FEATURES

Winterguard Gains International Honors
Kelcie Newton | For the Wichitan

The MSU winterguard, started in 1991, has competed in the Texas Colorguard Circuit, the Oklahoma Colorguard Association, and now duels it out in the North Texas Colorguard Association. All of the competitions are under the direction of Winterguard International, a worldwide arts pageantry organization base in Dayton, Ohio. Circuts and competitions are held in Europe and Japan as well.
This year’s guard is made up of nine co-eds, all of whom have had previous winterguard or colorguard experience.
“I actually got started with the guard in the early 90s as a student in the MSU winterguard,” Director Penny Seigler said.
Try outs for the winterguard are each year during the marching band season. Members are chosen by Thanksgiving. Practicing begins immediately following tryouts.
Junior Danielle Sealers, one of the captains for the winterguard, said that the director asks for her input at tryouts, but she is not a major factor in the decision –making process.
Senior music major Stephanie O’Brien started with the winterguard as a freshman.
“I didn’t have any winerguard experience before MSU. I tried it and loved it and have been in it all four years,” O’Brien said.
Competition performances, about four minutes long, are a combination of dance, theater and equipment choreographed to a recorded soundtrack. The winterguard uses not only flags but rifles and sabers as well. The guard this year has choreographed a performance to Renee Olstead’s arrangement of Gershwin’s “Summertime.”
Judging is strict and competitive. It is based primarily on synchronization of the team as a whole and creativity, difficulty and overall performance of the choreography. The MSU winterguard competes in the  Independent A category which puts them against other colleges comparable in size.
Many high school students and their families view the competitions. By sponsoring winterguard, MSU has been able to recruit many new students, some of  whom become music majors, most of whom are also members of the marching band or colorguard.
The winterguard began practicing in October to prepare for the competition season. In the spring the guard practices eight hours a week.
“Practices can be very demanding and take a lot of dedication and patience,” Sealers said.
The winterguard season begins late in January each year, with competitions being held in the Dallas area on weekends during  January, February and March. The guard is presently preparing for the national competition. While at the national competition the winterguard will compete against more than 60 other teams.
“The girls are really excited about the competition and are ready for the challenge,” Seigler said.



Family Prays for Recovery of MSU Student in Coma
Nicole Ford | Opinion Editor

It was Easter morning when the truck Sean Carter was riding in slammed into a tree on Midwestern Parkway, giving the 20-year-old student multiple fractures and sending him into a coma.
Now, more than a month later, Sean’s family is focusing on his recovery.
Sean was recently moved from Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas to the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, a facility that specializes in comas. According to Sean’s mother, Jenny Carter, Sean has not awakened completely from his coma.
“His eyes are open, and he looks at people, but he can’t do anything,” Jenny said. “He’s still in the early stage of his coma. The staff says it can be nine, 10 or 12 weeks before he starts climbing out of it.”
Sean’s day begins around 7 a.m., when his mother arrives at the hospital from her home, six miles away. She spends about an hour shaving her son, cleaning him up and getting him dressed, and is usually there until 10 p.m.
“I try to do stimulation on his skin. I rub in lotion, use a wet wash cloth and then a dry wash cloth to stimulate his senses,” she said.
Since moving to the Baylor Institute, Sean has had two sessions of physical therapy a day.
“He’s put in a chair and taken to the gym. He can’t get up and do anything there, but the staff works with him to stretch his limbs. Then he goes back into bed for a nap, and in the afternoon he has another session for about two hours. For an hour, the staff works with him, and for an hour, he sits in his chair. We’re trying to increase his stamina,” his mother said.
Jenny said her son can’t sit in the chair they give him like a “normal person.”
“He can’t stretch his legs out because of the loss of muscle tone, and he can’t bend at the waist or knees. He’s laying straight out,” she said. “There’s a bar on his pelvis that all the nurses tell me is a horrible thing. It bolts in his hips and stretches across his abdomen. He has very limited movement, so he can’t sit normally.”
Sean’s family has supported him wholeheartedly and believes that he will make a full recovery. According to Jenny, Sean’s twin brother, Todd, “has no concern that his brother won’t make a complete recovery.”
Jenny described a group of Sean’s friends who have shown their support as his “band of brothers.” Some of them, she said, have known him since the fifth grade.
The hospital staffs, whom Jenny called Sean’s “army of angels,” have also been extremely supportive.
“They are used to working with coma patients at Baylor. They have been very encouraging and supportive, and they are so good to Sean,” Jenny said.
Jenny said Sean was quiet, laid back and kind – a “regular guy” who had “the greatest smile.”
“He aspired to do well in school and was interested in business and wanted to be a real estate lawyer,” Jenny said. “I have every confidence that he will still do that, but it will be a little delayed now.”
While Jenny doesn’t doubt that her son will make a full recovery, she is concerned about how to take care of Sean once he is released on May 16.
“I was planning to take Sean home, but his non-weight bearing status from the injuries he received from his accident keeps him from being able to bear any weight himself,” she said.
Sean is a “two-person lift,” a condition that requires two people to help him stand and move into and out of his chair. Jenny is looking for a rehabilitation center that will take Sean, but she hasn’t found one yet.
“I don’t know when I’ll find a place for him. It’s in God’s hands,” she said.
Sean’s hospital bills are paid for by his father’s medical insurance, but Jenny said his expenses “will really start piling up” after his release from the hospital.
A Web site has been set up where Jenny makes daily postings on her son’s progress. The site, www.caringbridge.com/tx/seancarter, also features a guest book for visitors to leave notes. Dozens of entries have been made from people across the country and even as far away as Iraq.
“It’s what keeps me going, knowing that that many people care. It’s overwhelming that so many people care about Sean and are praying for him,” Jenny said.
Dr. Chuck Bultena had Sean in his organizational behavior class. Though Bultena has only known Sean this semester, he checks the Web site every day, calls Sean’s mom on her cell phone to offer support and encouragement and keeps his class informed of Sean’s progress.
“There’s been an outpouring of support for him. The team he was on in class is missing him because he was the sparkplug that brought life to them, and they’re missing him,” Bultena said.
Bultena encourages his classes to support Sean and his family.
“It’s very tragic for this to happen to a handsome, wonderful young man, and it makes young people face their mortality and realize this can happen to you,” Bultena said. “I hope the student body can come together and support him. If you’re a praying person, pray, because Sean needs a miracle, and I believe in miracles.”
While Sean’s progress is currently measured in “little victories,” like his face twitching, his mouth moving or his fingers trying to reach for something, Jenny is sure that her son will one day make a complete recovery.
“There will be total recovery for Sean. I know it will happen, and I have all the patience I need to wait for it,” Jenny said.