NEWS

10 Years later College Bowl still rocks
Konnie Sewell | Staff Reporter

Ten years ago, MSU beat Princeton, Dartmouth, the University of California at Berkley, and the University of Texas at Dallas on the national stage.
It was the College Bowl team, and they took eighth place (out of 16) at the national competition held in Gainsville, Fla.
"It was quite a feat for a little school in the north of Texas that no one had heard of before to come and beat all these established schools,” former team member Mike Mahurin said. “It was a shock to them."
College Bowl is an academic competition where teams from schools around the country compete against each other by answering general knowledge questions.
Sample question: he was the father of Chiron the centaur, and his Roman counterpart was the father of Picus, an Italian king turned into a woodpecker. He overthrew his father Uranus with a sickle given to him by his mother Gaia, and when they predicted that his own son would overthrow him, he ate his first five children until Rhea, his wife, hid his youngest son. For 10 points - name this Titan toppled by his son, Zeus. (The answer is Cronus.)
"The game is similar to ‘Jeopardy,’” Mahurin, a 53-year-old pastor and teacher, said. “It's like a varsity sport for academics. It's not like football, where you've got a whole crowd going nuts and shouting for you. There are only a few people watching you compete.
“Very rarely will you see freshmen or sophomores on teams. It's good when there's a mix of older, non-traditional students along with traditional students, because the older students have more experience whereas the younger students keep up with the more timely information,” said Mahurin. “Like, me? I'm awful when it comes to pop–culture references. I don't keep up with that stuff. I couldn't tell you who Britney's getting married to this week or who Madonna's out running around with. The categories range from literature, history, or science to rock music and recent movies." Mahurin was one of two older, non-traditional students playing for the 1994 team, which was advised and coached by English professor Jeff Campbell. The other non-traditional student was Mike Koofer, 57.
“We meshed really well as a team,” Koofer said. “We were very well-rounded. We were able to fill those gaps when we needed to. I was very good with the science questions, so the other teammates could rely on me to answer those questions quickly. A lot of people who get nervous when they play would think that would be a hindrance, but it really got my juices flowing and the competition made me feel alive.”
Koofer said he first became interested in the game in high school by watching televised meets. He and Mahurin were both active in helping get together the College Bowl team on campus.
"I came into the game quite by accident, but I felt like it was made for me,” Mahurin said. “I'm very competitive, and since I'm a voracious reader, I guess I just picked up a lot of information along the way."
Mahurin only took six or nine hours at school while he was a member of the team. He was also married and working. Today, he watches the competitions from the sidelines and reads questions to the students.
"There are a thousand tips you could give to somebody about this game, but I think the most important thing is to know that it's more than just listening,” he said. “You've got to do your best and go for excellence while you're representing your school. Don't just wing it; studying helps. Cover your weak spots and practice."
Koofer agrees that practice is the key to doing well in competition, but also stressed the importance of the game outside of the school setting.
“The stuff you study, learn and remember for the College Bowl carries over into other aspects of your life,” Koofer said. “It gives you a wider breadth of knowledge to walk away with. It helps in real life when a question needs answering, and even though you might not know the answer offhand, you can figure out a reasonable answer by knowing that Fact A and Fact B are related somehow, and then you can figure out Fact C. The game really helps you become a more educated guesser.”
Koofer also said the stigma of College Bowl teams only being comprised of geniuses is not true.
“You don’t have to have a high IQ or be a heavy intellectual in order to play on the team,” he said. “Studying and being prepared is the biggest thing. It’s like Einstein: he would have never been able to compete on the team, because the game requires you to have knowledge on a broad range of topics and have fast reflexes.”
Campbell said ever since the team took eighth place ten years ago, MSU is highly respected at College Bowl meets.
"The team 10 years ago was an interesting mix,” Campbell said. “They all had an unusual breadth of knowledge and they all worked so hard. They would study whole lists of things, like elements, rivers and vice presidents."
One of the most vivid memories Campbell has of the team winning ten years ago was the reception they received from the campus.
"Everyone was so enthusiastic about our winning and the team got so much recognition for it,” he said. “Here we were, this little academic team, but you'd have thought by the response on campus that we'd won the Cotton Bowl."
Mahurin remembers many instances where the answer to a question wouldn’t come to him.
"I remember tripping up lots of times and feeling just horrible for it,” he said. “What was really the worst thing about it was that I knew the answer, but it wouldn't pop up into my head. You have to answer right away, and I was so angry with myself that I couldn't get it out. One time there was a question about television, and I hadn't owned a television set in seven years prior to that.
“I remember another time, I buzzed in like lightning, because I thought I knew the question before they finished it. The question was asking about six cubits in a span, and I buzzed in so I could answer with Goliath, from the Bible. But the next word out of the moderator's mouth was 'Goliath,' so I had to think fast and ask myself, 'What are they were asking?' Turned out the answer they wanted was 9’9”, or how tall he was. I got it right, but that was close.
“There was also another time when they were asking about Shakespeare's plays, and they wanted to know about a play within a play in one of them. I answered with 'Hamlet,' but it was really 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' they wanted."
For his part, Mahurin doesn’t regret the time he spent playing for the team, and was able to walk away from meets with more than he walked in with.
“There were many other schools at tournaments who would sniff their noses at us, and thought they were better than us because they didn't stay up studying late into the night like we did,” he said. “One of the best parts of being on the team was that it taught us to work harder as individuals and as a team.”


Illusionist Super awes Crowd with Show
Mirand Zepeda | Staff Reporter

Though the show started forty-five minutes late, the crowd was swept off their feet by Mike Super’s, magician and illusionist.
  The audience, which ranged from MSU football players to families who came to check out unique entertainment, seemed to be amazed by Super and to have completely forgotten the irritating wait of almost an hour.  They were energized by loud music and laughter brought on by Super’s quick quips and charismatic stage presence.   
The show started when Super asked an audience member for her crushed, empty can of Pepsi.  He then proceeded to magically form the can back to its original shape, fill it with soda, reseal the tab only to open it again and poor the soda into a glass. 
They cheered when Super levitated an MSU student.  Super asked her to lie down on a wooden table and took the legs from underneath her.  He used a metal ring to demonstrate that there were no wires or strings holding her up.  The audience’s jaws dropped to the floor.  The girl who was levitating started shrieking when she saw the Polaroid picture of her floating in the air.
He took an edition of USA Today, ripped it in half more than five times then proceeded, with a quick flick of his wrists, to have the full page newspaper in his hands put together again. 
Super’s show involved the audience quite a bit and included original entertainment and classic magic such as card tricks and mysterious metal rings.  The entertainer said at the beginning of the performance that it was not just for spectators and that it was a show that involved the audience. 
When Super asked for volunteers dozens of hands shot up enthusiastically and people came out of their seats wanting a chance to be on stage.
Super incorporated not only MSU students who were there into the performance, but also asked a six-year-old boy named Hamilton to join him on-stage, who helped him with a card trick. 
“The show brought many people from around Wichita Falls.  This could be good for MSU,” senior art major, Katy Blackwood said.  “It was fun.  I really liked the way he got the crowd involved.”
With the large amount of people who attended the show and wanted to partcipate Mike Super and his crew were well-received by MSU students and the Wichita Falls community.





Career Fair aids Students to Snag Jobs
Jo Ann L. Nance | For the Wichitan

Education majors needing a job should plan on attending MSU’s Education Career Fair this Thursday.
According to a number of recruiters of teachers, the career fair is considered one of the best in the region. The fair is held twice a year and will be held at the Comanche Suites in the Clark Student Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
Students from the education department, including future teachers, administrators and counselors, are encouraged to attend. The fair has been coordinated by Stephanie Sullivan, college coordinator at the Career Management Center, for the past three years.  She expects representatives from more than 25 school districts throughout the state of Texas to be represented. 
“This is helpful not only to the current student teachers, but I also suggest that anyone graduating in the next two years attend the fair to become familiar with the employers in their career field,” Sullivan said.
Last year, more than 20 districts were represented from across the state. Districts included were the Birdville Independent School District, located about 10 miles north of the Fort Worth area. The Birdville ISD filled 285 professional staff positions for the current school year, the majority being teaching positions, according to Suzy Compton, coordinator for Birdville’s Personnel Services. Administrators and counselors were also hired. Compton attends 23 different career fairs between February and June every year.
“MSU’s fair is right in line with the other job fairs throughout the state and is very well organized.”  Compton said.  She also feels that student teachers from Midwestern are roundly educated and have a lot to offer.  She did not hire any MSU students from the spring fair, but has hired MSU students in the past.  She said she would not hesitate to hire a qualified teacher from MSU in the future.
Randy Lovelady, executive director for human resources and student services from the Burkburnett ISD also attends MSU’s semi-annual event.
“MSU’s job fair is the best,” said Lovelady.   In the past, Lovelady has also attended the fair at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma.  However, MJ Heptig, secretary in the Department of Education at Cameron, said that their fair has been cancelled indefinitely.  Her announcement makes MSU’s fair an even more valuable tool for both future educators and teacher recruiters from the area. 
Lovelady said Burkburnett ISD filled about 25 teaching positions for the current school year with six of those teachers coming from MSU.  He also said that he has hired as many as nine new teachers from MSU in a year.  He feels new teachers bring a fresh enthusiasm to his schools and have a positive impact on the students and other faculty members.  He asks the MSU Education Department to send as many student teachers as possible to Burkburnett schools every year. He said he often offers permanent positions to those individuals at the end of their student teaching.
In addition to positions filled every spring for the upcoming school year, the Burkburnett ISD replaces as many as five teachers in the middle of the school year because of the area’s high military population. 
“I like hiring military spouses for teaching positions because they bring experience and knowledge from around the country,” Lovelady said.  “They encourage and motivate other teachers with their new ideas.”
“MSU’s job fair is well organized, well planned and well attended and you have quality students,” said Carolyn Cody, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Cleburne ISD.  She attends every year and has also recruited teachers from MSU. 
The Cleburne ISD is located about 30 miles south of Fort Worth.  The district hires an average of 50 new teachers every year.  According to Cody, some of those new teachers are hired as a direct result of a contact made at a job fair.  The Cleburne ISD sends a representative to more than 20 job fairs statewide annually. 
Tricia McBride, administrative assistant at the West College of Education, said the entire department encourages all education students to attend the fair. 
“The fair enables student teachers to explore job opportunities,” McBride said.  “Even students who are a year or two from graduating are able to gain insight as to what jobs are out there and they also receive interviewing experience.”
Sullivan recommends students have an up-to-date resume with them, and that they dress professionally. 
“This is a great opportunity for all education students who are in the market for a permanent position to be seen by and become familiar to the teacher recruiters in the local area and around the state,” Sullivan said.
A resume writing workshop for education majors is also being offered the week before the fair and anyone interested in attending should contact Sullivan at the Career Management Center at 397-4432.