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Jason
Palmer | The Wichitan
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| Biology
graduate students Jennifer Herrell (left) and Sherry Daugherty
hike through the Red Canyon at Devil’s Finger at MSU’s
Dalquest Research Site. Desert Exploration Graphic by
Daniel Chavez. |
Students
do research at Devil’s Finger
Jason
Palmer | Staff Reporter
The
tradition is to take the new campers to the top of the ridge,
eyes covered, stand them close to the edge of the cliff and
then let them look out onto the wide-open expanse of desert
canyon beneath them. The view is breathtaking. Welcome to
Devil’s Finger, MSU’s personal desert playground. Norman Horner,
dean of College of Science and Mathematics, takes graduate
students who are working on their theses and his graduate
level araneology class to the research site. Horner remembers
the first time that he saw the land like it was yesterday.
“It is really indescribable. When you look over that cliff
and see all of the canyons and ash deposits it really puts
an image in your mind,” Horner said. The Dalquest Research
Site was founded in 1996 when the late Walter Dalquest and
his wife Rose donated the land to MSU. It is an unspoiled
and remote piece of land in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.
Dalquest purchased the 1,280-acre piece of land in 1968 at
the cost of $15 per acre. “Without this land, (graduate students)
couldn’t have done the type of research for their projects,
they would have had to study something else,” said Horner.
“It is a tremendous opportunity because it is a natural laboratory
for this university. The land is basically the way that is
was 150 years ago.” Over Spring Break, a group of students
and faculty gathered their camping gear and headed out to
a stretch of grated rock road at the end of Farm Road 169
that extends for 31 miles across the horizon, just past Marfa,
Texas. Four more miles of driving through rain-washed gullies
and over jagged potholes took them to a campsite that consists
of a three-wall shelter, a fire-pit, rocks and cacti. Dalquest
pledged $100,000 for an endowment to pay for one graduate
student each year to research at the site. When Dalquest died
in 2000, he had only contributed $30,000 for the fund, but
his wife fulfilled that promise and made sure that the rest
of the money made it into the endowment. See
Feature
Board
approves dorm face-lift
Lindsey
Rich | Editor-in-Chief
Expect more changes around campus within the next few semesters.
MSU housing is in for some more renovation, according to Keith
Lamb, associate vice president of student affairs. Lamb discussed
the renovation proposal for Killingsworth and Pierce Halls
at the Board of Regents meeting Monday, asking for approval
of the $10.7 million plan. "We weren’t ready to present a
plan to the Board that we were comfortable with in February,"
Lamb said. "Today we are comfortable with the design and the
cost performance." Included in the dollar amount are all life
safety directives from the Texas State Fire Marshalls Office,
redesigned bathrooms and lounges, the renovation of all student
rooms, a reorientation of Killingsworth Hall to the west and
the addition of a new mechanical system in Pierce Hall. Lamb
discussed the possibility of Phase III of the project, the
addition of a connecting element between Pierce and Killingsworth.
The element would house multi-purpose rooms, a dining hall,
meeting rooms, a student lounge, a computer lab and a fitness
center. Phase III alone would cost $3.1 million. Lamb said
he doesn’t think money is a problem. "Money is an issue,"
he said. "We feel very financially sound, though." Vice President
of University Advancement and Student Affairs Howard Farrell
said the renovation project will be beneficial to the entire
MSU community. “This gives us an opportunity to return to
the university quality of life to our students,” he said.
Also discussed at the meeting was the Sunwatcher Village screening
that would allow residents behind the new apartment complex
to use allocated funds for landscaping to block the view from
their homes. The Board of Regents approved the allocation
of $50,000 for the landscaping fees to contractors. “We should
try to be as good as neighbors as possible,” MSU President
Jesse Rogers said. “They need some screening because the back
of (Sunwatcher Village) is in their back yard. This will help
keep the value of their property up.” Renovation of Killingsworth
Hall is set to begin next fall and Pierce Hall’s renovation
will begin in Fall 2004.
Student
elections kick off next week
Camron
Rushin | Staff Reporter
Student Government elections will be held next week, from
next Monday to Friday. Two candidates have filed for presidency,
incumbent Michael Mills and opponent Nyian Farrell. Mills,
a business graduate, said that his main platform is to help
get MSU through the budget crisis. “This is probably the most
important time for an SGA president because of the budget
crisis,” Mills said. “I’ve been involved in the budget process
and the plans for the next couple of year and for someone
to come in with different views that would just cause setbacks.”
Farrell, a senior psychology and sociology major, said that
her main platform is that she doesn’t want student services
cut if tuition is going to be raised. Farrell wants to continue
welcoming freshman, she said. “Freshmen feel a little left
behind after the initial introduction to MSU. If we get them
attached there will be more student retention in activities.”
Both candidates hope to improve school spirit on the campus.
“I’d like to restructure the student government and the RHA
and Greek councils to help students be more informed,” Mills
said. “Getting them involved will lead to greater amounts
of campus spirit.” “I get disappointed when there are more
alumni and outside MSU people than students at our functions.”
Farrell said. “I would like to see a lot more active students.
We need to keep students motivated.” Three candidates running
for vice president are junior history major Chad Newman, junior
computer science and mathematics major Ed Blankenship and
senior mass communication major Valerie McCubbins. Three candidates
running for secretary are senior Spanish major Amy Cobb, junior
pre-dentistry major Seema Mankodi and junior management major
Bryan Gonzales. Martha Smith is the only candidate for senior
senator. Physics major Jennifer Lutz is the only candidate
for junior senator. Two candidates running for sophomore senator
are biology major Reema Mustafa and political science major
Jessica Jackson.
Speaker
says A’s don’t guarantee jobs
Eleanor
Roberts | For The Wichitan
Forget the myth that straight A’s will get you the job,
Michael Poll a campus presenter and straight "B" student
told MSU students Tuesday night. "Don’t misunderstand me,
grades are important," Poll said. "My research suggests
that it is not the only thing. My recommendation is to spend
as much time and energy in the other things, as you do in
doing well academically." Poll said students encounter some
major problems when looking for a job. The number one problem,
he said, is the competition from other students. "Look to
your left then look to your right. These are the same students
who will be competing with you," he said. "Many times students
do not make use of the campus library, the internet, faculty
and their career services," Poll said. "The opportunities
you now have are right under your nose." He said students
need to make use of their "diposable time." Once a person
gets into the workplace, their time is not as flexible.
Most students think employers are most interested in GPA,
letters of recommendation and the prestige of the institution
they went to. Poll admonished students to take action now.
He said students should gain experience. "What you don’t
know, get experience in it," he said. "Experience means
you try and fail and fall down. Employers prefer you do
it on your college experience time, not on the job." He
also advised to do projects. Get educated with the technology
around you and improve always on the ability to communicate,
he said. "Market yourself because only 15 percent of the
resumes received are kept for a second consideration," Poll
said. "Resumes are out, marketing brochures are in, sell
yourself. This is not cockiness, but confidence about yourself,
your abilities and who you are. People want to hire confidence."
Lastly, Poll said attitude is the key. "Employers would
rather hire somebody who scores a nine or ten in attitude
and a seven in skills than hire somebody who scores a ten
in skills and ability and only a four or five in attitude,"
he said.
MSU
hikes tuition 11 percent
Jason
Palmer | Staff Reporter
|
|
|
Jason
Palmer | The Wichitan
|
| MSU
President Jessie Rogers explains the tuition increase
to the Board of Regents Monday. |
President
Jessie Rogers brought the rumors that have plagued MSU of
potential tuition increases to the Board of Regents in an
emergency meeting Monday. The BOR passed the measure, and
it is now official that students will pay an extra $9.50
per credit hour to help offset the major budget problems.
The increase is broken into two sections with $5 per credit
hour going towards local tuition and the other $4.50 for
a computer use fee. For a student class load of 13 hours
in the fall semester, it will cost $123.50 more than this
spring. That amount may not sound like much on the surface,
but there were more than 11,000 credit hours taken in the
fall at MSU. The multiplying effect of the student body
creates a large sum of money for this university. “The revenue
generated from this increase could be upwards of $1.4 million,”
Rogers said. Raising tuition is a tactic that many schools
in the state are resorting to so they can offset the discrepancy
in their biennium budgets. The state has not approved eliminating
the local tuition cap of $44 per credit hour yet, but that
bill is working its way through both the House and the Senate.
“We must act now and we may have to make changes in the
future. We can achieve the quality we want,” Rogers said.
Rogers only wanted to raise tuition as a last resort and
the BOR understood his concern for the students. “I don’t
want to press it to the student body,” Rogers said. Vice
President of Administration and Finance John Alexander told
the BOR that MSU would likely keep its low ranking compared
to other schools in regards with tuition cost. “We are 22
or 23 in terms of cost right now, and we will be 22 or 23
in terms of cost when this is over,” Alexander said. The
increase in the computer use fee will help cover the costs
of maintaining computer labs for student. “It costs over
$2 million to keep the computer systems running, and the
current fee covers less than one-third of that cost,” Rogers
said. MSU updates the computers and their systems in the
labs every three years to keep pace with technology improvements.
The BOR, as well as Vice President for University Advancement
and Student Affairs Howard Farrell expressed concern for
See
Tuition
