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One Day at a Time: Student's Illness doesn't stop Normal Life
Kelcie Newton | For the Wichitan

Appearances can be deceiving. When you first meet Kyle Dyer, he looks like a healthy 21-year-old college student. In all actuality, he is battling cystic fibrosis, a terminal illness.  Cystic fibrosis is a disease that affects the lungs, the pancreas and the gastrointestinal system by creating an excess amount of mucus that clogs small and large airways.
Dyer was diagnosed with the disease when he was 2 years old.  He faces many challenges every day. Before he can eat anything, Dyer must take eight white pills.  He said he has to take the pills before putting anything into his mouth. 
“Without the enzyme tablets, my body would not be able to absorb any of the nutrients from food or drink intake,” Dyer said.  “I have to take these pills with me everywhere I go. I have them in my car, my backpack, my house, my girlfriend’s car, her house, everywhere.” 
Dyer has been in and out of the hospital his whole life. At Cook’s Children Hospital in Dallas, where he goes for most of his care, he knows the nurses by name. 
“They are a specialty hospital. It is where I have always gone and always will go,” Dyer said.
“When I was 7, I had to spend Christmas in the hospital.  My mom, dad, and sister brought Christmas to me! My parents brought all of my gifts and they even brought a little tree that sat beside my bed.  Although I was in the hospital, it is one of my greatest memories.
 “My family is very supportive; my parents go with me to all of my checkups.  I have a checkup every three months,” he said.
Dyer said the people who know him are used to the fact he is living with a terminal illness.
“I have been this way all my life. This is all we know,” Dyer said. 
He said his friends know he has to be home at certain times to receive treatment. He takes two breathing treatments in the morning and one in the evening.  He also takes a beating treatment after each of the breathing treatments.  The beating treatment is a large vest that inflates and beats his chest and back to break up the mucus in his lungs, clearing the airways. In total, his treatments take about two hours every day.
“When I first started the beating treatment, I would wake up with bruises on my back and chest and dread having to go through it again,” Dyer said.  “I have to do what the doctor says. I have lived longer than a lot of people with this disease.”
He has watched friends die from cystic fibrosis.  Most people with the disease don’t live past the age of 25, but Dyer is optimistic for himself.
Dyer said it could be hard for him to have children because the medicine prescribed to him usually makes people sterile. The disease is genetic. Neither his mother nor father has it, but they both carry the gene and passed it on to him. 
“I am not angry because I have this disease. I have loving parents that take care of me, and I truly appreciate life,” Dyer said. “It brings actual meaning to the saying, ‘Live every day to your fullest, because you never know when it might be your last.’” 
Dyer said he isn’t afraid of dying.  “I don’t sulk around waiting for death,” he said.
Dyer works at the State Hospital. His experience there has given him a fresh perspective on life. “I am thankful for my health and wellbeing.  It makes me realize that I could have it much worse,” he said.
He said he tries to think about long-term goals like graduating from MSU, saving money for the future, buying his first home and getting married.  He said he hasn’t let cystic fibrosis get in the way of anything.
“I played football and basketball in high school just like anyone else. I was also in a fraternity for a while.  Just by looking at me you would never know I was sick. I look as healthy as anyone. I am 6 feet tall and I weigh 185 pounds.”  Dyer said.  “The one thing I get a lot is people asking, ‘Why are you breathing so hard?’ It can sometimes get uncomfortable when I explain it to them.  I don’t want people to feel sorry for me or treat me any differently because I have cystic fibrosis.”
Dyer said that it sometimes gets tough financially. The checkups every three months and the gas to get to the hospital add up fast. His medicine costs about $3,000 a month, and his beating vest costs the family $25,000. 
“The vest I use now I got when I was young.  There are more advanced vests out now. It just a matter of getting the money to buy one,” Dyer said.
Dyer plans to graduate from MSU in May of 2007. Until then, he said he will “Live each day to the fullest.”   

 

MSU steps to African Beats
Ashley Dennis | Staff Reporter

MSU students and faculty were “stepping” in the name of love, unity and Black History during the Step Afrika and MSU Greek Step Show held Monday night in the Fain Fine Arts Theatre.
The event, which was sponsored by the University Programming Board and the Office of Student Activities, was planned to promote Black History and student participation in campus programs, and featured an international dance group, Step Afrika. The efforts proved successful, drawing an audience of over 300 students, faculty and general public.
Step Afrika, a U.S.-based percussive dance ensemble based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1994 by Houston native Brian Williams, a graduate of Howard University and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Williams’ concept was to highlight the art form of stepping worldwide, integrating traditional African dance with black American culture. “Stepping” refers to a form of dance made popular by black fraternities and sororities. The dances, however, can be traced to peoples and cultural traditions throughout Africa.
“It isn’t just for a month. It’s for the rest of our lives that we tolerate other cultures,” said director of student development Sophia Rodriguez during her opening speech at the program. A step performance by members of the Rho Nu Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. followed.
To highlight the origins of stepping, the show began with a skit portraying members of the Step Afrika dance ensemble as sorority and fraternity pledges. The show then depicted the members as African villagers performing dance styles of the many African ethnic groups that encompass the South African nation. The group performed many of the African dances in traditional costumes and sang songs in native dialects. The most powerful performance was the “gumboot,” a dance created by diamond and goldmine workers of South Africa as a form of social and physical expression. 
“There are 11 official languages in South Africa,” said Paul Woodruff, who has performed with the group since its inception in 1994. “The words that we use during the performances are mainly Zulu, since it’s the language most prominently used in South Africa.”
The group performs throughout the country, and February is its heaviest touring month.
“Since February is Black History Month, we’re booked almost every day,” Woodruff said.
Members of the group also perform at the Step Afrika International Cultural Festival, held annually in conjunction with the Soweto Dance Theater of South Africa during the month of December in Johannesburg.
“My first visit to South Africa [in December, 1994] was very humbling in the sense that Apartheid had just ended,” Woodruff recalls. “We were witnessing its effects and how people who didn’t have basic human rights were now coming out and doing things they weren’t able to do just months before we came.”
Step Afrika was invited to perform at MSU after the group performed for audience members at the National Association of Campus Activities.
“When I first saw them, I knew they had to come here,” said Ronette Hoffart, activity coordinator for the Office of Student Activities. “There was just so much energy between the group and the audience.”
Funding the project, however, was an obstacle. Hoffart said the Office of Student Development offered its assistance in sharing expenses to bring the group to MSU.
“I’m so glad neither office was territorial and that they worked together so well to make this happen,” Rodriguez said. “I think the students and others see now what we’re trying to do and the seriousness of our office.”
Audience members were also encouraged to participate in the show. About 10 people were invited to the stage to dance with group members, including a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.
“I thought that was the most beautiful part of the show,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what it’s all about, cultures coming together. You can talk tolerance, but we need to do more and move from talk to inclusion.”

Daycare Center not Affordable for Midwestern
Tiffany Mercer | For the Wichtan

 MSU lacks the resources needed to start up a daycare center, a facility many married and single-parent students say they would use. 
Keith Lamb, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said there are many reasons MSU does not currently have a daycare center. 
The main reason is the lack of funding.  The cost of maintenance, employee salaries, equipment and the facility itself would be unaffordable.
 “We are in an environment where government funding for higher education is continually decreasing,” Lamb said, “with the cost of education effectively being passed to the student.”
 Lamb agrees that a daycare facility would benefit students who require childcare services. However, he maintains that building such a facility is just not possible. Instead, MSU offers daycare assistance through a program called Child Care Access Means Parents in School. 
The program is available to qualified students and will pay part of daycare costs. 
Eligibility for funds is determined on a case-by-case basis. Several variables are taken into account, including the rate at the specific daycare center, the number of hours in which a student is enrolled, and the amount of "unmet need" from the student's financial aid record.   Lamb said the award typically pays for twice the number of hours for which a student is enrolled.  This gives the students time to study. 
“We will not, however, award for more than the unmet need,” Lamb said.
 The program is made possible by a Federal Grant program that will run through next year.  Altogether, MSU received $35,000 this year for CCAMPIS.     
The Higher Education Act of 1965 authorizes grants for institutions of higher education to assist in providing campus-based child care services to low-income students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
“The university will reapply for the program before the term expires,” Lamb said. “However, consistent with declining government assistance, there is speculation the Federal Government may in fact phase out this program.”
 Even though building a daycare would be expensive, other Division II Texas colleges offer on-location childcare.  In many cases, the facilities have been very successful.
 West Texas A&M in Canyon, for instance, offers a “Kids’ Kollege.”  The facility includes four classrooms for children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years.  Each classroom is divided into interest centers, including blocks, art, books, puzzles, writing and science, according to coordinator Darla Clark.  She said material is often changed in order to meet the children’s needs.  During the day, time is spent in the center, outside and in group activities.  Lunch and snacks are also provided for the children.
Clark said most of the teachers are education majors wanting experience prior to getting their degrees.  She describes the facility as a safe and affordable place for children to grow and learn while students attend classes. 
 “Without this program, students’ choices about classes would be very limited and the children would be seriously at risk,” Clark said. 
Texas A&M University in Kingsville also offers a daycare center. The Center for Young Children, which began in 1938, provides a nurturing environment, promoting the development of young children while responding to the needs of families, according to Lisa Turcotte, director of CYC.
 The CYC doesn’t restrict its services; they are available to anyone.  The Department of Human Sciences operates the facility.  Each teacher is required to complete 20 hours of child development training each year.  Most student employees are child development and elementary education majors.
“It works,” Turcotte said.  The center serves many students and has a huge waiting list.  Currently, 50 children are enrolled.
Senior Lisa Black has 2-year-old son, Brady.   She believes that MSU should have a daycare center.
“I live out of town in Graham,” Black said. “It’s too expensive to keep Brady in a daycare for hours while I’m making the drive to and from school and going to my classes.” 
 Currently, Black’s mother cares for her son while she’s in school.  Black said she knows it’s hard on her mother because she doesn’t always have the time.  Black said she ends up missing five to six days of classes each semester because she can’t find anyone to watch her son.  She said she would definitely take advantage of on-campus daycare if it were available.
Political Science Assistant Professor Steve Garrison has two young daughters.   He said he would use a daycare center for his 2-year-old.  Currently he is able to schedule around his wife, who is also a teacher, so one of them is always home to baby-sit. 
Garrison said he also notices his students with children tend to miss classes. 
“At Kansas University they had an excellent day care facility,” Garrison said.  He said it was part of the Early Childhood Education program and was used for student teaching.  He believes it was cost-effective and functional. 
Senior fine arts student Todd Rinker has three children.  Although they are older, ranging in age from 7 to 13, he likes the idea of on-campus daycare.  He said it is difficult to find someone to watch your kids, especially when you are a single parent. Attending night classes makes it even harder to find childcare, since many daycare centers close around 5:30 p.m. 
“Daycare would be great!” Rinker said.  

Phone Numbers
Lisa Turcotte   361-593-2219
Darla Clark   806-651-2974 or 806-651-2998
Keith Lamb   397-4291
Steve Garrison   397-6282
Lisa Black   550-5531

Information Systems revamps Technology
Nicole Ford | Opinion Editor

In September or October 2005, MSU will begin purchasing hardware and software for a new, campus-wide information system.
The cost for the new system will be $3 million.
The current system is “green screen”  operated and is not compatible with all internet browsers. According to Michael Dye, the director of information systems, the new system would be browser-based on a system such as Internet Explorer and allow people access from any internet browser.
Dye said the current information system also operates on unsupported products from the lenders. The future system will be supported and will allow for enhancements. This system will make it easier for MSU to submit data in a specific format, such as Microsoft Word. 
According to networking services manager Jim Hall, these mainframe systems are not operating well for MSU’s demand.
“It’s fairly obvious that the mainframe system is just not working. We’re asking more of it than it can naturally handle,” Hall said.
Dye said the new system will also allow individual departments to format and submit information and data without needing the assistance of the main office.
The new information system will affect the entire university and students living both on and off campus.
One noticeable change is that online student services will be available 24 hours a day. Currently, they are only available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 
The new system will also make it easier for students to access and use online services such as e-mail, financial aid and registration.
“There will be a single sign-on to access e-mail, request transcripts, financial aid and other modules,” Dye said.
The new system will also make the online registration process faster.
“When students go online to register now, they’re on with 300 or 400 other students trying to do the same thing.  The current mainframe system is slower during peak registration hours.  The new hardware would handle larger volumes of traffic and make it easier for students to register and make payments online,” Dye said.
According to Dye, the changes in the system will relieve the burden on financial aid and the registrar’s office and make MSU more efficient.
“It makes it better for the customer and allows better use of department resources,” Dye said.
By September 2006, after the necessary hardware and software is purchased, a three-phase implementation plan will begin and take 28-30 months to complete.  According to Dye, phase one involves bringing the university’s budget and ledger software online.  Phase two would implement payroll and human resources services, and phase three would be student information and financial aid systems.