marshal of some local parades, Owens said.

Block and Bridle Club is open to all students and faculty who have an inter-est or love for agriculture and animals.

“We have a lot of fun in Block and Bridle,” Owens said. “It’s a great way to meet faculty members on a personal basis; I would highly encourage stu-

ASU student organizations to gain experience in agriculture

HiringRam Page Spring 2012

Considering a career in the media after graduation? Start with ASU’s student-run newspaper. We are looking for students who can meet deadlines and deliver quality.

Applications available at B324 (library, third floor)

FMI: rampage@angelo.edu942-2323

Features Editor

Copy Editor

FEATURES Page 5Friday, February 17, 2012

From the minute Den-zel Washington appears on the screen, you know it’s going to be a good movie. He plays a CIA agent gone rogue, Frost, who is accused of treason.

After running for a decade as the most feared

and respected intelligence agent in the history of the CIA, Frost reveals himself to the U.S. government. He is taken to a safe house to be interrogated, but the safe house is broken into.

Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is the keeper of the safe house and takes re-sponsibility for Frost’s life. After escaping the raid, it is Weston’s job to take Frost in, but Frost wants nothing more than to escape.

The non-stop action in this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat. The plot creates many moments of sus-

pense, but is also very predictable. Den-zel Washington’s acting is brilliant and solid as usual, but partnered with Ryan Reynolds’ character, who is on the verge of tears throughout the entire movie, no real bond develops between the two. Only at the very end of the movie do you realize the significance of their partner-ship.

Beside the predictability of who is whom, the ending will leave you shocked. Everything can go wrong for Weston does, but in the end he prevails in the most disturbing and twisted way you could imagine.

My only real complaint with the mov-ie was that it seemed very disorganized. It was hard to tell where exactly things were taking place because it changed so much.

You will definitely want to catch this before it leaves the box office, though. Washington’s performance is just too good to pass up.

‘Safe House’ Music Review:

Movie Review:

4/5 stars

Any students who are obtaining teacher certification and who have any questions, come by and see us at the

College of Education's EducationalPreparation Information Center

CARR EFA 287.

EPI CenterEpicenter@angelo.edu942-2209

Attention Students obtaining teacher certifications

If you are graduating soon and would like to obtain teacher certification

after graduation, or are interested in our graduate programs in Guidance and Counseling, School

Administration, Special Education, Professional Education, Professional Education,

Curriculum and Instruction, or Student Development/

Leadership in Higher Education,

come by and see us!

Patrick McKeownContributor

1

2

3

4

5

Voyage 34 (Phase One)Porcupine Tree

Everything about this track bleeds Pink Floyd! This trippy, classic “Wall” sounding riff would go perfectly with “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1”, not to mention the creepy voice by the narrator in the song. Porcu-pine Tree’s Steven Wilson is the mastermind behind the band and is one of the greatest progressive rock guitarists of all time.

Scourge of IronCannibal Corpse

It doesn’t get any more brutal than that. In fact, my neck is already sore before getting through two min-utes of the song. This menacing release from their new album, “Torture”, which should hit stores March 13, has the band back in fine form. (Check out the melting solo!)

O’ Sullivan’s MarchThe Chieftains

BAGPIPES! Gotta love those bagpipes. With March creeping around the corner, there isn’t a better time to check these guys out. They manage to capture the es-sence of Irish culture and the beauty of simple instru-mentation. Still one of the best bands to ever come from Ireland, The Chieftains have been making great Irish music since the early sixties.

BarchordsBahamas

Beautiful and smooth with a Paul Simon vibe, the song is perfect for an island getaway. So kick back and relax into a peaceful dream as you listen to the lullaby-like acoustic trance of “Barchords.”

Dark MatterPorcupine Tree

Another majestic track from Porcupine Tree, this song elevates to space and beyond. You could surf Jupiter while jamming with Steven Wilson and his space-shattering guitar playing. Although it is over eight minutes long, stay tuned for the solo on this track as it might be one of his finest moments.

Zach DanielContributor

Friday, February 17, 2012Page 6 FEATURES

Gabriel graduated from ASU in 1991 and began working as a volunteer coach with the men’s track team. Two years later, the women’s track team coach asked for help, Gabriel said. After five years of volunteer coach-ing, he was hired part-time and has been working with both the men’s and women’s track teams ever since.

He said Coach Nobel recruited him out of high school and coached him through college.

“I’ve known since I was in [high school] that I wanted to be a track coach,” Gabriel said. “Being in high school and watching the coaches and athletes suited me well. I was fortunate to have good coaches that cared about what we were doing and made me see that it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Gabriel said there is no better place to run than at ASU’s track.

“I’ve literally been all over the country and I would put our facilities up against anyone else’s,” he said.

Williams joined ASU in 2008.Williams said the “first and most important

role model in [his] life” is Jesus Christ. Other role models include his mother and father, who “played a pivotal role in [his] upbringing and educational foundation.”

Williams’ advice to ASU students is to dream big.

“Never give up on your dreams,” he said, “and when someone tells you that you can’t do some-thing or be something, prove them wrong.”

Williams holds a doctorate degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Curtis, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant, is an Instructional Designer with the Center for Security Studies. He has been with ASU for 14 years as a spe-cialist in multimedia and customer support for the Information Technology department.

His career of 24 years in the military has many sub-careers associated with it such as: Aircraft Ar-mament System Specialist, Switching System Tech-nician and Instructor, and Multimedia Developer/Instructional System Designer.

“Beyond my mother and father’s influences on my life, I always tried to take something of a posi-tive nature from everyone I met and adapt that to my life,” Curtis said.

Curtis’ message to ASU students is to take learn-ing beyond school work to learn something new ev-ery day.

Johnson joined ASU in 1973. He said when he and his classmates graduated

from M. L. Kirkpatrick High School in 1966, they were eager to face new challenges as a result of their educa-tional experiences both in and out of the classroom.

“From the beginning, it was instilled in us through the guidance and mentoring of our teachers and ad-ministrators that education is a key that unlocks many doors,” he said, “and that through education we are able to avoid becoming held in bondage by pov-erty and misconception.”

He offered this piece of advice to students: “We must remember that we are all travelers on this earth-ly journey and that education can serve as a beacon to illuminate the way.”

Mangrum has been with ASU for five years.Over the past three seasons, Mangrum has helped

Fred Rike rebuild the ASU program, but he has a much longer history with the Rams head coach and is definitely familiar with what his mentor wants the team to accomplish.

Known as a defensive specialist during his play-ing days at UNT, Mangrum also led the squad in free-throw percentage as a junior and was selected to the Indiana Hoosier Classic All-Tournament Team the same season.

He said his role models are his parents and all of his coaches.

Mangrum offered this piece of advice to students: “Don’t use fear as an excuse to not try.”

Houston native Leah Mangrum joined ASU in 2008 after she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Radio, Television and Film from the University of North Texas. She is the director of ASU’s television station, RamTV, and radio station, RamRadio.

Her work as a documentary filmmaker centers on children, families, and social and political issues that might otherwise remain unnoticed, unseen and unheard.

Mangrum said her role models are Thelma Bell, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clin-ton.

Her advice to students is: “Practice makes per-fect.”

Soza-Klingemann is the coordinator of the First-Generation Host Family Program, which assists first-generation students during their first year of university studies. She and her spouse volunteer for the program.

Soza-Klingemann said her role models are her par-ents.

“My father instilled in me a strong work ethic, discipline, and perseverance,” she said. “My mother taught me to be caring [and] nurturing not only to family and friends, but to strangers as well.”

She offers the following advice: “Question every-thing but be honest with yourself and stand firm with the decisions you make.”

Soza-Klingemann has a B.F.A. in art with a minor in communication from Sul Ross State University.

This is Solomon’s second year at ASU. She said she is “glad to be back in West Texas.”

Solomon said her Uncle Phil is one of her role models, who received a Ph.D. in the 1970s, which Solo-mon said was a tough feat for African Americans at the time. She said another role model is her mother, who always reminded her of her goals, which were to be-come a writer, a teacher and a college professor.

Solomon said ASU students should “stick with it.”“If it gets hard, just hang in there and keep plug-

ging away,” she said. “Failure doesn’t come from finish-ing last; it comes from not finishing at all. You may go slower, you may accomplish your goal in an unprece-dented way. But in the end, all that matters is that you did accomplish your goals.”

Gary GabrielAssistant Coach,

Women’s Track and Field

Purnell J. CurtisInstructional Designer,

Center for Security Studies

Dr. Alaric A. Williams Sr.

Assistant Professor,Department ofCurriculum &

Instruction

Dr. Harvey D. Johnson

Associate Professor,Mathematics

KennethMangrum

Lecturer,Kinesiology

&Assistant Men’s

Basketball Coach

LorinaSoza-Klingemann

Office Coordinator,Multicultural Center

Dr. Marva J. Solomon

Lecturer,Athletics/Kinesiology

&Assistant Men’s

Basketball Coach

LeahMangrum

Assistant Professor,Communication

Dr. DanielMcCloud

Assistant Professor,Music

&Director,

Bands, Percussion Studio

Michael SlaterAssistant Football

Coach,Defensive Line

Theron AychAssistant Head Football Coach

Aych came on staff in January under the direction of Head Coach Will Wagner. Aych began his career in football by earning three letters as a wide receiver at Northern State University in Aberdeen and was an All-NSIC Honorable Mention selection.

While at NSU, Aych earned his degrees in sociology and criminal justice, and also met his wife Gwyn.

Aych began coaching at Aberdeen Central High School, and has since pursued a career as a football coach.

Aych advises all students to set both long term and short term goals for themselves.

“Work hard every day to attain those goals,” Aych said. “Your experiences at Angelo State will only be an asset to you as you transition into your chosen profes-sions.”

Slater began his first year at ASU in January. Slater played football for Southwest Texas

State in his hometown of Dickinson, where he was a two time all-district performer. He then moved on to coach at Rice University for three seasons as a graduate assistant after coaching high school football for 12 year.

Slater said his dad has been a key role model to him over the years.

“He was very instrumental in teaching dedi-cation and core values,” Slater said. “He attended all of my games while I was playing and did things for me that got me out of my comfort zone.”

McCloud is originally from Indiana, where he earned his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Perfor-mance at Ball State University. He received his Master of Music Degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his Doctor of Arts degree, again from Ball State.

McCloud said his inspiration and role model is his mother.

“I can only hope to touch a fraction of the number of people as she,” McCloud said.

McCloud is an active composer who has done many works over the years for groups such as the World Sax-ophone Congress and PBS affiliates. He has also had more than 20 compositions published by Dutch Music Partners.

His advice to students: “You control your own des-tiny. If you really believe that, there are no obstacles that you can’t overcome.”

For the first time, the Mul-ticultural Center Wednes-day recognized ASU’s African American faculty and staff with “Continuing the Legacy.”

The Multicultural Center set up posters in the Univer-sity Center that focused on 11 African American faculty and staff members in celebra-tion of Black History Month. Chartwell’s provided the “Soul Food Sampler,” which included dishes such as peach cobbler, chicken nuggets, corn bread and potato salad, with recipes provided by the Multicultural Center and BOSS (Black Orga-nization Striving for Success). The African Student Associa-

tion also supported the event.Multicultural Programs

Specialist Adriana Balcorta said she thinks that students are constantly searching for role models. It is good for students to know about African Ameri-can professors and staff mem-bers who work here, she said.

While the Multicultural Center focused on local figures, BOSS presented national Afri-can American figures, Balcorta said.

BOSS created a Black His-tory Month tribute video that highlighted African Americans from the 1700s to the present, said senior Beth Agho-Otoghile, president of BOSS. BOSS also

put together the playlist that was used during the event. The playlist combined old school and new school music, she said.

“Continuing the Legacy” is big for BOSS because of BOSS’ goal to “enhance the student minority for academics and di-versity,” Agho-Otoghile said.

“Everyone can learn some-thing from it,” she said.

Senior Michael Connor, from ASA, played some songs on the piano and sang. The songs, including “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” were typical during the “slave times,” Connor said.

“I love doing this,” he said. “People seem to enjoy it.”

Multicultural Center presents

ContinuingtheLegacy

with B.O.S.S.

Friday, February 17, 2012Page 7 OPINIONS

PUBLISHING POLICYPublished every Friday and available to students, one copy per student, the student newspaper of Angelo State University is a public forum, with its student editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents. Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board. Ram Page welcomes all letters. Please include your name, classifica-tion/position and a phone number and/or e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters must be signed and be no more than 350 words. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws govern-ing obscenity, libel and privacy. Deadline is 5 p.m., Monday. Submission does not guarantee publication. Letters may be mailed, e-mailed or submitted at the newspaper’s office, Room 324 on the third floor of the Porter Henderson Library. Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opin-ion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.

Ram Page Staff

2011-2012A n g e l o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y

Editor: Dana ChoiManaging Editor: Lisa DeesCopy Editor: Victoria LacyPhoto Editor: Pamela BelcherSports Editor: Stephen CoganStaff Writer: Dillon BrollierStaff Writer: Sawyer RicardStaff Writer/Online Editor: Adam WashingtonPhotographer: Mark McDanielCirculation Manager: Koby McMullanAdvertising Manager: Sara Beth Terral Adviser: Dr. Cathy Johnson

Ram PageASU Station #10895

San Angelo, Texas76909-0895

Editor: rampage@angelo.edu Managing Editor: rampagenews@angelo.edu Features Editor: rampagefeatures@angelo.edu Advertising: rampageads@angelo.edu

Editor: (325) 942-2323 Newsroom: (325) 942-2134 Advertising: (325) 942-2040 Fax: (325) 942-2551

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Texas Intercollegiate Press Association

“You get to be part of the comunity in ways you wouldn’t get to otherwise.”

Richard Amoateng,sophomore

“You get things done, you aren’t wasting time, and you are helping people all at the same time.”

Bethany Droll, senior

Why do you thinkcommunity service isimportant?

“It helps you build skills and help differ-ent people, and it is good for the com-munity as a whole.”

Quynh Nguyen,junior

“It gives students the opportunity toexpe-rience life outside of campus.”

Chad Ngwu,sophomore

“It gives students a better appreciation of what they have.”

Angeline Hinneh,sophomore

Chivalry is dead and buried

Straightfrom theWeb

www.asurampage.com

Poll results:

This week’s pollWhy do you participate in community service?

For resumes or scholarships

It is required for an organization

To give back to the community

I don’t participate in community service

Share your thoughts onthe stock show and rodeo

& other topics.

columnsletters to the editor

commentswww.asurampage.comrampage@angelo.edu

Joshua LealContributor

That’s right! Chivalry is dead and it is not com-ing back. At least not in the same way it once was.

Valentine’s day has passed, the one day of the year where men are forced to be chivalrous or suffer the wrath of their significant others. Tragi-cally, women have tol-erated this as the norm and actually expect it. Women should expect Valentine’s Day treat-ment every day, and not just on the Feb. 14. Every

day should be wine and roses, not thunder and lightning.

Today we live in a society where men take their wives, girlfriends, and lovers for granted. Once there was a pe-riod where, in order to get the girl, you had to work for it. It seems to me as though the stan-dards have been lowered by both sides. Guys are no longer holding open doors, doing things without being asked, or paying for dinner.

Why do we need dates to remind us to celebrate each other? Anniversaries, holidays and birthdays are all set up to cater to a medio-cre sense of tenderness and affection. There are 365 days out of the year and each day should be spent enjoying each other’s company. People who are in relationships should not need the cal-

endar to dictate when it is appropriate to express their love for one anoth-er. It is my understand-ing that consistent acts of compassion all year amount to more than what is done on a few marketed holidays.

So how do we bring back chivalry? Well, the sad fact is we do not. For all of the great changes the equal rights move-ment has and continues to give us, it has allowed for laziness to surface in men. If men are consis-tently scorned for the very acts deemed chiv-alrous, they become imprudent and eventu-ally forgotten. Resulting from this is the current status quo, and nobody seems to care where the knight in shining armor has gone.

Well, I care. I like opening doors for peo-ple. We no longer joust to defend a maiden’s

honor, but that does not mean we cannot still treat one like a princess. To those men who were alone during this “love-ly” holiday, chivalry is even more important to you. You should always attempt to do something nice for a girl. Something as simple as helping her carry her textbooks or groceries is nice. Wheth-er you know the person or not, a simple gesture can go a long way.

Valentine’s Day is over, folks, and the time for true affection is at hand. If you are a man reading this, consider it a call to arms--to put that controller down, get off your lazy butt, and make a loved one happy. And if you are a woman reading this, make your man open the car door next time you go out. You both might like it.

Vote at www.asurampage.com

Submit columns and letters to the editor at rampage@angelo.edu

Volunteering to serve with a smile

SidewalkSurvey

Staff Editorial

Has the San Angelo smoking ban affected you in the past year?

36%Yes; I don’t

smoke

We believe that commu-nity service is crucial to creating well-rounded individuals. Un-fortunately, many students seem to view community service as something to balk at. It doesn't have to be that way. Doing com-munity service definitely has its good points. It builds resumes, helps students earn scholarships, and is a requirement for many or-ganizations. However, community service can also be something you enjoy, something you feel is bene-ficial to you personally. Many stu-dents pick something randomly to get community service hours. Why not take the time to do a bit of research and see what your community has to offer? There are numerous organizations and busi-nesses that need your help. Op-tions are not limited. Pick some-thing that interests you, inspires you, or challenges you to do more for the cause. Community service isn't just for making you appear to be well-rounded to future employ-

ers; it's also an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

Community service on a re-sume shows that a potential em-ployee went out of his or her way on his or her own time to help someone else. Doing community service demonstrates character and the willingness to work. It also shows employers that a potential employee will be able to work well with coworkers at the office. Com-munity service also provides you with connections, either around town, or in your field of work. Be-ing involved in the community is basically an old fashioned way to network. The people you meet may connect you to a job oppor-tunity. Active participation in the community is a good first impres-sion to make on any potential em-ployer.

We think that giving back to the community is a huge part of living in society. Community ser-vice is not only something that

helps the community but some-thing that can enrich your own life if you allow it to. It gives you the material rewards such as school credit, a stuffed resume and schol-arships, but it can also give you the feeling that you did something to help someone or a business. Be-ing a part of something bigger than you is humbling and charac-ter-building. Community service may not leave a lasting impact on the world, but someone’s world is made better by it. Often, servicing others helps us realize how good we have it and that we shouldn't complain nearly as much as we do.

If you don’t know where to start looking for a community service project, volunteer at an animal shelter, a soup kitchen, or a food bank. From there, you should be able to get informa-tion about other opportunities from other volunteers. If a project isn’t for you, move on. You’ll find greater fulfillment out of a project if you enjoy doing your best job.

No36%

Yes;I smoke

10%

No, but I do smoke

18%

Friday, February 17, 2012Page 8 SPORTS

Friday, Feb. 17SoftballSouthern Arkansas @ neutral field in Durant, Okla. - 10 a.m.

Arkansas Monticello @ neu-tral field in Durant, Okla. - Noon

Baseball@Southeastern Oklahoma

(DH) - Noon

Saturday, Feb. 18

SoftballHenderson State @ neutral field in Durant, Okla. - Noon

Missouri Western @ neutral field in Durant, Okla. - Noon

Baseball@Southeastern Oklahoma - 1 p.m.

Basketball WBB Incarnate Word - 5:30 p.m.

MBB @Incarnate Word - 7:30 p.m

Sunday, Feb. 19Track@LSC Invitational Meet @ Lubbock - TBA

SoftballEmporia State@ neutral field in Durant, Okla. - 10 a.m.

Washburn @ neutral field in Durant, Okla. - 2 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 20 Track@LSC Invitational Meet @ Lubbock - TBA

Golf@St. Mary’s Invitational (Do-minion Country Club)

Tuesday, Feb. 21Golf@St. Mary’s Invitational (Do-minion Country Club)

Stephen CoganSports Editor

The Rams went to Magno-lia, Ark. to play three games, and came home with one win to make their record 6-2 for the season.

The Rams split two games on Feb. 10 with completely op-posite performances.

The Rams won game one with 20 hits (a season high) against Arkansas-Monticello in a 13-7 win.

Three different players had three RBIs each in the game.

Arkansas-Monticello and ASU scored a combined 13 runs in the first inning with the Rams up 7-6.

Junior pitcher James Conlee (1-0) came in to relieve junior Michael Lange (1-0) after 0.2 in-nings and allowed only one run

over 5.0 innings of work while the Rams offense scored six more runs and earned the win.

In game two, the Rams were held to six hits against South-ern Arkansas in a 7-0 loss.

Against Southern Arkansas, only one of the six hits went for extra bases as the Rams just couldn’t find a way to score while senior Bren Schuehler gave up three earned runs over 2.1 innings and left with the loss.

“We would have liked to win to both games today, but we couldn’t string hits together in this game,” Head Coach Kevin Brooks said. “We were hitting some rockets right at them ear-ly and I thought we might have started pressing a little when they got their runs. We weren’t swinging like we are capable of, but the guys were competing the entire way through.”

The Rams then faced Lin-denwood on Feb. 11 and scored three runs over nine hits, but

four errors were the difference in a 6-3 loss.

Senior Rick Reyna (1-1) gained the loss and gave up five runs, but only three of them were earned over 6.0 innings pitched. The sixth run was also unearned against junior Travis Stavinoha.

Senior pitchers Reyna and Bren Schuehler each earned one loss over the weekend bringing their ERAs to 2.25 and 7.36 respectively.

The Rams are still battling injuries with team captain and senior shortstop Zach Cohen out and senior infielder Brett Parsons, missing the Linden-wood game with a hamstring issue.

The Rams continue their season on Feb. 17 with a double-header against Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant, OK, and a third game the following day.

They will return for a home series against Colorado State-Pueblo on Feb. 24.

Stephen CoganSports Editor

The Rambelles won their home opener in 40-degree weather with a

two-game sweep of Central Oklahoma to improve their record to 5-2 on the year.

The girls celebrated with cake and punch afterwards because it was Feb. 11, which is their coach’s birthday.

Head Coach Travis Scott, in his ninth year at ASU, said, “It was a good birthday

present; two wins.” The team won 14-6 and 8-1 in their

double-header.Senior Claire Molina pitched 4.2

innings and earned the first win while striking out three, and giving up one earned run.

Sophomore Mary Kate McKay earned the second win with a complete game, allowing just four hits with one unearned run off an error.

McKay, who is normally a pitch-to-contact pitcher (her pitches are meant to force ground balls), struck out 10 Central Oklahoma Bronchos, including five of the first six batters.

“For her to throw a 10-strikeout game is highly unusual,” Scott said. “She had great control over her changeup; her drop ball was re-ally dropping. We’ll take those 10-strikeout performances, but those are not typical of her.”

McKay is now 3-0 on the season. She said she was ready for the Belles’ 13-game road schedule.

“We’re going to stay sharp and stay on it,” McKay said. “We’re swinging the sticks and defense looks great.”

The ladies scored 22 runs off of 25 combined hits and the largest offensive contribution came from junior catcher Kacie Easley.

Easley went five for six with two home runs, a double and five total RBIs.

Third baseman Elsamartina Apo, first baseman Carly Peters, and shortstop Chelsey Walters also contributed a home run each over the weekend.

Apo committed the error that led to the one run scored in

the top of the first inning in the second game, but came back in the bottom with a double to right center field that scored Easley and Walters for two RBIs.

It was her first error of the year.“I was just hogging the line too much

and didn’t come across fast enough and it hit my knee,” Apo said.

The Belles will head to Durant, Okla. and Denton over the next two weeks until they come back home on March 1 to face Texas A&M International in a double-header in what Scott said was “a typical February schedule for the most part.”

“We just got talented kids,” Scott said. “We just keep getting better.”

Double-header is a double win for Belle softball

Photo by Pam BelcherFreshman Taylor Jensen (no. 2) backs off a pop-up as senior Deeshanalynn Tafiti (no. 14) gets unders the ball.

Softball: Girls roll over Central Oklahoma

Photo by Pam BelcherFreshman Taylor Jensen (no. 2) backs off a pop-up as senior Deeshanalynn Tafiti (no. 14) gets unders the

Ram baseball comes home from Arkansas with at 6-2Baseball: Guys take one out of three in Arkansas

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