AdAm troxtellsports editor

While the A&M-Commerce football players have been preparing themselves for the new season, construction crews have been adding the final touches to a reno-vated Memorial stadium. the renovations include new east-side bleachers, a new con-cession stand on the east side, and a new, $650 thousand scoreboard equipped with a video board.

“I think just having another side defi-nitely enhances the game experience,” Athletic director Carlton Cooper said. “Just looking across to the other side and seeing other fans, the lights, the video board, it’s going to tie everything together.”

With the new stands, the stadium can house up to 13,000 fans. Both sides now also include stadium seating in the middle sections. Cooper said the seats were added

to further increase the match experience.“it’s our university stadium, so you want

it to be a nice venue,” he said. “our plan is to host other events in there. At that time, it’s a neutral venue and you want it nice for both sides.”

the construction project began last se-mester, and has gone smoothly for the most part, according to Cooper.

“right now, it is on time,” Cooper said. “We’ve had daily conversations about everything. i’m sure they’ll be some last minute hiccups. the scoreboard is set to be ready on sept. 2 for a dry run.”

It appears the most difficult task was getting the scoreboard up, according to Cooper. He said the first team to benefit from it will be Commerce High school should everything work out.

“Was it a bit stressful early on? Yes, it was,” he said. “did we miss some dead-lines? Yeah, but they delivered on their promise. they said it’d be ready sept. 2.”

Cooper also said the new addition of a video board can create a new dimension of entertainment for fans and players alike.

“the video board’s going to allow us to have more interactive things with the crowd,” he said. “it changes the game expe-rience for players as well. You’ll have some players who aren’t in the game and a very exciting play happens, and they’ll look up on the video board.”

the entire cost of the scoreboard is to be paid by advertising, according to Cooper. spaces are allocated on the board for differ-ent companies to advertise during games.

“We’ve got enough to take care of it, and we’re having more people call us,” he said. “there will be some blank spots on there, but the most important spots are taken care of.”

According to head coach Guy Morriss, the players and coaches are excited about the new-look Memorial stadium.

See NEW page 3

The East TexanThe East TexanSTUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSIT Y- COMMERCE SINCE 1915

Budget cuts won’t affect mission of university

KAt huffineS GrApHiCs editor

A&M-Commerce sur-passed their enrollment goal on Aug. 20, 2010 and set a new record enroll-ment on sept. 1.

the university regis-tered 10, 930 students for the fall semester, which is a 12 percent increase from last year’s enroll-ment of 9,748 students.

to reach the 10,000 mark, Vice president of student Access and suc-cess Mary Hendrix and her staff at the student Access and success Center set up a special scholarship offer to stu-dents who signed up for classes on a “one-day-only” registration day during the summer.

“i knew we were going to hit 10,000, “ Hendrix said, “but i didn’t want to wait until the weekend. it was important for our staff to recognize and celebrate the milestone.”

Hendrix said the state performance incentive program - including scholarships left over from Cash4College and other scholarship funds not taken advantage of by students - funded 35 scholarships in the amount of $100 each.

“We, as a univer-sity, decided to take our entire allocation [of left over funding] and provide scholarships,” she said.

dean of enrollment stephanie Holley said she was excited about

See ENROLLMENT page 3

Party kicks off season

XCV, No. 2, 8 pages www.theeasttexan.com Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010PAGE 6Violence, plot and irony make “Machete”

Sound off

What is SGA?

Sound offs updated Friday night

ThursdayH: 89L: 74

University debuts stadium changes

FREE! TAKE ONE

ADDITIONAL COPIES

25 CENTS

Grants fund new research

jAred wAtSononline editor

three texas A&M University-Commerce professors received grants from the texas Higher education Co-ordinating Board for education and research projects this summer.

dr. Madeline Justice, department head and professor of educational leadership, received a grant of $243,686 over five years from the U.s. department of education through the texas A&M University system for the “school leadership program.”

“the grant will help people interested in becoming principals and to have better leaders in their schools,” Justice said. “We are very happy to have it. We know it will help.”

According to provost larry lemanski, the grant is indicative of the quality of the A&M-Commerce education leadership program.

“this is an area we have tremendous strength in and that’s why dr. Justice got the award,” he said. “Be-cause we’re one of the leaders in this field, not only in texas, but nationally.”

According to leman-ski, all of these grants are part of a larger goal.

“We’re really push-ing the idea of scientific research and technol-ogy and getting various grant funding,” he said. “so one of the things we’re trying to do is significantly increase the amount of extramural funding that we get. And these kinds of programs are the kinds of pro-grams we are pushing to increase.”

to that end, leman-ski would like to see the amount of annual fund-ing increase considerably.

“right now we’re be-tween $5 and $6 million in funding for the uni-versity per year,” he said. “We want to push that up over the next three years to $15 to $20 million.”

dr. Brent donham, A&M-Commerce head and professor of indus-trial See FRESH page 3

KAT HUFFINES / THE EAST TEXAN

The marching band performs at the tailgate party on Sept. 4. Numerous campus organizations set up booths during the party, including several fraternaties and the cam-pus radio station 88.9 KETR. The Lions went on to defeat the Peacocks later that evening with an impressive second half run.

FridayH: 91L: 73

SaturdayH: 92L: 72

Online Poll

Is the enrollment increase a positive thing?

Polls updated Wednesday night

Enrollmentreaches more than 10,000

jAmeS bright editor

texas A&M Univer-sity-Commerce imple-mented budget cuts during the summer, which were submitted and accepted by the state government, in order to offset the economic downturn.

provost larry le-

manski said although making budget cuts can be difficult, he and the university remain vigi-lant in fulfilling the school’s mission.

“in this challeng-ing economic time, the university remains com-mitted to funding pro-grams that impact the university’s mission of transforming students’ lives by providing op-

portunities and access to higher education for the students of northeast texas,” he said.

With that purpose in mind, lemanski said he and university administrators are still pursuing growth for the school, while remaining economically conscious of viable resources. He cited the student Access

See BUDGET page 3

MELISSA ARCHER STAFF CARTOONIST

OPINIONOPINION www.theeasttexan.comThursday, Sept. 9, 2010Page 2

The East Texan, official student newspaper of Texas A&M University-Commerce, is published 12 times per semester during the Fall and Spring by students in reporting and editing classes. Content is solely the responsibility of the student editors and writers. The comments and views expressed in The East Texan do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of other students, staff, faculty, administration, or the Board of Trustees. The East Texan is located inside the Journalism building on the east side of campus in room 113. Single copies are available in Journalism 113 for an additional 25 cents.

Letters to the Editor are welcome and should be limited to 250 words. They will not be edited for spelling, grammar and libelous or malicious statements. We reserve the right to refuse publication. Letters should be typed or e-mailed and must include a signature, classification (grade level) and telephone number. Mailing address is The East Texan, P.O. Box 4011 Commerce, Texas 75428.

Established 1915

The East TexanThe East Texan

CALEb SLInkARdMANAgINg EdITOR

AdAM TROXTELLSpORTS EdITOR

JAMES bRIGHT EdITOR

JAREd WATSOndIgITAl MEdIA EdITOR

kAT HuffInESgRAphICS EdITOR

CHAnCELLOR MILLSOpINION EdITOR

903-886-5985 www.theeasttexan.com

theeasttexan@gmail.com

facebook.com/pages/The-East-Texan-Onlinetwitter.com/TheEastTexan

ADVERTISING: ChANCEllOR MIllS214-564-0633

CONTACT

fREd STEWARTFACulTy AdvISER

fred_stewart@tamu-commerce.edu

MEGAn CAREYART SCENE EdITOR

“This gay guy was being gay on the sidewalk and it was funny,” Stephanie Norman, Campus Life Editor.

“If he dies, Stephanie’s going to eat his heart,” James Bright, editor.

“Rabberousers,” Adam Troxtell, Sports Editor.

“Batman Dance,” Chancellor Mills, Opinion Editor.

“When is being on fire ever a good thing,” Chancellor Mills, Opinion Editor

* Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order* Every column of 9 num-bers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order* Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9Puzzle courtesy of math.about.com

SUDOKU STYLE

JASMIn bROWnCOpy dESk ChIEF

STEpHAnIE nORMAnCAMpuS lIFE EdITOR

STEPHANIE NORMANCAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

It’s going 150 miles an hour and steaming with rage. Under the shell, sparks are being ignited. The internal material is shaking with force from the outer atmosphere. As teeth-clenching as this un-known feeling is, one day it will find its way into your body and you will have to suffer its side ef-fects too. I’m not referring to a racecar. I’m talking about stress.

It’s similar to the feel-ing of a strong tension pulling and pushing one’s insides. You can’t think straight, your head be-gins to ache and all you want to do is sleep the pain away.

Stress. That’s what most know it as. I learned the real name – life.

As an innocent young girl, the world was an ab-stract piece of mind that I had not yet found. Trying to understand how and why things are the way they are was beyond my attention. At such a young age, ‘stress’ was not in my vocabulary.

Growing up was a shocker. High school is where it began. Fi-

nals, deadlines and get-ting a real job were the first few things in my life that made me go crazy. I learned quickly that ev-erything had some kind of consequence in the end. Late homework equaled a bad grade. Working on a time clock meant actually working. I began feeling a bit stressed from what was expected of me.

Now, at a university, the last time to not be seri-ous about life was a long time ago. I have deadlines and final exams, but this round I’m buying. Now the money I make from that time clock is used to buy books, pay for school, car insurance, gas – you name it. I hardly have any time to put my feet up and relax. A lot of my friends are in the same situation. Twenty years ago I was a baby, but gradually I’ve grown.

Stress is now a daily reality for me. It wears me out, takes my money, leaves when I sleep and finds me the next day. Get-ting all worked up and stressing out is like driving a car at extreme speeds. For a split second, every-thing pauses, and then be-fore you know it, you have passed by everywhere you wanted to stop. Your mind gets all discombobulated and your brain is thinking of a million things at once. Stress has arrived.

You may not be at your finish line, but the stress is there to put you to the test. I have come to the con-clusion that it’s not stress I deal with. It’s simply just life.

Writer experiences stress in Commerce,no change in sight

The fact that A&M-Commerce has surpassed 10,000 students is cer-tainly an achievement to be proud of. Higher enrollment is a plus for everyone (unless you want to park near the Sam Rayburn Student Center).

It provides more revenue for the campus, which can be spent on quality professors, improved housing, facilities for students and faculty, and countless other items to improve the college experience.

It increases the prestige of our university and therefore the value

of an A&M-Commerce degree. It also means there are more students who can bring a wider variety of talents and ideas each semester.

But while A&M-Commerce as a whole should certainly be proud of the enrollment numbers, we need to set and reach higher goals. Throughout its history, this univer-sity has seen rises and dips in enrollment.

According to the Sept. 28, 1966 edition of The East Texan, the uni-versity set an enrollment record at 7,710 that year. That means that in

the last 45 years A&M-Commerce has increased by 2,300 students, which indicates a lack of consistent growth.

Needless to say, spikes in enroll-ment are great for the university. We’re on the right track, but we must maintain that rate of growth in order to become a bigger and better university.

Note: These opinions are a collaborative effort reflecting the editorial board of The East Texan.

Editorial: Enrollment growth initial step in right direction

Quotes out of Context Be sure to catch our special Hunt County Election Day issue on Nov. 3, as well as online coverage at theeasttex-

an.com on Nov. 2-3

JARED WATSONDIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR

As the Texas Rangers move closer to their first trip to the postseason in over a decade, many people in the DFW area may be considering go-ing out to the Ballpark in Arlington to see a game or two. Heck, maybe even you.

Now, I could get all angry at you for being a bandwagon fan and joining up with all of us real fans now that the Rangers are winning, but I want this season to be about love, not war. So, as a way to welcome you aboard the S.S. Playoffs, I would like to give you a preview - a field guide, if you will - of the species of fans you will encoun-ter during your time at the park.

The Cheerleader – This is your basic, stereo-typical fan. They know when to cheer and they know when to boo. The more aggressive Cheer-leaders will try to become a “section leader,” doing

things like starting up chants in their section and standing up and yell-ing at an umpire for a bad call just to be seen.

The Unofficial Scor-er – This fan is easily identified by the score-card notebook in his lap, and the fact that his eyes are darting constantly between said notebook and the field, obsessively notating every at-bat, every out and every er-ror. Unofficial scorers are convinced that if the real scorekeeper in the press box chokes on a hot dog, they will be ready to step in and save the day.

The Rent-a-Fan – You may very well fall into this group for your first visit. Rent-a-fans are the ones wearing pristine hats and jerseys that still have the price tags from the sporting goods store they bought them from that afternoon.

They want the full baseball experience their first time in the park, and are very concerned with “doing things right.” They will look to the

Cheerleaders to see how to act, when to stand and when to cheer. They are also the fans most likely to bring a glove to the game, even if they are in the back row of the nosebleeds.

The Hostage – This is the significant other of a baseball fan who has negotiated that they will attend the game in exchange for other con-siderations later on. You can rest assured that there will be a three-hour Bed Bath & Beyond trip in the future of a fan who brings a Hostage.

The Field Tripper – Field Trippers travel in packs of no less than ten, and generally decide a baseball game would be a “fun little day trip,” and to them, the ballpark is no different than a zoo or museum. Field trip-pers bring sack lunches and take goofy pictures all around the stadium. Sections with these fans are also the most likely to start “The Wave.”

The Tightwad – This fan looks at the ballpark

experience as a direct challenge to their budget-ing skills, and will never spend a dime of their own money inside the stadium. Pay for parking? Ha! They will walk from five miles away. Peanuts? Popcorn? Come on, that’s why God created Wal-mart. Tightwads live to walk gleefully past all the idiots waiting in line to pay five bucks for a pretzel.

The Fake-spert – When a group of people knows nothing about baseball, this guy just starts making up in-formation to seem like an expert, thinking he won’t be called out on it by his clueless friends. If you hear phrases like “Oh yeah, I wish Pudge Rodriguez was still here. Too bad he’s playing for the Tigers now,” or “Jorge Cantu was better for the Rangers last year,” you have found a Fake-spert.

The Minutemen – Don’t let the soldier name throw you, it really means “only staying for a minute.” These are the guys you see moving toward the exit in the sixth inning when their team is losing, thinking the game is over and that they can get out ahead of the traffic. If his team blows a lead, the Minute-man immediately thinks, “Well, I do have to get up early tomorrow. I should probably go.” Minutemen are a disgrace to sports fans everywhere.

This is only a partial list, and there are hun-dreds of variations on the basic types. But by know-ing the types of people you will see at the field, you will better know how to interact with them and avoid the more danger-ous types. Remember, just like any other type of wild animals, baseball fans are just as afraid of you as you are of them.

Writer Jared Watson describes the various types of fans one can expect to encounter at a baseball game.

A guide to baseball fandom

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

and Success Center as one such example. He said the cost of creating the center was $1 million and that other universi-ties have paid upward of $20 million for similar buildings.

“Our university lead-ers had the wisdom to look at a facility like the former print shop and envision what it could be – a great resource for the student body,” he said.

Vice President for Business and Adminis-tration Bob Brown said utilities underwent a $200,000 cut.

The addition of the chilled water loop has aided the university in saving money, and such efforts will not stop there.

“We are always look-ing for ways to be more energy efficient and improve our operations,” he said.

Lemanski said several other updates have been made in campus build-ings in order to increase energy efficiency, such as waterless urinals, ligh-ing, sun screens, boilers,

chillers, cooling towers and new air conditioning systems.

Brown said he expects to cut $225,000 from the utilities budget next year.

The removal of certain positions was another way Lemanski said the university was able to meet the required budget cuts. He said 16.8 posi-tions were eliminated from state funding. Most of these positions were in the Provost’s division, but none resulted in the removal of an A&M-Commerce employee. Eight positions were reassigned to other fund-ing sources, 8.3 positions were unfilled vacancies and .5 was from unfilled retirement.

Lemanski said the money saved from these cuts is required to be returned to the state, and that the university will likely face additional cuts next year. He said Texas leaders have already asked state agencies to lower their next two-year, non-formula funding requests by 10 percent in preparation for the 2011 legislature.

newsnewswww.theeasttexan.com Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 Page 3

COURTESY PHOTO MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

the reason for my dis-missal,” reaching their goal of enrollment set in the University Strategic Plan set in place to reach 10,000 students by 2010.

“Meeting our enroll-ment goal allows us to

remain dedicated to our university values, vi-sion and mission while recruiting, retaining and graduation qualified students who are then prepared to contribute to our economy and our world, while providing

for their families,” Hol-ley said. “In hitting this mark, everyone wins”

Interim Director of Undergraduate Admis-sions Jody Todhunter said this large popula-tion of students changes the whole environment

of the campus. “It’s an exciting time

for this university as a whole to see our enroll-ment surpass the 10,000 mark,” he said. “Hav-ing this many students on campus infuses that collegiate atmosphere

that helps students enjoy their time on campus daily.”

Hendrix said physical improvements on cam-pus are a contributing factor to the enrollment increase.

“I think all of the changes we have been able to make in the campus and the energy is making a difference, and it’s everyone work-ing together and real-izing how important it is to change,” she said.

Hendrix also said the connection between the Student Access and Suc-cess Center and students plays a beneficial role in recruiting and retaining students.

“We’ve been estab-lishing strong rela-tionships with public school partners as well as community college partners,” she said. “I think having our One-Stop-Shop [gives us] the opportunity to focus on each individual student.”

Graduate enrollment is up as well. Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Dr. Allan D. Headley said being in

public eye helps A&M-Commerce’s graduate programs gain notoriety.

“Factors that con-tribute to the increase in graduate enrollment include the continued dissemination of infor-mation about the high quality of our graduate programs and inter-nationally recognized faculty through various avenues, such as our Graduate Expo, which was held this past spring in the metroplex,” he said.

A&M-Commerce President Dan Jones said the enrollment increase is helping make A&M-Commerce more well-known as a whole.

“Our record-breaking enrollment this fall is the result of many great things coming together: a campus that has never looked better, caring faculty and staff, and most importantly, an educational experience of unparalleled quality,” he said. “We’re no longer ‘the best-kept secret in Northeast Texas.’ Big things are happening at A&M-Commerce, and people are noticing.”

...enrollment sees dramatic jump

Provost Larry Lemanski said despite the budget cuts the education of students is still the top priority at A&M-Commerce.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

It looks like a small-college football sta-dium,” he said. “We’re pleased with the way it turned out and excited to start playing in it. It’s taken a long time to get here.”

Morriss said he likes the idea of hosting high profile high school games, and he also said A&M-Commerce has already been contacted by interested parties.

“I think that’s good any time we can get

those types of student athletes on our cam-pus,” he said. “That’s a plus for us, and that’ll certainly be the case once everybody finds out we’ve got a visitors side now.”

Cooper admitted there was talk about eventually switch-ing the current home section to the new bleachers, but he said that would not be hap-pening anytime soon. However, fans of Com-merce Tigers will be in the new seats.

“Right now, we’re

going to stay where we are,” he said. “It’s the best place for us.”

Morriss has his own idea about what to put in the new stands.

“What I’d like to do is talk about putting our band behind their bench, maybe a couple of student section over there,” he said. “When you go to College Sta-tion, that’s where the chore is and where the band is, they raise holy heck, and it’s a distrac-tion. I’ve been down there twice as the head coach of Baylor. That’s

kind of what I had in mind.”

New lights and newly laid rubber in the synthetic turf com-plete the current reno-vations. Cooper said smaller additions will be added at a later date.

“There are still some things we’re work-ing on, some cosmetic things to tie it all together,” he said. “That’ll be work in progress. They’re not necessarily things that needed to be there be-fore we played our first game.”

...new stadium adds to Lion pride

GRAYSON GRAVES / THE EAST TEXAN

The football stadium features several new additions such as opposing team benches and a new scoreboard. The scoreboard also several spots available for advertising, which will create a new revenue stream for the university.

INFOGRAPHIC CREATED BY KAT HUFFINES

...budget cuts continue

...fresh money brought through grantsCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

engineering and technology, received an $18,000 grant for the “2010 Engineering Summer Program (ESP),” which hosted middle school students from Commerce and Cooper from June 7-18 this summer.

“The students were introduced to robotics, given challenges, and de-signed and planned their own robots, which they demonstrated on June 14,”

Donham said.The students were

also taken on a tour of L-3 Communications in Greenville during the camp.

“L-3 is a major col-laborator on various programs,” Lemanski said. “Including our new computational science program.”

Dr. Vanessa Huse, a mathematics instruc-tor, received a $60,434 continuation of a grant for “Measurement in the

Middle Grades,” a Teacher Quality Grant Program. The award will be used for teacher training for middle school mathemat-ics in the Athens area.

“We’re trying to improve all the science and mathematics areas in the grade schools, middle schools, and of course high schools, so students in the United States are better prepared when they come to college,” Lemanski said. “In other

words, they won’t find al-gebra so difficult. They’re good at it.”

However, Lemanski stressed that though he is enthusiastic about the advances in research at A&M-Commerce, he does not want to see the university sacrifice its educational base.

“We want to main-tain excellent teaching as well,” he said. “But also bring up the research and scholarship component of our institution.”

The above graph shows enrollment numbers for undergraduates by classification for 2009 and 2010, and shows each had a significant increase.

www.theeasttexan.comThursday, Sept. 9, 2010Page 4 Campus LifeCampus Life

www.theeasttexan.com Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 Page 5Campus Life

Finding a home away from home is possible for college students. This week is Pan-Hellenic recruit-ment for ladies interested in joining a sorority. Orientation was held on Tuesday. During orientation, the applicants met all eight Pi Chi’s. Throughout the week, the Pi Chi’s guide the ladies to the four sorority homes and introduce them to the current members. “This is a time for potential new members to be pampered,” Greek Life Coordinator Amber VanLue Johnston said. “It gives women going through orientation the opportunity to visit each house.” Johnston said this time of year is a very touching time and for many ladies will be life changing. “There is a feeling you get when you walk into the house,” she said. “It’s an incredible moment.” She said when the ladies find their home, it is “life changing and highly emo-tional.” Once the girls meet at orientation, they realize they are all there for the same reasons; to find a home away from home. “It is nerve racking,

Nowadays people meeting organically has all but faded to black. There are more and more social net-working sites popping up every day. Some are used for romance. Others are not. With the advent of smart phones, some of these sites have created applications. One such site is Grindr, an application for the iPhone, which allows homosexual men to meet other men in the area by using the GPS system in the phone. With the application of the GPS, patrons can locate gay men as close as five feet from where they are standing. Founder and CEO of Grindr Joel Simkhai said he created the website because of frustration with other dating sites on the market. “I didn’t understand why location isn’t a higher pri-ority,” he said. “You can search based on zip code, but what about the guy in the same room, build-ing or across the street?” Since its incep-tion, Grindr has grown to become the largest all-male mobile location based networking tool in the world, with users numbering more than 900,000, and is utilized in 162 countries. Simkhai attributed the growth of the site to a multitude of things, but said word-of-mouth and Grindr parties were two of the most beneficial tools. Grindr parties are events held in clubs or other social settings where gay men who have the application can come together in close proximity with other men who use the application. “I think the applica-tion succeeds because of the basic human instinct to want to know who else is around you,” he said. “Everyone wants to experience what that’s like and Grindr provides that experience.” Simkhai said the parties reinforce the Grindr experience. “People like to see the Grindr brand out in public,” he said. Due to the success of the parties and the application itself, Simkhai said several parties will be held all over the world next month as the site reaches one million members. The popularity of Grindr has attracted the attention of clientele outside the gay community. Simkhai said several lesbians and straight people, who have seen their friends using Grindr, have contacted him about creating a site for them. Simkhai said this request is one he hopes he can meet. “Our goal is to be able to provide the Grindr service

to everyone – men, women, straight, gay and anyone in the world,” he said. “Everyone wonders ‘who and what are around me?’ This basic universal question is the driving force behind our innovations.” Grindr’s approach is a simple one according to Simkhai. “The desire to connect with people around you is universal,” he said. The site is not just used by romantics. Rob Norfolk said on Grindr’s website that he was able to meet a whole new group of friends and even find a new job through the site after a tumultuous break up. “I made a great life long buddy because of Grindr,” he said. Simkhai said he does not specify what the site can be used for. “We just provide the service and let people use it as they wish,” he said. “It’s up to the user to decide how far they want to go with it.”

Security issues are an area of con-cern with the site, but Simkhai said Grindr has made efforts to create a secure application. “As with any online services, we encourage our users to be smart and use common sense when chatting with new people,” he said. Grindr offers two features to allow users to manage their privacy. Users can hide their distance and block other users from seeing them if unwanted attention is being given. Simkhai said he also encourages his patrons to view safety tips at the applications website. At first Simkhai said the technology was not available to solve his problem. That was until Apple released the s e c o n d - g e n e r a t i o n iPhone in June 2008. “Three major chang-es were announced,” Simkhai said. “One was

GPS, another was the App store, and last was the iPhone SDK, which is the software to write these apps in an easy way. These three innovations allowed us to create Grindr.” President for the Association for the Needs of Gay and Lesbian Students Steven Martin said he can see how Grindr will make it easier to find people. “I prefer to meet people the old-fashioned way, but I think it’s fine for those who don’t,” he said. People should use the application at their own peril according to Martin, but he does not judge those who use it in any way. Simkhai said the application plans to cross platforms and release Grindr for the Blackberry, which is in the final stages of beta testing. Those who want information on the switch or anything else about Grindr can visit Grindr.com.

Ladies experience formal recruitment weekSTEPHANIE NORMANCAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

exciting and there are women there just like you,” Johnston said. Johnston had plenty of advice for the applicants. “ K e e p an open mind and let yourself feel what you

are,” Johnston said. “Ask every question you can think of and have fun with it. Let yourself be pam-pered and be nervous.

You have to trust the sys-tem. Be ready for a life chanigng experience.” Final placement selec-tions are to be announced

Saturday, Sept. 11. For Kappa Chi Delta, recruitment is to begin Monday, Sept. 13. The Inter Fraternity Council

and National Pan-Hellenic Council are still putting dates together. For more information or questions email Johnston

at go_greek@t a m u - c o m -merce.edu.

App for gays promotes relationships Dr. Hendricks named faculty senate president

Ladies involved in Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Gamma Phi Beta or Kappa Delta on the A&M-Commerce campus. Joining a sorority is like finding a new family for some ladies.

JAMES BRIGHTEDITOR

Courtesy Photo Jason Donnalley

Dr. M. LaVelle Hendricks is the 2010-2011 President of the Faculty Senate for A&M-Commerce. He has been a faculty member for the past three years and succeeds Dr. John Smith. “I enjoy my job here at the university,” Hendricks said. “I learned as much as I could from Dr. Smith, and I want to gain as much as I can from these individuals.” As faculty presi-dent, Hendricks calls and attends all monthly meet-ings, in addition to appointing members to ad hoc committees, reporting mes-sages from the u n i v e r s i t y president to the Senate, and providing the university presi-dent with month-ly minutes. The faculty president only votes on a matter in the event of a tie. Hendricks said he wants to “improve the quality of life” for indi-viduals affiliated with the university. He has three main goals for the current school year: maintain and establish communication, work on mentor programs and present awards honor-ing colleagues on campus. He said six awards will be presented Oct. 14. Hendricks said record enrollment this semester has affected many people and departments. “We are working with the administration to address the issues that come with the increase in enrollment,” Hendricks said. “Class numbers have increased, but I see that as a positive. It is a win-win

for the university. I look forward to a wonderful and exciting year now that the numbers have risen over 10,000.” Hendricks is optimistic about the impact such changes can have on the university’s future. “I want people to come and see the changes and say, ‘Wow, this is a beautiful campus,’” Hendricks said. “This is an exciting time for A&M Commerce.” The Faculty Senate is comprised of 24 members, with a member elected from each department

of the univer-sity and a p r o f e s s i o n a l librarian. The senate deals s p e c i f i c a l l y with faculty, and is respon-sible for inves-tigating educa-tional concerns at the univer-sity and report-

ing its opin-ion to A&M-

Commerce President Dan Jones. In order to be a member of the senate, one must have completed at least one full year of academic service to the university before tak-ing office. Members cannot hold a full-time a d m i n i s t r a t i v e appointment and they must be ranked as an instructor or higher. The university president, vice president and deans may not be members of the Faculty Senate. The next Faculty Senate meeting is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, in the Board Room (290) of the Business Administration Building. The next Executive Committee Meeting is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, also in the Broad Room.

STEPHANIE NORMANCAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

HENDRICKS

Art SceneArt Scene www.theeasttexan.comThursday, Sept. 9, 2010Page 6

JAMES BRIGHT EDITOR

It seems recently there are three ways to make a good movie. First, take a serious topic, hire phenomenal actors and put together a film that does justice to either an actual event or some form of art imitating life. Second, throw so much money at the film that it has to be entertaining regardless of its faults. Lastly, take any topic and make it as ridiculous as possible, while constantly reminding the audience that the film is supposed to be stupid, which in turn makes it entertaining.

Director Robert Rodriguez banks on the last of these formulas time and time again. His new film “Machete” is no different. It has a won-derful cast, a continuous onslaught of violence and one of the most under-rated actors of our time in a lead role. The film follows the story of ex-fedarali Machete, played by Danny Trejo. Although Machete’s tale of loss and redemp-tion is the main focus of the film, it uses current hotbed political topics like immigration and the bor-der drug war as a staging ground. Although the premise may seem serious, the film itself is not. It does a wonderful job of convey-

ing a semi-political mes-sage, while continuously entertaining the audience with stupidity. The cast is the primary reason this formula works. Although Trejo does an excellent job portraying Machete, Steven Segal’s talent as arch villain and drug lord Torrez steals the movie. That last sentence may read weird. I doubt anyone has ever given credit to Segal for his act-ing and generally I’m one of the first to be appalled by his inability to execute this craft. Not this time though. He seems genuine throughout the entire movie. He’s ruthless, cun-ning and basically the epitome of a capitalist. He alone made this movie

worthwhile, but then there is Lindsay Lohan as a druggy, who ends up killing people in a nun’s outfit. The irony is just too good not to enjoy. As in any of Rodriguez’s action films, violence plays a main role. “Machete” is no dif-ferent. Just the name lets the audience know they should expect a few limbs to be severed in the movie. Although this may seem sadistic, violence in films like this are key to success. They thrive on being over-the-top and so they have to push the limits of what an audience member’s stomach can take. Imagine “Inglorious Bastards” without Brad Pitt carv-ing swastikas into a few Nazi foreheads, or “Once

Upon a Time in Mexico” if Johnny Depp had kept his eyes. The violence becomes almost its own character in the film, and we love it. Typically in films such as these it looks fake, and that’s another reason these films do well. If it looks fake then “the bloodier the better” men-tality is the way to go, and that’s exactly the direction “Machete” takes. Lastly, there is Danny Trejo. This guy is the ulti-mate badass Hispanic. I even have a theory that if a film calls for a tough-looking, take-no-nonsense Hispanic in the cast, Trejo is the first guy on the list to be called. I’ve loved him throughout his 20-year-long career, so naturally, when I

found out he’d have his first starting role, I was ecstatic. He didn’t let me down. From the moment he comes on the screen, Trejo is a tornado of enter-tainment. Between his incredible knife wielding abilities or his unfathomable ability to get women, Trejo gives Machete the character exactly what an audience would want – a badass, no-holds-bar good guy. Coupled with Segal’s incredible performance and the rest of the cast’s ability to round out the movie, “Machete” is almost too much to han-dle. Luckily, that’s exactly where this film needed to be and it succeeds in accomplishing everything it set out to do.

“Machete” provides social commentary amidst violence“Machete” marks just one of many films featuring Danny Trejo, but it also stands as Trejo’s one and only film where he plays the lead role. After Trejo’s performance in the blood and gore film, many lead roles are sure to follow. Trejo’s lack of acting skills is made up for in his entertainment factor and awesome screen presence.

WWW.MOVIECARPET.COM

Editor’s Picks

“It combines Western culture with modern zombie lore.”-James Bright

“This show blows my mind. It’s interesting and I learn something everytime I watch”- Megan Carey

“Seven years after its release, this album continues to impress me.”-Caleb Slinkard

WWW.CHANNELMASTER.INFO

WWW.MUSICHRISTIAN.COM

WWW.FITCHE.COM

JARED WATSONONLINE EDITOR

In some ways, the “Madden” football video game franchise is like your favorite cereal. Every year the makers try to add something to make it better, maybe a new box, adding some new colors, maybe even a new shape of marshmallow. But every year, you open the box, pour a bowl, take a bite, and it’s still the same old Lucky Charms. It’s the same with “Madden NFL 11.” EA has added a couple of new minor features, mostly designed to make the game easier for new players to pick up, but it’s essentially the same as last year’s game, and is really only worth buy-

ing if you’ve never owned a Madden game before, or absolutely must have up-to-date rosters and in-season updates. The most notable new feature in this year’s edi-tion is the “GameFlow” play calling option, which allows you to run a play selected by the computer, instead of having to choose a play from your playbook. It is intended to speed up games, but real-ly just functions as allow-ing you to “Ask Madden” without the embarrass-ment of John Madden chiming in that, “I…I…think you should run this play.” Other than that, very little of the experience has changed. The animations are generally recycled from last year and the commentary is exactly the same, despite dropping

play-by-play commentator Tom Hammond in favor of Gus Johnson. It seems like no matter who says it, the game has been using the same lines for over a decade. One thing that has greatly changed, and not for the better, is the soundtrack. Madden games are known for using contemporary rock and hip-hop tracks, but this year EA apparently decided to go back in time and use alternative and classic rock tracks from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Though it may be more representative of actual in-stadium music choices, it doesn’t feel like Madden to kick the ball off to Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” or Bush’s “Machine Head.” In fact, the only current rock track on the soundtrack is from a clas-

sic artist, Ozzy Osbourne. It feels very antiquated. “Madden NFL 11” continues the trend of prominent sponsorships and product placement. In place of last year’s Snickers ads is Old Spice, and I have to admit that hearing the whistled Old Spice theme music consis-tently made me laugh. A little puzzling, how-ever, is the Old Spice “Swagger” stat, which I assume calculates how a building kick would affect each player’s aaaaaaabdominals. Madden is still by far the best football game on the market, and if you don’t own one of the pre-vious games, by all means pick it up. But, if you’re a veteran of the series and want something new or different, sorry, it’s the same old Lucky Charms.

UNDEAD OR ALIVE (DVD)

WWW.BUYSZOMBIE.COM

THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH: PHENOMENON (CD)

WAREHOUSE 13

Newest “Madden” fails to progress franchise

The most recent addition to the “Madden” franchise is “Madden NFL 2011”, which only varies in soundtrack compared to its predeccesors.

SPORTSSPORTSwww.theeasttexan.com Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 Page 7

continued from page 8

Their closest chance came when senior Courtney Turner’s long-distance shot clanged off the post. Turner was a threat to the Lions’ goal all afternoon with her darting runs and intel-ligent passes, and came only inches away from bringing her team back into the match. Things also got heated shortly after the break when Haight was given a yellow card in the 54th minute for crashing into Tusculum goalkeeper Rachael Jennings. The two players were chasing after a ball in the box, Jennings got to it first, and then fell over the outstretched leg of Haight. Although the referee brandished a caution, Tusculum head coach Mike Joy was asking for a red card on the side-line. After the match, he

and another player had a lengthy talk with the officials and he said there were aspects of the match he was not happy about. “My captain wanted to talk with the officials with regards to the manage-ment of the clock, and I just wanted to be there to support her and make sure everything was all good,” Joy said. “The officiating was fair, I didn’t really see unfairness except for it was taking a long time on every substitu-tion where the center was writing down the substi-tutes. The center should not, the linesman should run that.” Joy also said he found a problem with the ref-eree not asking that the clock be stopped while issuing a yellow card and with the clock not being started at the beginning of the match for about two minutes. As far as the result is

concerned, Joy said he was frustrated his team could not manage to find the back of the net. The increased pressure by his team in the second half resulted in a final shot count of nine each. “Second half, we domi-nated and totally out-shot them,” he said. “I real-ly didn’t think, with the kind of strikers I know I’ve got on my team, we’d struggle scoring goals. I thought we would score a lot of goals, even early on in the season. That’s a little bit disappointing, because I’ve got some really good strikers and I believe we’re going to score a lot of goals as time goes on.” A & M - C o m m e r c e head coach Neil Piper said he was impressed with his team, but also saw weaknesses. “I felt great in the first half, I thought we looked sharp,” Piper said. “I felt

in the second half, the last 15 minutes, we got a little bit tired and were a little bit desperate. At the same time, we could’ve scored two or three in the first half, and we coast, but that didn’t happen. I think on the run of play it was a fair result, but it was a tight game.” Haight’s impact on the game was limited due to a minor injury she suffered in the first half. While it does not appear to be worrying for the senior forward, Piper said he was happy to see fresh-men Blanton, Minde, and Taylor Hunt step in and help the Lions to a win. He also had particular praise for the goal scorer. “She’s very dangerous around the goal, and I’ve told her if she gets around the goal, give it a shot,” he said about Blanton. “It was a very nice goal for her, and I’m glad she got it.”

Soccer opens with Tusculum win

Junior Jordan McCarty looks for a pass during the Tusculum game.

continued from page 8

...he said. “The better we block, the fewer places they have to hit the ball. One of the performances I was really pleased with in this match was from Dakota Crockett. What Rachel [Robertson], Ciara [Holmes], Naomi [Mays], and Kayla [Bond] were able to do really well was to force them to hit the ball where they got blocked or they hit it to Dakota.” Each game of the match was closely fought, start-ing with the first, which ended 25-23. Bond was once again a major con-tributor, scoring six of her 11 kills on the night. The second match went a bit more smoothly for the Lions, as they cruised to a 25-21 win. Freshman Jordan Neal was the go-to player, finishing with 13 assists. Case said she was a major factor in the match as a whole. “It’s tough to overlook Jordan [Neal],” he said. “She’s so solid, just makes good decisions regularly. She really does a good job at setting up hitters two or three sets in advance.” After initially going down by eight points in the third game, A&M-

Commerce rallied back behind important plays from Bond and Mays. It was eventually a Mays and Robertson block that ended the match 28-26. “They played very well,” Case said about Oklahoma Panhandle in the third game. “That was the team we scouted, so when we got going and all of a sudden we were down, I’m looking around thinking, ‘Am I the only one that expected them to play like this?’ These guys are good, and we’re just kind of sitting back and waiting for them to fall apart. I was really proud of how we responded to that.” After a solid first day, in which she got 22 kills and 15 digs, Bond said she was happy to be playing for the Lions. “It’s really exciting,” she said. “I was really looking forward to play-ing for Coach Case, and being able to play all the way around is a lot of fun.” Case said Bond is a gifted player whom he expects to have in the line-up often, but she still has a few things to work on. “We made a decision in, probably, the second or third day that she was

going to have the ball a lot,” he said. “We did see the freshman come out of her a little bit in the match there. The nice thing is that is was in game two when everybody else was playing well. She didn’t break down in game three when the pressure was on; she didn’t fall apart when we really needed her.” Day two of the tourna-ment started with a 3-0 Lions victory over Fort Hays State. After edging out the first game 25-21, A&M-Commerce went on to take the next two, 25-19 and 25-8. The evening match on day two was much closer, as the Lions came from behind to defeat the University of Arkansas at Monticello 3-2. A&M-Commerce started at a 2-0 deficit going into game three before pulling off a memorable victory. “We were thinking work harder,” Ousley said about the Lions after they went down two games. “We knew we could play better and we knew we could beat them. It was just small things we needed to work on that we’ve been trying to work on all weekend that we weren’t doing.” She finished with

eight kills and eight assisted blocks. After just losing the first two matches 25-22 and 25-23, something clearly switched on for the Lions. Robertson and freshman Ciara Holmes combined for nine kills in the third game as the Lions took it 25-15. Neal was once again the creator, finishing the match with 41 assists. Crockett and sophomore Morgan Moeller were top defensive perform-ers, finishing with 19 and 14 digs, respectively. “Morgan [Moeller] is good,” Case said. “I’ve always said it’s just a matter of time until she comes in and helps us win a match. She was the dif-ference in that, and not because she did anything statistically, but she just gave us ball control that allowed our middles to do what they needed to do.” After knotting the match with a 25-16 win in game four, A&M-Commerce fin-ished strong with a 15-4 fifth game win to take the match. “Our goal this weekend was to get better every match, and we ended playing our best volley-ball the last three games,” Case said.

FridaySept. 10

Lions Sports Week

TexAnn

Invitational

Tournament

Day 1

@ Tarlteon St.

@ Newman7:30 p.m.

@ West

Texas A&M

7 p.m.

Charles

Coody

W. Texas

Invitational

Day 1

SaturdaySept. 11

SundaySept. 12

MondaySept. 13

TuesdaySept. 14

Wed.Sept. 15

Thurs.Sept. 16

Volleyball at 3-1 after tournament

Freshmen Phenoms

Kenzee Jackson (top left)- Freshman wide receiver Kenzee Jackson had a fantastic game in his first action as a Lion. He scored the first touchdown for the Lions in 2010 and led them with 7 catches for 79 yards. His effort helped A&M-Commerce beat the Upper Iowa Peacocks 33-10.

Kayla Bond (bottom left)- In just two games and only one day, Bond led her team in kills. She also managed 11 digs in the come from behind victory against Arkansas-Monticello.

Tareyn Blanton (above)- Her goal in the 42nd minute of A&M-Commerce’s win over Tusculum proved to be the game winner and capped an impressive performance. Blanton was a thorn in the side of the Tusculum defense for most of the afternoon, and made a few big tackles in the Lions’ attacking third, causing the Pioneers’ backline issues.

Women’sMen’s

Charles

Coody

W. Texas

Invitational

Day 2Charles

Coody

W. Texas

Invitational

Day 3

NSU

Women’s Golf

Classic

Day 1

NSU

Women’s Golf

Classic

Day 2

NSU

Women’s Golf

Classic

Day 3

UTA

Invitational

Arlington,

Texas

Harvey MartinClassic at the

Cotton Bowl in DallasSaturday, Sept. 11

5 p.m. KickoffA&M-Commerce

vs.Angelo State Univ.

Rachel Robertson attempts a kill during Saturday evening’s match.

TexAnn

Invitational

Tournament

Day 2

@ Tarlteon St.

sportssports www.theeasttexan.comThursday, Sept. 9, 2010Page 8

Listen to From the Bench Friday nights from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on your station 88.9 KETR

with Jared Watson and Caleb Slinkard

That Sports Thing?Which freshman will have the biggest impact?

ADAM TROXTELLSPORTS EDITOR

In a weekend filled with sports action, fresh-men undoubtedly stole the headlines. From Kenzee Jackson’s returned kickoff which jumpstarted the Lions in a football win, to Tareyn Blanton’s spectacular strike to give the women’s soccer team a 1-0 win. I don’t think that’s the last we’ve heard from either of those players, but we’re looking at the freshman who will have the biggest impact all season long. While Jackson is poised to remain a top receiver, and Blanton will continue to contribute up top and probably have a four or five goal season, I think one name will come up in Lions sports week after week: Kayla Bond of the women’s volleyball team. Forget the fact she led her team with 22 kills after just one day of com-petitive play. This player already has a command-ing presence on the court. She communicates and acts like an already estab-lished veteran, so you know her teammates will be constantly looking to get her the ball. Both Jackson and Blanton are good, but they also have to deal with other players in their positions. Blake Patton, Taylor Fore, and Tevin Godfrey are all solid options for quarterback Farkes. With Taylor Hunt, Brionna Minde, and senior attacker Chelsey Haight, Blanton will have to split time on the field, and as a result, split goal opportunities. Head coach Craig Case has already called Bond a “uniquely skilled hitter” and said he knew she’d be a big player for the Lions some day after only a few practices. She’s done enough to warrant a start-ing role, and will only get better as the season progresses.

CALEB SLINKARDMANAGING EDITOR

With the A&M-Commerce football team down by 10 points and spinning their wheels on offense, freshman wide receiver Kenzee Jackson jump-started the offense with an impressive 87-yard kickoff return. The newcomer also led the Lions with 7 catches and 79 yards. Jackson has posi-tioned himself to become the main target in what promises to be a potent offensive attack for the Lions. While A&M-Commerce has plenty of talented receivers, Jackson has the break away speed that could separate him from the rest of the group. A big play wideout is a pivotal part of a high-powered offense, and if Jackson can fill that role, he will have a tre-mendous impact on the football team. With the defense los-ing plenty of starters from last season’s dom-inant squad, the burden to carry the Lions in difficult games rests with the offense.

A few more games like the one he had against the University of Upper Iowa and he’ll cement himself as a leader in a deep receiv-ing corps. Jackson caught 66 passes for 966 yards and 8 touchdowns his senior year at Sam Houston High School, and received an offer from the University of Tulsa before deciding on A&M-Commerce. Jackson and the A&M-Commerce Lions play next against Angelo State University in the Harvey Martin Classic on Sept. 11 at the Cotton Bowl.

Lions rally for win over PeacocksCALEB SLINKARD

MANAGING EDITOR

The A&M-Commerce football team overcame a 10 point halftime deficit to crush the Upper Iowa University Peacocks 33-10 in their season opener. Junior running back Marcus Graham rushed for 85 yards and 2 TDs and freshman wide-out Kenzee Jackson caught seven passes and returned a kickoff for a touchdown to spark the Lions’ comeback. The Peacocks struck early following a Lions punt when quarterback Ben Curran threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jesse Baldwin. Star linebacker Cory Whitefield sprained his knee on the drive and was forced to sit out for

the rest of the game. His status for next week’s game against Angelo State is uncertain. A&M-Commerce struggled to move the ball effectively on the ground and QB Adam Farkes threw two inter-ceptions in UIU terri-tory that kept the Lions off the scoreboard. A 42-yard field goal by Tyler Parmenter put the Peacocks up 10-0 heading into the halftime. The first half shutout did not appear to do much to dampen A&M-Commerce’s enthusiasm.“Nobody lost their cool,” Lions offensive lineman John Marshall said. “We stuck to our game plan and executed.” A&M-Commerce fans didn’t have to wait long for the Lions to strike.

Jackson took UIU’s kick-off 87 yards for the score that began a 33-0 run for A&M-Commerce. After a missed PAT the Peacocks had a 10-6 lead. Two tough runs inside the red zone by Graham put the Lions up 19-6. “We realized that we were a better team than we played in the first half,” Graham said. “When we figured out what we needed to do, the running game opened up.” The Lions added another touchdown after a risky but gutsy play by cornerback A.J. Billings. After inter-cepting Curran’s pass, Billings flipped the ball to Chez Thomas, who ran 48 yards for the touchdown. An explo-sive 39-yard run by

freshman RB La’Ryon Witherspoon put the final exclamation mark on the game. QB Adam Farkes attributed much of the Lions’ success to the offensive line. “The offensive line is the rock of this offense,” Farkes, who threw for 289 yards, said. “They were dominating the line of scrimmage up front and when you’re able to do that you can open up your offense.” LB Danny Mason led A&M-Commerce in tack-les with 13 and recorded their lone sack. The Lions play LSC opponent Angelo State University in the third annual Harvey Martin Classic at the Cotton Bowl this Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.

ADAM TROXTELLSPORTS EDITOR

Freshman striker Tareyn Blanton scored her first collegiate goal for A&M-Commerce women’s soccer on Saturday, Sept. 4, which turned out to be the game winner in a 1-0 victory over Tusculum College. The result mirrors last year’s contest between the two teams, and also extends A&M-Commerce’s record of never losing an opening match since the program began in 1996. “It was great,” Blanton said about scoring her first goal for the Lions. “I wasn’t nervous anymore, that’s for sure.”The goal came in the 42nd minute of the match. Junior

Devon Herrman’s throw-in bounced to the feet of Blanton. After establish-ing control, the freshman squared up to the goal and fired a shot into the left side of the net from about 18 yards out. Blanton’s opportunity was one of many for A&M-Commerce in the first half, as the Lions out-shot their opponents seven to three. Before the goal, both senior Chelsey Haight and fresh-man Brionna Minde came close with curling shots that went just over the crossbar. After halftime, Tusculum began to get forward more and more in search of an equalizer.

(see ‘Soccer’ on page 7)

Blanton leads women to victory in debut

Freshman Bond booms at tourneyJUSTIN CHEATHAM

ADAM TROXTELL

A&M-Commerce’s Lions volleyball team lost the season opening match against the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders 3-1 on Friday, Sept. 3. The match was also a part of the two-day Lion Volleyball Classic tourna-ment hosted by A&M-Commerce. The Lions started strong with an early lead in game one, and nearly beat the Muleriders 23-21. However, Southern Arkansas rallied to defeat the lions 25-23, in the clos-

est game of the match. The Muleriders carried on the momentum into game two, establishing an early 12-7 lead. The Lions fought back scor-ing another ten points but their efforts were too little too late to keep Southern Arkansas from a 25-17 win. The Lions entered game three fighting off the Muleriders early, but they caught back up to knot the game at 13-13. Freshman Kayla Bond showed that experience and talent are not too closely related, posting 11 kills and 12 digs. Bond and return-

ing sophomore Rachel Robertson turned the tide of the match, leading the Lions to a 25-23 victory. Senior Terra Ousley and freshman Ciara Holmes made the Muleriders work for points during game four, but their digs fell short. Southern Arkansas’s more experienced team made game four a back-and-forth battle for the lead, eventually leading to a 25-22 win. After falling in their first match of the day, A&M-Commerce bounced back to get a 3-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State University.

“We just got used an awful lot in the afternoon match, and in the evening match I think we corrected that a bit and finished our blocks a little bit better,” Case said. “Blocking was a huge part of it, but not for the blocks so much as just being big and taking away space.” Case said it was more of his team’s strategy that led to them out-blocking Oklahoma Panhandle nine to two. “Philosophically, the way we block is more about taking space,”....(see ‘Volleyball’ on page 7)

Tareyn Blanton (center) celebrates after her first ever collegiate goal.

Kayla Bond goes up for a kill during the Oklahoma-Panhandle match.

Adam Farkes escapes a tackle during the Lions’ 33-10 victory over on Saturday. Farkes threw 27-46 for 289 yards and two interceptions.