FRONT PAGE

MSU's Longest Tenured Professor Dies
Paige Dickerson | News Editor

Jackie Watkins, professor of geology, died early in the morning on Tuesday Oct. 26, 2004.
Watkins, 72, had battled cancer for the last year and a half. He went to the doctor for a stress test on Monday and did a chemical stress test instead of the treadmill. Later that night he complained of not feeling well.  He died early the next morning.
Watkins, born Jan. 16, 1932, was raised in Dallas. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Southern Methodist University. In 1958, he earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan.
Watkins, who had taught at the university for 46 years, was the longest tenured professor at MSU.  He started at MSU after he and his wife Dorothy moved to Wichita Falls in 1958.  They have been married since 1955 and have three daughters, Karen, Lisa and Lynn and one son, Kevin.
Watkins became an associate professor in 1962 and became a full professor in 1966. He chaired the Department of Geology from 1966-1981.
“He was the only professor who had served as a full professor for that length of time,” his wife said.
Watkins was one of the department’s driving forces throughout the years.
“When he got here in 1958, they handed him a box that was 2 foot by 2 foot with some rocks in it and they said, ‘This is the department.’ He built it to what it is today,” said John Kocurko, a geology professor and long-time friend of Watkins.
Watkins was recognized as a professor for his handwritten tests and the time spent with his students.
“He was brilliant but demanding of his students. You could ask him about anything and the guy knew the answer,” Joel Onley, a post-baccalaureate  geology student, said. “He handwrote all his tests and notes.”
Onley offered to type them for him, but Watkins replied, “If I didn’t write it they wouldn’t know I made it.”
“It’s a tremendous loss for the university,” Onley said.
The funeral in honor of Watkins will be Thursday at 6 p.m. at Owens and Brumley Funeral Homes chapel.
Donations to a scholarship in honor of Watkins can be made through MSU’s Donor Services, Hardin 109.


Iraq War kindles Romance
Marianne Lechuga | Staff Reporter

Camela Hernandez doesn’t know what prompted her to get online that New Year’s Eve 2003.  The junior English major hardly went online. As she deleted e-mails, an instant message appeared on the screen that would change her life. The message was from specialist Joshua Moer, a soldier stationed in Iraq. Moer had contacted Hernandez because he saw she was from Wichita Falls; he was from Iowa Park. Unknown to them, they were already linked.
Moer’s parents attend church with a friend of Hernandez. The couple had asked her to pray for their Army son stationed in the Middle East. They had no idea they would welcome a daughter-in-law out of their prayer request.
“I prayed for my future husband before I ever knew him,” Hernandez said.
She did not make the connection that the soldier she was chatting with was the same man she had been praying for until he came home.
Moer and Hernandez began communicating via instant message. He had access to the web through an internet café in Baghdad.
“We just talked and talked and I was crazy about him,” Hernandez said.
The feeling was mutual. Over conversations a thousand miles apart, two strangers built a relationship.
“I just fell in love with him,” Hernandez said.
Moer was deployed on March 5, 2003, with the 2/70th Armor Division out of Ft. Riley, Kan. The couple, who had met while he was in Iraq, would meet in person on March 5, 2004.
“I must have hugged him for at least five minutes. I didn’t want to let him go,” Hernandez said.
The moment was emotional for both.
“Seeing him and knowing he was really home and okay was emotional,” she said.
Moer proposed on July 30. Originally, they had agreed to get married after she graduated and when he was out of the Army. However, upon arriving in the states, Moer would come to find out that he was going to be deployed once again.
“He didn’t have any peace of mind because we just knew he was going back,” Hernandez said.
Moer will be departing for the Middle East on Feb. 15, 2005.
“We’re not sure if it will be one year or 18 months,” Hernandez said.
The couple decided to move their wedding date to Dec. 31.
“Joshua said if anything should happen to him he wanted people to know that I am the one he chose for life,” Hernandez said.
She doesn’t regret accelerating the wedding plans but knows it will be bittersweet.
“The first year we’ll be married he’ll be over there,” she said.
Hernandez also dealt with the difficult task of preparing in the unfortunate event Moer is killed in combat while simultaneously planning their wedding.
“As his wife, if he dies I have to plan his funeral. It’s sad to plan a wedding but also talk to lawyers about his will,” she said.
Hernandez praises good communication in their relationship. Even now, Moer is involved in the wedding preparations long distance while he is training in the Mojave Desert until Nov. 23.
“We’re going to buy our first home while he’s in Iraq, but through the internet he can still be involved,” Hernandez said.
Although she has only known Moer for 11 months, Hernandez said she cannot think of a time without him.
“The one thing that I’m sure of is that when I met him I knew it was always going to be him,” Hernandez said. “That will always give me peace no matter what happens.”
Erlene Findley, junior elementary education major, also understands the difficulties of being away from a loved one due to deployment. Her husband, senior airman Terry Findley, has been gone since Aug. 23. Findley is in the Air Force Reserves and volunteered to go.
“He felt he shouldn’t be sitting around and letting other people fight for his country when he was willing and able to do it,” Findley said.
She admits she did not want him to go and tried to talk him out of it. Yet when he told his wife of his plans, it was already too late to change them.
“He didn’t tell me about it until a couple of months after because he knew what I would say,” Findley said.
The couple has a daughter, RenaeLeigh, 21 months. RenaeLeigh would often go into her parent’s bedroom to play with her dad. Findley said she was saddened when right after he left RenaeLeigh ran in the room and said “da da.”
 “I could just tell she was trying to find him and that broke my heart,” Findley said.
Findley is able to talk to her husband almost every day while he is in Kuwait City. During their phone calls she includes their daughter.
“I put the phone up to her ear so he can talk to her,” Findley said.
Findley finds it hard to juggle raising their daughter, going to school full time, and working 20 hours a week while her husband is away. Added to that, is the stress that uncertainty brings. The stress is heightened when he is on a mission and is unable to contact his family.
“I worry because I can’t talk to him or know where he’s at,” Findley said.
She began to have nightmares after watching the prisoner videos on the internet.
Findley said she doesn’t watch the news out of fear.
“I’m terrified of it because I’m afraid I’ll hear my husband’s squadron,” she said.
Findley is proud of her husband because he did not have to go.
“He wants his daughter to be proud. In the future she’ll know he did it for her,” Findley said.
Unfortunately not all stories end happily while loved ones are in Iraq. Junior music major Michele Simmons found this out after her then boyfriend, specialist Arnold returned from duty after a year.
“He was just a totally different person when he got back,” Simmons said.
SPC. Arnold witnessed not only adults, but children being killed and decapitated. Six people from his unit were also killed whenever their helicopter was shot down.
“He had a hard time dealing with the fact he had to kill people,” Simmons said.
They did not talk about it because it was emotionally upsetting to him, Simmons said. He turned to alcohol for therapy to try and deal with things.
“A lot of people’s outlook on life changed dramatically whenever they were over there,” Simmons said. “They need a lot of help with their mental pictures.”
Simmons said she tried to help him, but their relationship ended a month after he came home. She said he feared he would black out and lose control and take his temper out on her.
“Basically his main concern was that he was going to abuse me,” Simmons said.
They both agreed that he needed to concentrate on himself and recovery.
“I knew it was for the best for him to go get professional help,” Simmons said.
Through counseling, Simmons said that he is getting better. Simmons believes that what he and the troops did over there goes unappreciated by the public unless they have a loved one there.
“A majority of the people don’t understand even half of it unless they have a friend, loved one, or family member there,” Simmons said. “Soldiers risk their lives for our country.”
All three women agree that is what makes these men heroes.
“My story is only one of many whose families are affected by this war and who sacrifice,” Hernandez said. “They sacrifice for their country because it is a cause they believe in.”


Sophomore Earns Purple Heart
Paige Dickerson | News Editor

Just a few months before Nov. 11, 2003, sophomore Olan Teague had been sitting in class half paying attention like the rest of his classmates.
But that day he was in Iraq with bullets and grenades whizzing by.
The day started with a routine supplies drop. This late afternoon Sgt. Teague was driving the supply trip and was taking the long route to base.
“Every time you take a different way because if you always go the same way they could be there waiting for you. This day we just happened to be going the long way back to base,” Teague said.
He was looking forward to getting back to base changing into more comfortable clothes and watching a DVD.
But there were enemies waiting and the three-truck caravan came under fire.
Teague’s truck, third in line, was left in behind when the other two disappeared into the rising dust. Teague and a comrade ran behind the truck for cover and began returning fire.
As the battle waged on Teague wandered out from behind the truck because the roof of the Humvee obstructed his line of vision, but he jumped back behind the truck once realizing he had no protection.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m going to f***ing die in Iraq,’” Teague said.
It was 4:45 in the afternoon when the truck stopped on the way back to base.
As his friend and he waited out the fire, a grenade tore through the side of the Humvee.
“We were only about 18 inches apart and an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) went right between us. It exploded behind us,” Teague said.
His friend was wounded, losing some fingers among the injuries. Teague received shrapnel wounds on his arms, legs and face from the exploding RPG.
The Iraqis fled when an American helicopter flew overhead, and Teague and his friend were transported back to the base when the other trucks returned.
Even though he did come under fire from hostile Iraqis Teague said not everything is as negative as it sometimes comes across.
“Sometimes we’d see something on TV and we’d be like, ‘Yeah that was right over there, a couple miles up,’ and then we’d here what they said about it and it was hugely distorted,” Teague said.
He was presented his purple heart in a ceremony on Oct. 10.
Teague joined the Army after high school and was a soldier for four years before starting up at MSU. He entered the National Guard Reserves and was recalled for duty after only a year and a half of school.
Even though it pulled him out of school and away from his friends in his fraternity the Tau Kappa Epsilon, Teague said he does not regret his experience in Iraq.
“I support Bush 100 percent. I would not trade going to Iraq for anything. Ask almost anyone who has been over there, we are over there for some very important reasons,” Teague said.
Teague was officially released from all duties in the National Guard on Oct. 15. He is currently working on a business degree with an emphasis in finance. As for his future options he is considering working for a bank or with stocks or even resigning into the service to be an officer after his December 2006 graduation.
“I would recommended the military service to anyone. I learned a lot about myself,” Teague said.



Campus Crime Rate Shows no Significant Change
Paige Dickerson | Crime Stats

Campus crime remained level for 2003 statistics released Oct. 1.
“The numbers are about the same as they were last year,” Chief of Police Michael Hagy said. “The numbers themselves don’t have correlation with the number of offences. This has a human element. If they tell or don’t tell is based on how they feel.”
One sexual assault occurred in residence housing and one occurred off campus. Both off and on campus were up from no occurrences last year.
Both robberies and non-forcible sexual offences had no reports for the past two years.
Reported aggravated assaults dropped from three in 2002 to two in 2003 on campus and none were reported in 2003 on non-campus property. On public property one aggravated assault was reported.
Two auto thefts were reported in 2003, the same as in 2002.
“Most of the numbers were pretty flat,” Hagy said. “But I always caution people not to assume that the numbers directly reflect the number of actual offenses because we are not able to make people report”
Burglaries went down from six on campus occurrences in 2002 to five in 2003.
“A burglary is when someone enters a residence where they do not have permission to be and steals something,” Hagy said.
Referrals for alcohol violations in residence housing went down from 35 in 2002 to 15 in 2003.
Hagy said that to classify an offence as an alcohol violation it must be a violation of a Texas statute, not just the university policy. For example, having alcohol where not permitted is a university policy violation but not a violation of a Texas statute.
“All 15 alcohol violations have to be violations of Texas statutes,” Hagy said.
Drug violations referrals in residence housing were cut in half form 2002 to 2003, going from 10 to five.
No occurrences of arson or weapons violations were reported.
“Even if someone doesn’t want to press charges we would encourage them to come and report it, so we can have a record of what has happened,” Hagy said.
There were no crimes reported to people other than police. This occurs if someone does not want to talk to the police but they tell someone to go report it for them.