VIEWPOINTS

Dear Hastings, I want my Money Back
Camron Rushin | Editor In Chief

If I had the time, I would go to Hastings and demand they give me the $50 they stole from me. No, I didn’t just rent a bunch of crappy movies and demand my money back. The truth is much more ugly.
About a year ago, I made my own CD and distributed it around town to sell in different venues. I thought Hastings would be the perfect place. Well, it turned out to be a good business deal for Hastings.
While making my CD, I spent a couple hundred dollars on reproduction and printing. I set the album’s price at $5. That would earn me enough money to break even. I wasn’t even trying to make a profit. I just wanted to make my money back.
I took my CDs to Hastings and put 10 of them on the rack. I filled out a consignment contract saying I had to come in and check on the CDs once a month. I asked the music manager at the time (we’ll call him “Gary” because that is his name) if I could just wait until I sold them all to collect my money.  He said that was “cool.” So, I had a verbal agreement with the music manager that I would be paid upon selling all my CDs. All I thought I had to do was go into Hastings every once in a while to make sure that my CDs were on the rack and in order.
Well, a year went by and one night I noticed all my CDs were gone. At the time I was thinking I could collect my money and bring in some more CDs to sell. So, I went to Hastings and told them they had sold all my CDs. They looked me up in the consignment booklet and could not find my contract. The girl who looked it up said they had hired a new music manager a month ago and that he must have thrown it out.
I figured the music manager would sympathize with a local musician. Why would anyone hire someone to manage the music department if he didn’t know the perils of being a starving artist?
So, I called this music manager. He said he threw away a lot of contracts and he could do nothing. Being the nice guy that I was, I didn’t shout any obscenities at him or threaten his life in any way. He told me to call the store’s general manager. Yeah, like that wouldn’t take up all my precious time. I could go out and make $50 on the street by the time I got to talk to a general manager.
So, it has come down to this. Hastings sure doesn’t know who they’re messing with.
This consignment deal should have been a pat-each-other’s-back situation. Hastings gives me a little publicity and I give them a few bucks in return. In a year, I probably spend a lot more than $50 at Hastings. I’ve bought some books, CDs, movies there and rented some DVDs. I would say I was a pretty regular customer, but not anymore. Hastings has been put on my boycott list.
I’m sure many other local musicians will soon be joining me when they find out their contracts were also thrown away.
So what’s it going to be Hastings?
All I’m asking for is a measly $50. I’m not upset about the fact that I’m not getting paid for my work. I give CDs away all the time to help promote myself. What upsets me the most is the fact that you are getting paid for my hard work. I would gladly exchange the $50 cash for $50 in gift certificates to your store, or perhaps a year’s supply of free movie rentals.
So Hastings, if you would like to make a deal, or if anyone wants to join my boycott, call me at The Wichitan at 397-4704 or e-mail me at Wichitan@mwsu.edu. Hastings, I want to continue shopping at your store, but this is rock ‘n’ roll, and you’re “the man.” I have to fight you.


Staff Editorial: Athletics wins big with Rec Center Vote

The ignorance of MSU students has just slammed future students with a  bill of a $130 a semester to give our athletics department their own place to workout.
It was argued that students and student athletes needed to use the wellness center at the same time. The cure-all was to build a new recreation center solely for student use. Athletes would get the Wellness Center.
Of course there was a catch. Students would have to pay for their new digs at a cost of $260 per year. With MSU enrollment cresting at 6,000 that totals approximately $1.5 million in student money per year. What no one told students was that they would continue to pay the $15 per semester they’re paying now for the Wellness Center, even though it’s to be used exclusively by athletes.
Many students are probably unaware that $539,000 of there money is already going to athletics via the student allocation fund each year. Last year athletics received 27 percent of about $1.9 million, all your money.
When students voted for the new rec center they were led to believe they would get a heated outdoor pool in the bargain. But that remains to be seen. We hear conflicting reports that in the final analysis there will not be enough money for a pool.
For many the pool was the big draw. If it is not built than those students have been duped.
Most of you probably won’t be around for that show and that’s the rub. Current students who may never set foot in the building have saddled future students with unnecessary debt.  The Wichitan is not against higher fees. Voting a tuition increase last year was the sensible thing to do. MSU was a bargain and continues to be a bargain. But the rec center is an unneeded frill. It’s too bad that these “yes” voters won’t be around to pick up the tab…or to feel student’s pain when they crack open their wallets.
All we can hope now is that the Board of Regents will see this ploy and vote down the proposed rec center.


Student Asks, when will we use all this Stuff?
Paige Dickerson | Managing Editor

This semester I’m enrolled in the “Honors Capstone” class. In addition to fulfilling my requirements for graduation, it is supposed to “synthesize” all the knowledge from various fields with practical application of my college career.
As I sat in this class for the first five weeks or so of school, I began to think about what exactly “well-rounded” education had taught my peers and I.
We learn to use and manipulate the quadratic formula, but can we balance a budget. We learn all about supply and demand, but does this help us to invest? We learn to write simple essays, but can we write clear cover letters for our resumes?
I suppose I have learned a great deal in all of my classes. I couldn’t have told you the difference between talc and granite before geology, and I certainly couldn’t have distinguished one plant from another before botany.
But then I asked the infamous question—“where will I ever use this?”
Am I a better gardener because I can tell which plants reproduce through cuttings and which through seeds? Probably not, at least not without some more practical instructions.
Even in my own major I see the stream of unending questions. My friends are constantly asking me why a science major or a math major needs to take rhetoric and composition. Why, they ask, should they care about symbolism or how to write an essay?
My typical response is that reading literature and noticing the fine details of literary elements improves reading comprehension, a skill that is useful in most professions. And everyone needs to know how to write, even if it is just a clearly worded memo to the department downstairs.
But when I consider the question, I wonder whether they glean those benefits any more than I obtained budget tips from my economics or math classes.
I wonder, is this lack of practical application the students’ fault for not noticing the connections between the material and everyday life, or is it the professors’ for not pointing them out?
In all the classes I’ve had here at MSU, my professors have made an effort to at least mention how the information we are taking in can be used out in the real world, but in subjects that are not my forte (i.e. math or science) I haven’t had much luck applying this new knowledge.
In my editing class earlier this week, we discussed the rules for using numerals. A question came up in one story about whether a percentage was correct.  After allowing the class to struggle with the numbers for a couple of minutes, the professor finally told us the answer—yes, the number was wrong. Then he told us what the correct number was. Someone in the class exclaimed, “We’re mass comm. majors. We don’t need to know math, right?”
The class laughed, but it occurred to me that this was one more place the college algebra class would come in handy.
A class like my capstone class gives us an overview of all the great professors here at MSU, and it also provides a chance for all of us to discuss a topic from many different points of view. The intent, I know, is the same as the goal of a college, to produce well-rounded students who can apply everything they’ve learned.
But are we succeeding? When the time rolls around for all of us to buy houses, will we know what the interest rates mean?  My father was a financial counselor many years ago. Some of the smartest people he knew were farthest in debt simply because they never learned how to budget and apply the knowledge they gained in college.
Will accounting majors know how to write up clear and error-free reports?
I am, by no means, suggesting that we add another class to the graduation requirements. I realize my classmates would roll their eyes at that idea just as much as I did at my geology class.
I am, however, suggesting that when the opportunity strikes, professors and students alike should try to find ways to apply what they are teaching and studying to their daily lives.


Local Commercials Laughable
Jason Kimbro | Staff Reporter

I thought I would give you all a special treat this week. This has been an idea of mine for a long time; now it is being brought into fruition.
As you all know, we have some very interesting local commercials around here, from the codger-istic acts of Shady Sam to that blonde-haired demon telling us to come see them at Cells-U-More. We are all fascinated by the high-quality marketing going on in our area. Yeah, quality.
I have decided to give a quick review to a few of these commercials. That way, the next time you are watching “The Apprentice” or “The Frugal Gourmet” and one of these commercials comes on, you will know exactly when to change the channel and when to leave it right where it is, basking in its glory.
Commercial #1:
A funny looking man with a prominent nose stands in front of what is obviously a green screen with a car lot being projected upon it. This man proceeds to explain that the dealership is out of 2004 vehicles.
After saying this, his nose begins to grow. The man proceeds to spit out another piece of crap and his nose grows some more. A random man walks up, gives him a piece of paper, and then explains that it is the real script.
Our hero then begins to read the actual script with the actual facts of the dealership, as his nose goes back to its original size. All is well in his kingdom.
By the end of that commercial, I am so mortified that I can’t even remember which car dealership was being advertised. That, in itself, defeats the purpose of the ad.
Performances were awful and the special effects were about as special as pickup trucks in Texas. The story was awful (story?), and, as far as I could tell, the “actor” could care less if they were still overstocked with 2004 vehicles. Overall GPA:  1.0
Commercial #2:
Some elderly folks, and some random middle-aged woman, walk up to a building with a green awning. The building is empty, and the old man in the back proclaims with utter horror: “Steve’s Shoes!  Where are you!?!?!”
We are then informed that Steve’s Shoes has moved to a different location on Kemp! The group of people, which has treated us in past Steve’s Shoe’s commercials, shows up at the new locations, as happy as can be.
The main star, random-old-man-that-looks-like-Joel-Goddard-from-Late-Night-with-Conan-O’brien, does a little dance for us, and proclaiming that Steve’s Shoes gives him happy feet. By the end of the commercial everyone is happy, they all got their SAS shoes, and the random old man proclaims: “I just love the NEW Steve’s Shoes!”
This is probably the best local commercial out there. Though I seriously doubt I will be buying shoes from Steven anytime soon, this ad is effective because it hits its target audience and it makes you remember Steve’s Shoes.
If this commercial were to run across the nation, the random old man would become an overnight sensation and a commercial Icon, much like the “Where’s the Beef” lady of the 1980s.  Overall GPA:  3.75.
Commercial #3:
This isn’t really a review of a specific commercial; instead this is a review of the original songs for the commercials around here. The bottom line is they all suck gangrenous balls.
First, we have the casino songs. “We’re gonna win you over” is indeed catchy, but only in the way that one can catch Chlamydia. I would never go to that casino just for the spite of that song. As for “A great time is a sure thing,” I can’t even begin to relate all the horrors that trickle from its pissed-on pages of crap.
Another song makes me want to ask myself who these people get to do their marketing. That song is the one for G & L Used Appliance and More. The name of the place is half of the song. This ensures that you won’t get anything confused.
This song will be the downfall for G & L; from now on, it will probably only be seen as that store with that horrid country song sung by the voice with no oomph. Even after the place shuts down, people will drive by, point at the building and say, “Hey!  Isn’t that where that place was that had the cheesy song?”
If I had to give a GPA to the music of local commercials, I would give it my lowest GPA to date, a 0.25. I figure I would give it a “D” for disaster.
Well, I hope you all know which commercial is the only one worth viewing around here. Steve’s Shoes, you rock the Kasbah! Now, if only I could get an interview with the random old man. That would be sweet! 
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go fix myself a dang quesadilla. 


Old, ugly car still has Plenty Miles
Nicole Ford | Opinion Editor

My car, never pretty to begin with, is even less so now.
It’s a little Chevy Corsica, ten years old now and with almost 100,000 miles on it. The upholstery is stained and wearing quite thin in some places. The air conditioner works on good days, when coaxed a little. The driver’s side window leaks every time it rains and gives the car an unpleasant musty smell until it dries out. The paint is peeling in more than one place.
I don’t really care, though. 
The engine runs fine; the tires hold air, and the radio works. That’s all I need when it comes to a car; something to get me from point A to point B with a little music along the way.
Even with all its faults and flaws, I am rather attached to that little car. 
At 17, that car represented freedom.
I didn’t have to walk home in the heat or cold anymore. I didn’t have to bum a ride from a friend with wheels to get anywhere. I didn’t have to rely on mom or dad to ferry me to different events around town.
With that car, I could do it myself.
I got quite a bit more sleep the second semester of my senior year because of that car.  Since I didn’t have to get up early to catch a ride, I could jump out of bed at the last possible minute, throw on some clothes and dash to school, getting there just in time to grab breakfast with my friends before the first class of the day.
For those extra hours of sleep alone, I love that car.
As I got older and racked up more miles on the odometer, I got more freedom. The little blue car has taken me on many trips, and taught me many things in the process. 
The car took me on the first of many road trips to Vernon, Texas, to visit my best friend. Just last August, it took me there to be maid of honor in her wedding. A whole new phase of life started for them, and now I go there to visit my two best friends.
The car took me back and forth to my first job, an experience with fast food that I value and don’t care to repeat. Thinking back on that terrible time, I am even more grateful for the college education I’m trying to earn and even more convinced that more people need a better chance in life. Working fast food day in and day out for a living is something no one should have to do.
I’ve driven many an aimless mile in that car and have done a lot of thinking and wondering about life on the way. It’s occurred to me that it’s alright if I don’t have the answers. It’s the questions and the search that really matters.
The maintenance on the car has been just as important as the miles traveled.
My dad and I have worked on the air conditioner, change the oil and the oil filter, filled the tires and cleaned it front to back more than a few times. It’s a process we repeat on the motorcycles and my parents’ cars, and the satisfaction of a job well done is priceless. So is the evidence of the work, presented in dirt and oil stained clothes that smell like exhaust and gasoline. It’s a wonderful thing.
Recently, my car and I have had another first, which brings me around to my original point.
My passenger side door now sports a silver scar, thanks to a driver who changed lanes without checking their mirrors or blind spot. Through a great deal of luck I can only contribute to a higher power, that three-foot long scar is the only damage my car and I received.
Those four wheels taught me, once again, a great lesson.
I’d been dabbling with the idea of riding my motorcycle that morning. The weather was decent enough for it and I could always use the ride. Through some combination of factors I ended up taking my trusty little car that day.
If I had taken the bike, I probably would have been hurting and a great deal more upset when that collision occurred. And it’s entirely possible that I’d have returned the pain to that driver for hurting my baby. Jail isn’t something I wish to experience anytime soon.
Fate took its course that day and the evidence of what my over-analyzing mind has to think of as a “greater plan” is scratched across my door.
It’s not a pretty car, but it has its own beauty; in the freedom, in the memories, and in the lessons.


Letter: Mr. Schields,

I read your "editorial" in the Wichitan today, and I must say it's funny how people with right-leaning views are the worst people at proving a point and the best at spewing propagandic trash to cover it up. From almost the very beginning your "editorial" sounds like a speech Adolph Hitler would have been proud of. Only less polished and more childish. It really falls apart when you start accusing Marxists of stifling others’ viewpoints and then basically making the argument that Marxists shouldn't be allowed to state their ideals.
How can you justify that?
It's also entertaining how you rail against "indoctrination." Hate to tell ya, but you sound like a textbook case to me. Been watching a bit too much of "The O'Reilly Fiction" err, I mean Factor, I suspect. You sound like someone regurgitating his crap. You also seem to like doing the Ann Coulter thing and taking bits of quotes and manipulating them to suit you.  Yeah, those two are journalism's highest. (That's sarcasm for those of you who are deficient in that area).
I understand that childish name-calling is a favorite pastime for the right but you can't just blanket label people who are against the government of this country as anti-American. The government and America are separate entities, as in I love my country but I fear my government. There's nothing more American than challenging authority. We wouldn't even be a country if that were the case. Many people accused our Founding Fathers of being traitors to their country as well. By their country I mean Britain, which at the time was their country. But they fought on anyway, putting their lives and property on the line, so that we today could say the things you are going nuts about. Personally, I think it is you and the right that is being un-American by calling those with differing viewpoints traitors. Your fanaticism is terrifying and your ignorance is stupifying.

Todd Rinker
Senior
Art major