NEWS

12 Buildings around Campus to Change Names
Konie Sewell | Staff Reporter

Konnie Sewell
Don’t get too attached.
The names of 12 buildings on campus have officially been changed, including the College of Liberal Arts Hall to the Liberal Arts Hall; Daniel Hall to Daniel Building; Dorm Mechanical Building to Residence Hall Mechanical Building; Ex-Student Center to Alumni Center; Hampstead House to University Police; Hardin Hall to Hardin Administration Building; Ligon Hall to D.L. Ligon Coliseum; Robotics Laboratory to Engineering Laboratories; Memorial Hall to Memorial Building; Outdoor Education Center to Outdoor Recreation Center; Sutton House to Biology House; and Old University Press to University Press.
The decision was made during the November 5 Board of Regents meeting and took effect that night.
"It really made sense," Janus Buss, Director of the Office of Public and Information and Marketing, said. "When the current administration started bringing it up and discussing it, no one was really in opposition to it. There were some buildings where reverting back to the traditional name was just logical, like the Hampstead House. You would never know that’s where the police are by calling it ‘Hampstead House.’ The same goes for calling the Biology House ‘Sutton House.’ There’s a purpose and a reason behind each of the buildings’ traditional names."
Buss also said the layout of new campus maps will have to be changed, but she doesn’t expect the changes to be expensive or cause any sort of problems.
The buildings’ traditional names were changed in 2000 by former MSU president Henry Moon.
"He thought MSU should be more in line with other universities in the nation," Buss said. "All the academic buildings were made into halls and other buildings were just simply known as ‘buildings.’ That’s how a lot of the original universities, the ones up East, do it."
For Buss, the most difficult name to get used to was calling her office building Hardin Hall instead of the Hardin Administration Building.
"It just didn’t feel right calling it ‘Hardin Hall’ all the time," she said. "It just wasn’t comfortable. It’s the university’s administration building, and referring to it as a hall just felt wrong and kind of undermined the level of work that goes on here."
Buss said the biggest change to one of the campus’ buildings before the name change of 2000 was when O’Donohoe and Bea Wood buildings were connected to form the Liberal Arts Hall. More information on the history of campus buildings can be found at the maps and tour page of the MSU website.



Library to Donate Books to University Destroyed by Flood
Sara Webb | For the Wichitan

Moffett Library is planning a book donation drive to help in the flood relief efforts at the University of Hawaii in Manoa.
Moffett Library was notified of the disaster at the university on Nov. 1, two days after Manoa was flooded with tsunami-like rainfall.
“This has not happened in at least 50 years,” Clara Latham, university librarian, said.
Moffett Library through the Endeavor system, the library cataloging system, received a message about the crisis at the Hamilton Library and other buildings on the campus.  The message appealed for restoration aid and other help.
The muddy waters damaged buildings across the campus.  Hamilton Library and the BioMed Research Facility were the most heavily damaged.
Rebecca Cann, professor in cell and molecular biology, tried to salvage 18 years of research on endangered birds and human tissue.  Like many others, Cann’s equipment, valued at thousands of dollars, was destroyed, the Star Bulletin in Hawaii reported.
The university library’s basement, where rare maps and government documents were stored, was flooded.  Maps and documents that were retrievable form the mud and water were  damaged and many unsalvageable.  Other items were covered in mud and irretrievable. 
“The library’s collection was severely depleted,” Latham said.  “We have offered to send our withdrawn books in order to help build their collection back up.”
Initially, the University of Hawaii asked for aid from all universities using the Endeavor system.  The campus lost furniture, windows, and many items of value.  Whole offices were swept into the streets by the rushing waters. 
“The whole picture was pretty devastating,” Latham said.
Moffett Library employees are currently compiling lists of duplicate, out-of-date, and unnecessary books.  These books will be withdrawn from the library system. A duplicate list will then be sent to the Hamilton Library in Manoa for review.
“The withdrawal of library items is an ongoing procedure.  Currently, we do not know how many books we have or how much help the books will be,” Latham said.
For an academic library, research and informative material is needed.  Moffett Library has plenty of out-of-date textbooks, duplicate paperback novels and books, as well as other non-academic items, Latham said.
“Our withdrawn textbooks are not necessarily old.  They have simply been replaced with newer editions,” Latham said.  “If Hawaii wants what we have, they are more than welcome to have it.  We are more than willing to help in any way we possibly can.”
Moffett Library is sending a list of books rather than the actual books for Hamilton Library to review.
“It takes a lot of money to send that many books to Hawaii.  We do not want to waste our money sending items that will be completely useless to them,” Latham said.  “We do not want to waste their time either.”
 Manoa received more than 8.71 inches of rain within the first six hours of the storm.  Damage estimates for the campus are currently in the billions but continue to rise.
“We have not made our efforts known in order to keep the donations under control,” Latham said.  “However, if students, faculty, staff, offices, or departments would like to make a donation it would be accepted.  The only thing we ask is for a list of the items – rather than the items – for donation.  We can then send the list to Hawaii and let the Hamilton Library tell us what they need and want.”
 

Moon snags new job as Interim City Manager
Camron Rushin | Editor-In-Chief

Former MSU president Henry Moon can’t seem to go anywhere without causing a stir. Last month, Moon was appointed Interim City Administrator for Marfa, Texas. Marfa is a city of about 2,000 residents in southwest Texas.
Moon who is living in Ft. Davis, was appointed by the Marfa mayor and approved 4 -1 by the city council. The member with the opposing vote claimed that the other members were in violation of the Texas Attorney General Open Government Handbook because they could have discussed meeting business on a recent trip.
The member was also upset that Moon had appointed a new Emergency Medical Service Director before he was even confirmed by the council.
Moon is being paid $5,000 per month with no benefits.
“He’ll be leaving soon,” said “Big Bend Sentinel” Publisher Rosario Halpern. “He’s only the interim and he didn’t apply for the position.”
Halpern said the board is now down to four applicants but was not sure when they would decide who to hire.
Moon was MSU’s president from 2000 until he was fired in 2002.
According to his online resume at www.drhenrymoon.com, he adds to his credit that he was a president of a university. He doesn’t mention which university.


'Humble Boy' grabs awards at theatre festival
Marianna Lechuga | For the Wichitan

MSU was one of two universities considered to advance to the regional American College Theatre Festival to be held in February at the University of Arkansas. The American College Theatre Festival is presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate university theatre programs and recognize the finest work produced by students.
The theatre production of “Humble Boy” was nominated after it received a “Regional Committee Commendation” at area competition in November.
“About 15 percent of the productions that competed wind up being recommended, so that puts us in pretty good standing,” Ron Fischli, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of “Humble Boy,” said. “We feel well awarded.”
“Humble Boy” competed with productions and universities of all sizes, Fischli said. The committee will pick six or seven shows out of the nominated shows and those will perform in February.
“We’ll find out at the earliest sometime this month. We hope to find out before Christmas break,” junior Theatre Publicity Manager Lindsey Stewart said.
In addition, “Humble Boy” earned other awards, including one of only two citations granted for Professionalism in Overall Production. This is an award that recognizes achievements both on and off stage including acting, costumes, scenery, sound and lighting..
“That is the award I am proudest of because it is excellence in all the elements, Fischli said.
Faculty commendations went to Fischli for Excellence in Directing, Don Henschel for Exellence in Scene Design, Lighting Design and Lighting Execution, and Elizabeth Lewandowski for Excellence in both Costume Design and Costume Execution.
“Everyone had a very good feeling of the role they were doing whether technical or onstage,” senior Jason M. Wagner said.
Students were awarded for Excellence in Ensemble Acting and for Excellence in Efficient Execution of Running Crews.
“’Humble Boy’ was a success because it was such an ensemble effort and everyone involved put in 100 percent,” Stewart said.
Individual student awards went to Wagner for Excellence in Stage Management, Chance H. Browning for Excellence in Properties and George Tipton for Excellence in Sound Design.
“I was real appreciative of the award and all the comments made by Dr. Fischli and other faculty telling me I did a good job with the position of stage manager,” Wagner said.
Wagner was also publicity box manager for the show and is a program designer.
“It was very time consuming. There would be times I’d be working on it until incredibly late—till 1 or 2 a.m.,” Wagner said.
Three cast members were selected to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the regional festival. These students are Laura Jordan, Donald Gipson and Brette Paglierani.
“This is my favorite play I’ve been in, my favorite character to play, and one of my favorite scripts,” junior Donald Gipson said.
Gipson attributes the achievement of “Humble Boy” to their director.
“We have a leader who really cares about us, the show, and everything around it. Dr. Fischli pretty much lived and breathed the show,” Gipson said.
Fischli feels the same about his students.
“The motivation of the students and the belief they had in what they were doing caused me to be more motivated,” Fischli said.
Jordan is pleased for being one of the selected three cast members.
“We just went to do the show and anything extra is cool,” Jordan said.
Everyone involved in the production of “Humble Boy” felt rewarded from the recognition and personal achievement.
“The play offers a lot of potential for creative decisions and it challenges you. It was a labor of love,” Fischli said.



Wichita Falls Opoly: Local Businesses advertise on board game Commemorating Area
Mandy Cross | For the Wichitan

“Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.” These are familiar phrases for anyone who has ever played the Milton Bradley board game, Monopoly. Now, though, there’s some new competition in town.
Wichita Falls resident Dana Papp has invented the town’s first edition of the popular board game. “Wichita Falls Opoly” that was made available after Thanksgiving.
Papp moved to town from Long Meadow, Mass. Last Christmas she received an opoly game commemorating Long Meadow and immediately got the idea to create the Wichita Falls edition.
Papp created the game for what she calls a “permanent means of advertising.”
Papp worked with the Small Business Association on campus to get started. She formerly worked at US Cellular in the accounts payable division and she knew the advertising world.
 Local businesses, she figured, could front the fee to be placed on the game board. How much money they had determined their location on the board.
“The goal was to relate the game to a large demographic,” Papp said.
Using her old connections, she convinced US Cellular to jump on the Wichita Falls Opoly bandwagon first.
Other businesses that cashed in on the deal include MSU, The Plex, Wichita Theater, Sheppard Air Force Base, Herb Easley Motors, Patterson Auto Center, Jerry’s Scoreboard, Hunan’s Chinese Restaurant and Aqua Azul Divers.
Businesses paid $300 to be on the board as a square, and $500 to $700 to be on the cover. Those on the cover received dual advertising and, in turn, paid a heftier price.
Papp also offered what she called patron ads for $20. These were simply the names of businesses and people placed on the middle of the board, and not a square.
Monte J. White occupies the famous go to jail location, but for Papp’s edition, the spot is called “go to court for speeding.”
Instead of the community chest cards, Herb Easley Motors has a “good neighbor’s chest,” Papp said. “All of the cards are about cars.”
The board not only has businesses, but also some of the city’s heritage hotspots such as the Kell House, the Harrison House, The Falls, and a picture of the Lake House on Lake Wichita that burnt down more than 50 years ago.
Papp had 750 of the games printed from Pride Prodigy in Michigan.
She, along with Pride Prodigy, wants to make clear that this is in no way a copyright violation infringing on the Monopoly franchise.
The game is still played the same way as the original Monopoly game, but instead of trying to acquire property, homes, or hotels, players try to acquisition customers and business.
“Part of the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society,” Papp said.
Papp recently had several friends diagnosed with various types of cancer and decided this would be a good way to create funding for the cause.
“There are so many diverse types of cancer and I felt like this was a good cause and organization,” Papp said.
 If anyone is interested in purchasing the game, they can do so for $25 either through Papp, who will enroll in journalism classes at MSU in the spring semester, or through Hastings Books Music and Videos. Papp can be reached at 322- 4371. Hastings is located at 2805 Southwest Pkwy., next to El Chico.
 


Retention Committee looks at student use of Campus E-mail Accounts
Amanda Carr | Copy Editor

What’s in your inbox?
The members of MSU’s Student Retention committee believes many students have no idea, because they aren’t taking advantage of their campus e-mail accounts. The university uses the e-mail server to send out mass mailings informing students of opportunities and up-coming events.
The Internet has changed the way people communicate with each other. It’s faster than standard mail and cheaper than a long-distance phone call. With this technology so widely available, MSU’s e-mail server doesn’t live up to some students’ expectations. For many, the whole point of e-mail is convenience.
“What we discovered that students were coming to MSU with prior e-mail addresses, and most of them kept them,” Academic Support Center Director Diane Spiller said. “To check another e-mail is just a second hassle for them.”
“It’s slow,” Matt Christensen, history graduate student, said. “It’s kind of cumbersome to delete things with the two-step process.”
Junior pre-med major Melisa Gutherie agrees. “I started using the e-mail account because I figured I wouldn’t receive junk mail on it, but I was wrong” she said. “Having that account just means more unwanted mail. It’s such a long e-mail address. It’s frustrating to write it down all the time.”
Student e-mail addresses are comprised of the student’s first and last names, their two-digit birth month and day, followed by “@wichita.mwsu.edu.” Faculty only has to deal with their first and last name separated by a dot and followed only by “@mwsu.edu.”
Director of Information Systems Michael Dye attributes the difference to variations in the hardware and software involved. Student addresses contain the word “Wichita” because it’s the name of the student server.
“The faculty uses Microsoft Outlook,” he said. “Students use another product altogether.”
Accommodating every student, faculty and staff member on campus does not allow much storage room for each account. Conveniences like spell-check are not available, and for the moment, administrators are able to send only mass mailings to every student. It’s currently not possible for a professor to e-mail to only a select segment of students without picking them out individually. For example, an English professor cannot automatically send a mailing only to students involved in the English Club.
The system does provide first level virus protection, meaning that every e-mail is scanned for viruses before it’s opened, but that doesn’t mean students don’t need to have virus protection on their own computers. The system’s program won’t cover individual machines. In the future, students may be able to set up their own welcome page to help personalize and consolidate some of the programs features, but Dye says that’s years down the road.
“Talk is all it has been. We’ve talked to the administration about the other options. At this point there are no decisions,” he said “The product we have now was very inexpensive and quick to implement.”
Student complaints about the system are fairly mild and most problems can be fixed quickly. Dye says students commonly change their PIN number to something more meaningful to them, but that doesn’t automaticly change the PIN they use to sign in to their e-mail account. The problem is easily remedied with a phone call to the information systems office so the PIN can be reset.
According to MSU’s Web-site, students have difficulty accessing their inboxes because they type in the URL wrong. The address doesn’t include the usual “www” at the beginning, it’s just wichita.mwsu.edu. Other common mistakes are adding one’s birth year in the e-mail address and forgetting to separate segments of the address with dots.
These little inconveniences can be avoided altogether by clicking on the “rules” menu and redirecting mail to a private e-mail account.  Spiller surmises that many students have never accessed their campus e-mail accounts to begin with.
“Many students, until they have a compelling reason, just don’t use it,” she said.
English Instructor Sally Henschel gives her freshman students a compelling reason. In a beginning English class, each student starts their college career in the lab learning the basics of writing on a computer, how to send and open attachments and to use their campus e-mail accounts.
“I have students set up their e-mail in the lab because they won’t do it on their own,” she said.
Students consider their e-mail address to be their face to the on-line community and format their screen names with nicknames or phrases and numbers they feel convey their personalities. Many shun the structure of their campus addresses. Henschel tries to stress to her students the legitimacy using university e-mail adds to their correspondence.
“I’ve had students e-mail senators for information,” she said. “If they use their .edu account, they will get a response.”
Dye said that in the future, MSU’s various administrative offices may be able to correspond with students via campus e-mail, but that can’t happen until administrators are confident students are accessing their inboxes regularly. For help setting up your university e-mail account go to http://libarts.mwsu.edu/english/MwsuStudentEmail.asp.