The Wichitan - Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls Texas

MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY | February, 9, 2005

FRONT PAGE

MSU gets slight Raise in Budget
Camron Rushin | Editor-In-Chief

For the first time in three years MSU’s budget will see an increase in its state funding.
The proposed $17 million budget will get an increase of $450,000 from the state.
“I’m grateful it’s not a cut. It’s an increase, a very modest increase,” said MSU President Jesse Rogers.
Rogers said this money will go into faculty and staff salaries and the department and operating budget.
“The state must find ways to put state money into higher education,” Rogers said. “We can’t continue to pass the cost on to students.”
Rogers said the slump in government funding was due to the growth in the population.
“The state is growing faster than the budget can provide for social services,” Rogers said.
But the state economy has improved and now has a $450 million surplus.
“Considering the size of the budget, that is small, but it is an improvement,” Rogers said.
Roger will be testifying in Austin this week before the Senate Finance Committee to hear MSU’s needs and requests.
Topping MSU’s requests is an energy saving project in which Rogers is asking the state for $11 million.
“The chillers are old enough that they still use Freon and they need to be replaced,” Rogers said.
Rogers will also be requesting $1 million to help operate the academic support center, which is now being run by private grants. The academic support center advises undeclared majors, teaches the college connections and skills for life classes and offers supplemental instruction for certain classes.
Rogers will also be asking for funds to begin renovations on campus. The Fowler building will need to be renovated so it can hold the math and computer science departments next fall. Renovations are also needed for the instrumental music building and the D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
“The offices and plumbing haven’t been renovated since 1968,” Rogers said.
Rogers is also requesting that state legislators use the same methodology for higher education when figuring group health and insurance premiums as they do for other state agencies.
“If they would correct that, it would be tantamount to a $500,000 appropriation,” he said.
One problem MSU will be facing is that the legislature is recommending $9 million be cut from the overall Higher Education Assistance Fund which helps pay for renovations, computers and library materials.
In addition to the drop in funds, state medical schools and technical colleges were brought under the fund. These institutions were funded by HEAF before, Rogers said, but it was set aside from the colleges and universities. MSU will be losing about $280,000 of its usual $3.07 million HEAF under this new plan.
Rogers said he will ask that they consider adding enough money to the fund so schools won’t lose that much.

Students five Pros and Cons of Net Course
Marianne Lechuga | Staff Reporter

Taking a class without having to set foot in the classroom, or even meet face-to-face with a professor, may seem like a dream for some. Thanks to Internet courses, students can do just that.
Papers, quizzes, and tests are all done online with message boards; the only real tie-in to professors and others taking the course.
“I work better because you don’t have to go to class or even go on the net everyday,” senior biology major Ryan Tones said.
Sophomore kinesiology major Adam Arredondo likes the flexibility that internet classes allow.
“I like that I can do it on my own time,” Arredondo said.
Time is always an issue for students who balance school with full-time jobs. Freshman business administration major John Montoya is enrolled in nine hours, every class are internet courses.
“My schedule works out better with internet classes,” Montoya said.
Montoya works two jobs, one of which he works 50 hours a week. He doesn’t have to come to campus, but chooses to in order to study.
“I still use the computer lab at school because there aren’t any distractions like at home,” Montoya said.
Montoya will continue to take internet courses after this semester because of his schedule. However, he does wish he could take courses in the classroom.
“It’s harder than traditional classes because it takes more discipline,” Montoya said. “There’s really nothing to motivate you to do the work besides yourself.”
Taking core classes online that require a lot of reading can be a predicament. Montoya is taking Government II, American History since 1865, and Sociology.
“In class you can sit there, listen and take notes. With the internet, you do actually have to read it,” Montoya said.
Like Montoya, sophomore English and history major Cindy Crosley stresses personal discipline with online classes.
“Some people think it’s easier but it’s not. If you miss those deadlines it’s just like in a regular class,” Crosley said.
On some occasions, technology will experience a glitch.
“I have had to deal with some computer hang-ups. We depend on computers and some days they don’t work right,” Crosley said.
If technical problems prevent students from turning things in on time, some professors will take that into account.
“In my experience most of the instructors will work with you if you miss deadlines because of computer malfunctions or circumstances beyond your control if you notify them in a timely manner,” Crosley said.
She has taken a variety of courses online including walking aerobics.
“Some people can’t imagine taking an activities course on the computer,” she said with a laugh.
Students are to walk a certain amount of time and distance and log it on the computer. Crosley jokes the class was based on the honor system because there is no instructor to make sure students did the work.
“As easy as it sounds I think I made a B because I missed some submission dates,” Crosley said.
Besides being a student, Crosley is a financial aid counselor. She has been taking classes at MSU for four years and tried taking an Internet class for convenience.
“Working full time and family obligations can make it hard to get to class,” she said.
At times it’s 10 o’clock at night before Crosley logs on to check her class information. During the summer is when she prefers most to take an online class. However, certain classes are not available.
“I wish MSU would offer more classes,” Crosley said.
The chairs and deans of the colleges generally decide which courses in their programs will be offered on the Internet, according to the Director of Extended Education Pamela Morgan. Morgan believes MSU will offer more online classes in the future.
“The number of courses seems to be growing each semester,” Morgan said.
There are 120 full Internet classes currently for Spring 2005 with nearly 1,200 students enrolled.
“It seems to be getting more popular,” Morgan said. “Both for students who are geographically bound and can’t get to campus, students interested in our online programs such as in Radiologic Science and students trying to be full time instead of part time.”
Some students find Internet classes offer advantages. One benefit to taking Internet classes is the speed with which quizzes are graded.
“Quizzes are graded right after you take them and homework gets back in a day,” sophomore marketing major Mandi Vickers said.
Vickers is taking business environment and public policy online after she couldn’t fit it into her schedule. She is taking 19 hours of classes and works 27 hours.
“Our homework is open for four days and quizzes are open for two, so you can do it anytime,” Vickers said.
Vickers believes that internet classes might not be a good idea for everyone.
“It’s good if you’re organized,” Vickers said.
Lack of organization made sophomore criminal justice major Jeff Rye drop his internet class.
“They are so disorganized. They don’t always post the quizzes like the homework so you have to go searching for them,” Rye said.
Rye said he could never get a hold of his professor when necessary for clarification on assignments.
“If I can’t get help from my instructor when I need it, what’s the point in taking the class?” Rye said.
Rye ended up taking the class he dropped in a regular classroom setting.
“I would not take another internet class and wouldn’t recommend them,” Rye said.
Another disadvantage students find with internet classes is the cost. It costs more to take an online course than a regular course.
“There is an additional $25 per credit hour for distance learning courses,” university cashier Sherri Helms said.
That means an extra $75 per three credit hour class. It can get expensive for students like Montoya who take only internet classes. For those students, MSU does waive three fees.
“If you’re taking all internet classes, MSU waives the student union center fee, the medical service fee, and the wellness center fee,” Helms said.
All of senior Geanetta Moore’s classes next semester are going to be internet classes. Moore’s husband is in the military. As a result, they are constantly on the move.
“When I got to MSU not all my credits transferred,” Moore said.
Moore risks losing credits when she moves from one campus to another. Her family will be moving in June 2005. Fortunately, Moore will not have to worry about losing hours this time thanks to the BAAS program.
“The BAAS is designed as a completion degree. It takes students with other transfer credits and puts them on a path to complete a degree,” Morgan said.
When she leaves MSU, Moore will only have to complete about 27-30 hours online.
“After I complete the necessary in-house credits, I can complete the rest over the Internet,” Moore said.
Moore will not have to go to a different university. She can finish her degree with MSU without actually being in Wichita Falls.
“I’ll have my little laptop with me wherever I am,” Moore said.
She is thankful MSU offers internet classes for people like her in military families or special situations.
“I’ve been trying to do this for the past 13 years and never found a program that would help me complete it under my circumstances,” Moore said.
Though some students may never find themselves taking a class solely on the Internet, many will find that the Internet will play a role in their traditional classes. More professors have been using WebCT. Morgan said MSU currently has about 150 classes with 1,500 students using the Internet to supplement their traditional course.
“For a total, the Distance Education department supports approximately 3,000 students on the internet and between 275-300 courses,” Morgan said.
The Internet effort began at MSU in the fall of 1998 with one Internet course, according to Morgan.
“As you can see, the growth has been tremendous,” Morgan said.

Toast of the town: Local pair tap into Wine Industry
Carolyn Knothe | For the Wichitan

The last thing you’d expect to find when going for a drive through the cattle and mesquite country just west of Wichita Falls is a vineyard and winery. The dry brown land seems about as far away from Napa Valley as Mars is from the moon.
But Alton and Lana Gates, owners of Wichita Falls Vineyard and Winery, have brought the smoothness of sangiovese and the sweetness of zinfandel to about three acres at the end of Peterson Road South.
“Vines love the sun,” said Alton Gates, who has an MBA and worked for TXU before becoming a vintner. “But they like to cool off at night.”
Wichita Falls meets the climactic requirements for the cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, sangiovese, syrah and viognier varieties, all of which are planted in the sun-baked fields squeezed between Buffalo Creek and the Wichita River. The winery uses those grapes to make wines bearing their names, as well as mixtures like the Wichita Red and Texas Blush.
“Normally, we’re two, three or four degrees cooler here than in town,” said Lana Gates, a 28-year teaching veteran who recently retired to devote more time to the vineyard. “We get the breezes off the water. And the ground around Wichita Falls is usually like clay, but ours is not. It was luck finding the land. We walked over here to pick up golf balls Alton used to hit and found this land out of the blue. And we found the golf balls too.”
Alton and Lana started the vineyard as a “hobby,” although it quickly transitioned to something much bigger.
“I was watching a TV program that said Texas was a great place for wines, and I liked wines,” Alton said. “So I took classes at a community college in viticulture, and we went to California to look at wineries. We brought 42 plants back in our suitcase, wrapped in sawdust, and planted them the next day.”
The next year, they planted more vines and built trellises to hold the plants off the ground.
“They keep the plant where you can prune it, gives good air movement to keep the canopy dry, and makes it easier to spray and clean underneath it,” he said.
Alton then constructed the green-roofed building that now houses the winery. For a while, the couple lived in the apartment over the gift shop that is now rented for meetings or parties.
It took five years for the vines to mature enough to produce a full crop.
“You have grapes right away, but you have to cut them off to help the roots get strong,” Alton said. “After five years, the fruit gets more intense.”
The grapes are harvested in August, after being shielded from hungry birds during the summer months with netting. Alton uses a refractometer, a black kaleidoscope-type tool, to measure the amount of sugar in the grapes. He squeezes the juice from a grape onto the lens, then holds it up to the sun to detect the sugar level. This determines when to harvest the crop; different varieties need different amounts of sugar.
After the harvest, the grapes are taken to the two-story, garage-sized room that houses the winery’s shiny, stainless-steel machines that came from California, New York or even Italy. They are crushed, de-stemmed, fermented in giant vats, pressed to get all the moisture and then, if they are red grapes, aged for one to three years.
“White grapes go straight to the press because you only ferment the juice,” Alton said. “Red grapes are crushed, then pressed after they ferment because they are fermented with the skins to absorb the color and tannins.”
Large lightly-tinged brown barrels made of “medium toasted” French and Hungarian oak house the aging red wines. The barrels’ storage room smells faintly of baking bread and is kept at 65 degrees to maximize the aging. Wooden barrels “breathe,” said Alton, and add flavor to the wine.
The Wichita Falls Vineyards and Winery bottles most of its wines by hand. They had 50,000 bottles the first year.
“When we have a lot, we take it to Lubbock and bottle it there,” Alton said.
“But we label and hand-cork some too,” Lana added.
Their wines are available in more than 70 stores across North Texas and the Dallas area, including United, Brookshire’s and Kocks Liquor in Wichita Falls. Some varieties, however, are only available at the winery.
The tasting room and gift shop has a warm, wooden bar at one end and racks of neatly stacked wine bottles line the wall behind it. Lana and Alton offer free wine tasting of all their award-winning varieties to anyone over 21, from the sweet, floral muscat to the heavy, rich dessert cabernet.
“We love seeing people drive out here to enjoy the winery,” Lana said. “We’ve learned a lot about owning your own business, too. The credit card machine still gives me nightmares. It always acts up when somebody’s here.”
From the harvesting to laboratory tests as the wine is aging to the blending, Alton and Lana enjoy what they’re building in Wichita Falls. There is risk involved, Alton said, because so much of winemaking depends on things you can’t control, like the weather.
“Grapes are never the same,” he said. “The climate changes, harvest time changes. But the greatest satisfaction is walking down the aisle in the grocery store and seeing your bottle on the shelf.”