Dr. Bruce Brasington
Professor of History
You were walking down the steps of the football stadium a week ago Saturday.

You didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so I don’t think there was some sort of emergency.

The “Star Spangled Banner” was playing.

You did not notice that everyone else was standing, quietly, with their hands over their hearts.

Perhaps you were unaware why—they were paying respects to a flag that stands for ideals unprecedented in human history.

The country it waves over isn’t perfect—nothing made by man ever is—but, take it from me as a historian, it is far sight better than anything we’ve had up to now.

My grandfather followed that flag through the mud of the Western Front in World War I.

He hoped that the victory of that flag would “make the world safe for democracy.”

I still hope.

My father followed that flag through the jungles of the Pacific in World War II.

Like a student from Lubbock I had a few years ago, you may not know whom we fought.

Let me assure you that, had our enemies won, it is unlikely you and I would have been able to attend that football game.

You looked to be an undergraduate, so seven years ago you were probably in Middle School.

I don’t know if anyone at Kimbrough Stadium lost a loved one on 9-11-01, but even if they did not, I suspect more than a few think of that terrible day when they look up at that flag.

Recently, my nephew wore that flag on his uniform in Iraq. I am certain it made a tempting target.

So, I just hope that you didn’t know what that flag stood for, why the band was playing or why everybody else was standing.

Ignorance can be corrected. I just pray it wasn’t indifference.

We here at The Prairie would like to give our take on what’s hot and what’s not. If you find yourself in the Hooves Down category… you might want to reconsider your choices.

• Horns up for Barack Obama being the first African-American elected to President of the United States.
• Hooves down to American citizens that did not practice their right to vote.
• Horns up for the Lady Buff soccer team repeating their Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament winning status.
• Hooves down to not more students going to the soccer team’s games.

Allison Smith
Bilingual Education, Sophomore
Is there an afterlife?

Richard Glenn
Mechanical Engineering, Junior
Why do we not have a baseball field on the WT campus?

Sergio Marquez
Sports & Exercise Sciences, Junior
Why can’t you use your dining dollars at the Caf and your meal plan at the JBK?

Chantel Pearson
General Studies, Sophomore
Why is the JBK so expensive compared with other places?

Election, election, Obama’s radical priest, election, election, Sarah Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe, election, election.

Yes – you can breathe now, it’s all over. No matter how passionate you are – your opinion doesn’t matter any more because the majority spoke – we have a new president.

Now, after being released of this political prison, we can thank the candidates for one thing – intelligent public relation jargon.

Now it’s common knowledge that John McCain is not old, but “wise and experienced.”

And Palin wasn’t picked for her beauty, but for her “young and fresh” appeal.

As media people, the election seems to have lasted 800 billion years. To stay “savvy” we’ve been immersed in cackling pundits and distorted fact campaign videos, and let us say it first—thank goodness it’s the Thursday after the election.

So, now the big question becomes – what do we talk about now?

How are we going to live without campaign coverage and “major” controversies leaking out of the media?

Well, let’s start this after-election party off right and get back to belly laughs and late night Taco Bell.

Here’s some humorous fodder to chew on.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.

The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.

If that doesn’t do it for you, take a mini-vacation to Africa. Talking critters can take you on a safari escape in the new Dreamworks Nov. 7 release, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.”

Actually, the silly wild animals in “Madagascar” actually resemble political candidates.

The always-ill giraffe, Melman, must have voted for John McCain because they share the same personal agenda: old-age health problems.

Then there’s King Julien, self-proclaimed lord of the lemurs.

He’s totally Barack Obama’s celebrity counterpart – making sure he wears the hat of superiority.

The intriguing and attractive hippo, Gloria, plays Sarah Palin.

She’s concerned more with being cute than much of anything else.

The allusive and power-hungry penguins play Palin’s firm supporters of her campaign, “Vote for Glamour! Palin 2012.”

We here at The Prairie would like to give our take on what’s hot and what’s not. If you find yourself in the Hooves Down category… you might want to reconsider your choices.

• Horns up for Buffalo’s Southwest Cafe finally opening and serving nice, cold drinks.

• Hooves down to the concerned citizens of Canyon insisting college students should drive all the way to McCormick to buy beer.

• Horns up for Guy Ritchie getting to split $525 million with Madonna.

• Hooves down to the ex-couple falling to the celebrity marriage curse and divorcing after eight years. Sucks to be famous.

So, midterms were coming up again.

As I was sitting in my night class, waiting for instructions on next week’s midterm, all around me people are joking about “pre-filled bluebooks.”

Seems like a simple solution for a stress free A.

Am I the only one who has a problem with this?  I am beginning to think so.  Scholastic dishonesty seems to be rampant from where I am sitting.

From my seat in the JBK I hear one of my classmates state, “I didn’t read the book at all.  I just wrote my paper, and during discussion, I’ll just B.S. it.”

From my seat in my morning class I see a student write for five minutes and then twiddle his thumbs and tap his pen, jumping up to turn in a full bluebook as soon as it looked good to do so.

From where I sit, I see roaming eyes watching my pen and paper.

I read another student’s research paper and see my work within it.  From where I sit, I don’t see the easy way out as an option.  That is not why I am here.

I am here to get the best education I possibly can.

When I receive my degree in May, I can hold my head up high, knowing I earned my education.

Have you?

Sharon Thomas,
Senior history major

Abigail DeLaFuentes
Sophmore, Psychology

I think WT should offers a class on global studies. A student should be well informed about global problems.

JoJo Jones
Freshman, SES

WT should assist students in finding a job in whatever they are interested in.

Jessica Mills
Freshman, Nursing

Though I feel that I will be adequately prepared for the “real world” when I graduate, I do think more clinicals, and more experience working with patients, would boost my confidence a bit!

Matt Cavazos
Junior, Criminal Justice

WT offers stuff like career counseling and services that helps students be prepared for life after graduation. I think students should begin looking into internships and possible job opportunities their sophmore or junior year.

After a fun-filled weekend with the family, the dreaded “after-college” question never fails to come up.

For four, five or even six years, we live in a pre-real-world state during college.

Sure — we have a job, we live on our own, but our parents still support us.

Soon December graduates will hang their gowns up and enter the job market.

According to Career and Counseling Services Director Denese Skinner, 96.8 percent of WTAMU graduates have a job a year after they graduate.

Although that statistic is reassuring, a year is a long time to be sitting on mom’s couch.
What about three months after graduation?

The national average for college grads to be in the job market ranges by their pre-graduation tactics.
For students who made the leap into job searching without interning, making a resume or gaining career experience, they could potentially be waiting 18 months for a call from an employer.

For those who have interned, the wait is cut in half to only 9 months.

Finally, if a student has made the commitment to go to career workshops, taken an internship, started job searching and networked, he/she may only wait 3 months.

Many college students assume college guarantees a job, although that is not always the case.
Four years of hard work may only be half the battle.

During a student’s junior or senior year, skills such as resume making, interviewing and effective job searching suddenly become important.

At WT, Career and Counseling offers many programs to help students such as job fairs, resume building workshops and mock interviews.

Unfortunately that’s on our own personal time.

WT needs to add a career planning class into its curriculum. Maybe give us the choice between Life Wellness and Career Builder 101?

We’d much rather take a class that gives us the opportunity to build a solid resume than a class that teaches us the components of the food pyramid.