NEWS

Students Celebrate Japanese Culture
Christian Mc Phate | Staff Editor

The 2005 Japanese Festival kicked off with the sounds of “Dance Dance Revolution” or DDR, a popular Japanese video game. The festival took place in the Clark Student Center on Friday. The crowd of about 30 people was entertained and informed of different aspects of Japanese Culture.
Students, professors, families and friends were dazzled by the display of cultural dancing, the temporary Japanese tattoos and the origami display.
Sachie Mashiko, a graduate student, displayed the technique of origami, a popular Japanese art of creating designs from folded paper. Sachie has been living in the Wichita Falls area for five years. “It was quite a culture shock moving to this area,” she said.
People began to congregate around the table, sampling the Japanese cuisine. Rolled sushi and rice cakes were just some of the choices available.
After the sampling of food, the Kendo Association mesmerized the audience with a display of martial arts and self-defense. Sensei Nathan Brown, a martial artist for 22 years, organized the demonstration. Brown teaches Kendo and classical Bushido at the local YMCA. The highlight of the demonstration: Brown vs. Tats Kawamura, a sophomore BCIS major from Japan. They faced off in a demonstration of swordsmanship, called Sonoma.
The match began with both combatants slowly circling each other, waiting for the other to make his move. Brown yelled, “MMMM………KOY,” and took a quick, overhead slash, aiming for Kawamura’s head. Kawamura, with the grace of a Samurai, ducked down, blocking the blow with his sword in an upward motion, stopping the sword inches from his head. With a calm face and a slightly amused look, Kawamura slashed his sword toward the Sensei’s gut, but stopped inches from the mark.
“In Sonoma,” Jason Bennett, a senior history major, said. “The object is not to strike the opponent, but show the opponent that you could have hit him.” Bennett has been studying Kendo for a year and half.
After many minutes of swordplay, the contest ended in a draw.
The festival was a big success for the Japanese club, and more than one student expressed interest in learning more about the Japanese culture and language. “The Japanese club was working to offer Japanese classes for the students.” Kawamura said.



Students build Website to get more for Books
Tray Reed | Staff Reporter

Junior business major Klint Newton knew something was amiss when he took a trip to The College Store before the end of last semester.
Newton plopped five books on the counter, and the worker behind the counter scanned each of them.
“I’ll give you $25,” the clerk said.
A little stunned, Newton’s thoughts scrambled back to the beginning of the semester, as he remembered the several hundred bucks he had shelled out of his wallet.
And now, $25.
“Five bucks apiece; that’s pretty crappy,” he thought.
So he removed his accounting book from the counter. Still, the store was willing to give him $25.
“I took another book back because still for $5, I wanted to keep it,” he said.
The worker sauntered over to the register and still gave him $25 for the three books remaining.
“What’s the deal here? Y’all are still going to give me that 25? That’s pretty cool,” Newton said.
“We’re actually just buying this one book here,” the worker said.
“OK, so you’re just going to take the other four? Isn’t that like stealing? You weren’t even going to tell me,” Newton said.
“Yeah, I guess. If that’s how you want to look at it,” the worker countered.
That’s exactly how Newton saw it. He refused the money, took his five books and made his way to the MSU Book Store and received the same results.
“I could have said ‘OK,’ and they would have taken all five books and paid for one, he said.
Disturbed, he rushed out of the store and crashed into high school classmate Toby Talley.
“I happened to run into him, and he needed two of them. He saved about $150 and I made $30, which is better than zero,” Newton said.
Newton posted advertisements for the remaining three books on the campus bulletin board, but received no responses. He got to thinking there might be a better way for students to exchange books.
“I thought there needs to be a place or web site where students can put all their books online and buy and sell from each other,” he said.
That would do two things. It would get students more money back and it show the bookstore that’s there’s another way and we’re not going to take it.”
He enlisted the help of Tally, a senior business management major from Windthorst, to help with the process of creating a web site.
“We just got tired of every semester not even getting half of our money back,” Talley said. “We figured we would be saving students money and the students selling would be making more money.”
Newton said the two originally planned a simple web site to let students post books for free, but the daunting task of administering each ad separately was overwhelming.
“I thought we needed to get professional development done and then do it that way,” Newton said.
After months of searching for a viable and affordable hosting option to the host the site, the pair found a match, and www.wfmsu.com was born.
The site is a combination of many sites, but brings a local flavor to each section. Students are able to post books ads, other classifieds, post on a school discussion board, rate their professor and submit pictures to be rated by other webbies.
Talley said there is a $5 charge to become a member of the site for 120 days. The fee covers the overhead for the site’s upkeep.
“We hope to make enough money to cover our expenses to get it going,” he said. We just want to get back what we got in it because we know it’s going to be good for students, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Newton said the fee is a small price to pay for the option to post used books for other students to purchase.
“Hopefully, under the same rationale, people would actually post their books knowing that they themselves would also buy,” Newton said.
Students are able to submit posts for each book, including the name of the book, the class it will be used for and other pertinent descriptions, as well as contact information.
“Our job is to post the book listing, and from then on, it’s you guys. You take care of it. You get in touch with the buyer or the seller, and you work out a deal,” Newton said.
Newton said the biggest obstacle has been obtaining a list of books that will be used next semester. He urges students to make sure a book is being used again before posting it.
The pair also has seen opposition in establishing a site bearing MSU’s initials, but they are quick to point out they aren’t out to make money.
“The book store is probably going to lose a lot of money because that’s where the money is – used books. That’s fine and dandy, but we’re not going to make a whole lot on that,” Newton said. “We want people to know that it’s a student web site.”
And as for the money the students might lose from the MSU Bookstore’s student allocation fund donation?
“I think the students would rather have $40 in their pocket per book rather than 2 percent of that $100 that they will end up buying it for,” Newton said.
“That might buy them a bowl of nachos at the end-of-semester celebration.”


Student remembers Lost Brother
Marianne Lechuga | Staff Reporter

People always say they want to die doing what they love. Nature lover Scotty Crenshaw passed away last December in a tragic accident at the Wichita River. It was a week before Christmas 2004. He was only 20 years old.
The sister he left behind tries to cope with the loss of her brother and close friend by reflecting on memories of him. Senior nursing major Katy Crenshaw, 25, carries a journal that has Van Gogh’s “The Café Terrace” on the cover. Within its pages are memories of her brother. She jotted down things that she wants to remember. Even the simple things are recorded, like the memory of his laugh.
“I have to remind myself of all the good things about Scotty that I cherish,” Crenshaw said. “I am proud to have a brother that touched so many lives.”
Scotty was born and raised in Wichita Falls. After graduating from Wichita Falls High School in 2002, he went to MSU to major in political science. He wanted to become a lawyer.
“It’s frustrating because he was so young and had so much potential,” Crenshaw said.
He liked to play golf, enjoyed spending time with his friends and liked to travel to Crested Butte, Colo. and Angel Fire, NM.
He was also a big music fan. One of Crenshaw’s favorite memories revolves around her brother’s passion for music.  Scotty called her out of the blue and invited her to the Willie Nelson concert last October. Scotty’s favorite band was Phish, and he got his sister interested in their music.
His former girlfriend, Ole Miss University freshman Rachel Jackson, thinks of Scotty when she hears a Phish song.  He went to see them in concert every chance he got, even going to Miami to catch a show. “He was so excited about seeing them in Miami. He had the time of his life,” Jackson, a Wichita Falls native, said.
Looking at childhood pictures of her brother brings warm memories of him and gives Crenshaw comfort. She advises people to take pictures with loved ones.
“It’s important to take pictures and just enjoy each other. Pictures capture memories and good times,” Crenshaw said.
Scotty was always there to support his sister and to help her out. Crenshaw had a nursing assessment for her family health assessment class and needed somebody to pose as a patient.
“I couldn’t get anybody to do it, but Scotty was so helpful. I don’t think he wanted to do it, but he did it for me,” Crenshaw said. “I just remember him in that pink hospital gown. It was hilarious.”
 Crenshaw depends on the support of her friends and family to cope with her loss.
“I’ve tried dealing with it by keeping myself busy, but it’s the hardest thing to deal with,” Crenshaw said.
Walking down the hall in the student center is difficult for Crenshaw.
“I would always see him playing pool in the rec center with his friends. I miss seeing him in there,” Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw wants people to remember Scotty and his virtues of love and compassion.
“Although he was only here a short while, he made the world a better place,” she said.
“When he left, he left behind so many friends and family that will always miss him and hold his memory in our hearts,” Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw said the experience of losing her brother has taught her some valuable lessons about life that she wants to pass on to other students.
“It’s important to really cherish the people you love and make sure you tell them you love them,” Crenshaw said.
She stresses the importance of being kind to everyone, something she saw in her brother.
“I don’t think he had one enemy. He always liked for everybody to be nice to each other,” Crenshaw said. “Hopefully, I can live by his example.”
Crenshaw relies on her faith in God and the belief in God’s plans to keep her strong. She admits that it doesn’t get any easier.
“I am devastated by my loss of my brother and friend. I think as long as I am alive I will always have sadness about his death,” Crenshaw said.
MSU sent the Crenshaw family a flag and dedicated a political science book in his memory. The family has plans to start a golf tournament in memory of Scotty and sponsor a scholarship.
Crenshaw said her perspective on life has changed.
“It’s good to follow your heart and just do what you want to do and live for the moment,” Crenshaw said. “Life can bring unexpected things.”