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Health
Inspections As swimsuit season approaches, many people are becoming more aware of their current state of health and how it affects them. Sound familiar? If so, you will soon be able to learn more about your health without losing any weight in your wallet. MSU’s third annual Health Fair will be held this Friday in Bridwell Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anyone can attend the fair, which will host a variety of free lectures, health screenings, door prizes and demonstrations. “Every room and hallway of Bridwell Hall will have free health screenings and information,” said Linda Hawley, graduate family nurse practitioner program director. “It is a great deal for students.” The lectures will be held in Bridwell Hall room 108 and will last approximately 20 minutes each. Linda Wilson, RN, RMT, LMTI, from the Right Touch, will give the first lecture starting at 9:30 a.m. and will cover neck, shoulder, back and foot pain relief. At 10 a.m. Sheila Carley from Harris Chiropractic will speak about osteoporosis prevention, after which Janet Beard, a compounding specialist from Harvest Drug and Gift, will speak about natural hormone replacement therapy at 11 a.m. Dr. Lewis Wilson, gastroenterologist, and Dr. Kenneth Warnock, board certified bariatric surgeon, will speak about the medical and surgical management of obesity at noon, and Linda Hawley, RN, MS, FNP, will speak about heart attack warning signs at 1 p.m. University physician Dr. Keith Williamson will give lecture last about heat disease, dehydration and hyponatremia at 2 p.m. Many businesses and MSU departments will have booths set up. “The booths will offer literature, screenings, freebies or handouts,” Hawley said. The kinesiology department will be offering a body fat analysis, and the respiratory care department will be offering lung function testing. Other booths will include outside businesses such as the Community Healthcare Center, providing information on children’s cancers and the North Texas State Hospital, providing information on stress management. United Supermarket will also be on campus providing information on heart healthy cooking. Screenings will be held for those with questions about blood circulation, glucose, bone density, skin diseases, glaucoma, hearing, flexibility and depression. The American Red Cross will also be on site from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. hosting a blood drive. Yoga, salsa dancing, belly dancing, and spinning will also be demonstrated throughout the day. Door prizes such as a one-year adult membership to the YMCA and a one-month membership to Breland Health and Fitness Club will be given away. More than 1,000 people attended last year, Hawley said, and she expects a good turn out for this year.
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from Main scavengered enough curiosity to capture their market. “We started with the stickers in December, and we sold about 100 of those as well,” Whatcott said. The group sold them for $1 a piece. “We did a lot of advertising, more by starting word of mouth” Rodriguez explained about their marketing strategy. “People started asking us, ‘what the crap is Verticle,’ and you start talking about it.” After the Christmas break, the guys came back to campus catalogs in hand. In fact, the guys even conned some good-looking ladies into modeling for their t-shirt spread. “We just grabbed some shirts we made and asked random people we saw if we could take their pictures,” Rodriguez said. “They had to be good looking. That’s probably why we don’t have any guys in the catalog.” “Plus,” added Whatcott, “it’s a little weird asking guys for their picture.” The new first edition, three-page, order-ready book of designs was ready. Each one never leaves his room without it. “We first started showing it to people, usually just our friends and acquaintances and people we know,” said Rodriguez. But the little side hobby has developed into something much bigger in just a month and a half. “It’s weird because people we don’t know are coming up to us and asking for shirts,” Rodriguez said. “I live on the third floor of Pierce Hall,” Whatcott said, “and I’ll have my window open a lot, and I’ll have someone yell, ‘Verticle guy, Verticle guy.’ And I’ll stick my head out the window, and they’ll yell ‘We want a shirt, bring the catalog down,’ so I do. It’s great because we don’t have to do the work anymore.” They started the semester taking only a few orders within a few weeks, but once it caught on, it caught on fast. “We now do anywhere from 15 to 20 orders a week,” Whatcott said. “And we usually do them once a week.” The shirts are hand printed and custom made, allowing the customer total creative freedom in designing his or her own expression. “Every shirt is different. We make the logos, but we give you the option of where you want it on the shirt,” Whatcott explained. “I don’t think we’ve made two shirts alike,” Rodriguez said. The guys offer a rainbow variety of 15 different cotton t-shirt colors, and you can add a variety of Verticle logos and catch phrases to make your shirt completely and uniquely yours. The shirts started out as iron-on patch type workmanship, but they have now developed into the pressed style, which is more durable and stretch resistant. Rodriguez’s room serves as the manufacturing plant. On production day, his floor becomes a jumbled multi-colored sea of cotton with crests of white order forms matched to each one. The guys usually take about four hours to complete the orders, usually because half the time is spent in insults, jokes and random comments, usually followed by “Shut up, Louis.” Since the operation has grown, the guys can’t afford to buy the shirts individually anymore. They have enough business to step up and graduate into the world of wholesale. So why are people so hooked on Verticle? Verticle is “engineered to make you a cooler, more popular and likeable human being,” according to the inside cover of the spring 2003 catalog. It’s “the best 10 bucks you’ll ever spend.” “As sick as it may sound, you get one, and you feel identified with other people,” Rodriguez explained. “If we see a person in a Verticle shirt, they will get a special greeting from us,” Whatcott said. “But it’s not just us, it’s others, too,” Rodriguez said. “We are just backing up our claim it will make you more likeable.” “We are trying to get away from the mall, the Abercrombie and Fitch,” Whatcott said. “We hate that.” “We are aiming at the noncommercial groups,” Rodriguez added. The guys’ goal is to actually sponsor extreme sports like surfers, skateboarders, and extreme scooterers. They even sent the music group Bowling for Soup their shirts, and they are planning on wearing them, according to correspondence from the lead singer. The guys sell their shirts for $10 a piece, which after production costs, doesn’t leave them a wide profit margin. “We make enough money to buy ourselves a couple of cokes after about three hours of work,” Whatcott said, taking a sip of his Fanta orange “Verticle drink.” “We get less than minimum wage,” Rodriguez said, “but it’s cool to see people wearing our stuff and thinking our stuff is cool.” “Yeah,” Stefanos added,” It’s a self-esteem booster.” “Shut up, Louis.”
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from Main some training; instead they decided to work on their own with a book, and we saved the money training would have cost.” Finding faculty members to step up has not been a problem for the administration. The 2003 summer schedule has been changed to a four day school week with extended hours starting at 7 a.m. so that the university can be shut down for three days to save money on electricity. “All I did was mention that we would need early shifts during the week, and many colleagues immediately volunteered for those hours,” said Grant Simpson, dean of the West College of Education. “The greater good is what we have to respect, so we have to give up some of our luxuries.” Other sacrifices include long-term goals that have to be put aside in order to save money. “We may have considered adding a philosophy major to this college (Liberal Arts) and some new faculty members,” said Michael Collins, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “Those ideas will go on hold so we can support the programs we currently have.” These sacrifices are not something the faculty complains about. According to Collins, colleagues are always asking, “What can we do?,” instead of mentioning things other departments should be doing. Faculty members are learning to trust one another, and the attitude is anything but selfish. “Not one person has said, ‘this is mine, get yours somewhere else,’” said Norman Horner, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “Group efforts are always a positive thing to see.” Viewing colleagues as family members is an essential part of dealing with the stresses of an enormous budget cut. MSU is not a stranger to economic pitfalls, but the present crisis could be more serious than any previous money shortage. According to Collins, the 1985-1986 school year was particularly stressful due to a collapse in the Texas oil market. “As educators, we realize we have no control over the federal and state economy, and we have little if any influence over political matters, but we must learn to operate within that climate,” Collins said. “Those of us that have been here a while know what has to be done to get through it.” According to Collins, maintaining a realistic attitude helps students and faculty understand that sacrifices will have to be made. He believes it is times like these when values are questioned and priorities are put in line. “The first thing we have to do is realize what’s most important, and that’s teaching our classes and putting the students first,” Horner said. “If we do that, then the faculty will benefit in the end.” The only thing the administration has asked of the faculty so far is to give back 7 percent from their Maintenance and Operations Fund. According to Wiedemann, they are always offering more. “What I have found out since I started here is a strong feeling of collegiality and a love for the university,” Wiedemann said. “Everyone can agree that the common goal is the education of the students, and most people are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.”
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from Main Utah conditioned her to withstand weather like this or worse. “It kills me when it snows one or two inches, and everybody freaks out and closes down,” Galloway said. “When it snows 3 feet up north, everybody still has to go to school and still has to do everything.” In fact, in places like Peoria, Ill., where Lewandowski called home for 23 years, the countryside becomes a serious winter wonderland, with snow piling high enough to dig tunnels and walk through. “I can remember a time when I had to walk to the barn to take boiling water to the ponies with a rope tied around my waist so I could find my way back,” Lewandowski said. As for her first year here, “It snowed an inch or two, and they cancelled school,” she recalled with a laugh. “I just sat by my fireplace and enjoyed my day off.” As far as how the administration decides when inclement weather conditions are severe enough to close the campus, Wiedemann said it usually rests in the hands of the president, who usually consults with the rest of the administration. “There are no absolutes,” she said. “Classes weren’t cancelled today (Tuesday) because early reports (5:30 a.m.) showed that the main streets were clear. It stood to good reason that the great majority of students and faculty could be here.” Wiedemann also stated students are responsible for the risks they take in order to attend classes on days like the past few have been. “If they decide that driving might be too dangerous, they should stay home,” she said. “I would suggest, of course, that they try to reach their instructors to explain their situation.” Some of the students found the trouble with the roads and icy conditions weren’t as big of a threat off campus as they were on campus. Freshman Jennifer Fields admitted the ice put her in some slippery situations Tuesday when she was walking to the Bolin Science Hall. “I stepped on an icy patch and slipped, like it was banana in a cartoon,” Fields said. “It hurt my pride a lot, but I got up and went to class. I almost slipped about three times before I got to my class.” Other students like Whatcott found entertainment in the frozen novelty. “I’m not keeping warm, I’m going out and playing in it,” Whatcott said. “We took a skateboard without the wheels and went skating on it. We spent most of the time on our butts.”
Poetry
Against War Take
A Spin Come
See “8 Mile” Thirsting
For Knowledge? Move
your ‘Phi’t’ Worried
about war? Need
an internship?
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