Every year, WTAMU, in compliance with federal law, publishes an annual Campus Security Summary and Campus Security Report, which include campus crime report statistics for the previous three years.

“We are very fortunate here at West Texas A&M University,” President Dr. O’Brien said. “We live, work and study on one of the safest campuses in the country, and Canyon is routinely listed among Texas’ safest cities,” Dr. O’ Brien challenges the community to keep pushing forward, and encourages the population at WT to unite.

“Reputation, no matter how well deserved, cannot ensure continued health and safety. Together, we will enjoy a safe and happy year.”

The report for this previous semester shows favorable reviews. However, some students are still finding themselves the victim of small crimes around the Canyon area. Malissa Montgomery, a junior biology major, was recently robbed of 200 dollars while at her apartment. The complex is directly behind the AC about fifty feet away from campus.

“I was angry,” Montgomery said. “I went inside the apartment to drop off my school bag, and when I walked back outside, the money was gone. I was about to deposit it.”

The University Police Department provides safety tips. Three tip mentioned are to “always lock your car, never leave personal belongings unattended and to watch for strangers.”

“This experience is very enlightening,” Montgomery said. “I will never leave my car unlocked again, even if it is just for a quick moment.”

An email issued on Oct. 7 asked for people to step forward if they knew about an on-going crime. It asserted that “The Campus Security Act, a federal law, requires ‘campus security authorities’(CSA) to report crime statistics for inclusion in the University’s annual Campus Security Report.”

CSA can be members of the campus police, officials of an institution, or Residential Assistants on campus. For a full list of the CSA, information can be located on the WT website.

Logan Moore, a junior communication studies major, is an R.A. at Guenther Hall.

“I think our location, as well as our students, ensure great safety standards,” Moore said. “We are in a well lit area and I think that makes a drastic difference.”

While Guenther is in a good location, their fire standards show a different statistic. This past year, they issued four practice fire alarm evaluations, just like every other dorm; however, this hall has no sprinkler systems for its residence.

“It is true we do not have fire sprinklers,” Moore said. “Still, I think our practice evacuations run smoothly enough that we can still provide adequate safety measures. Guenther is not very big, so all of our students can get out faster than lets say students in one of the bigger dorms such as Jones.”

To learn more about safety tips, WT provides educational workshops and programs on topics including: crime prevention, domestic/dating violence, sexual assault and property theft.

WTAMU Centennial ornaments are on sale in the Book Store. Photo by Frankie Sanchez.

During the hardships of World War II, professors and students from WTAMU went off to battle. Money became significantly harder to attain. Rationing was life.

As Dr. Marty Kulhman, associate professor of history, explains in his book “Always WT”, “Homecoming became a casualty of war in 1943-1944 as the college canceled the event…to conserve resources.”

At one point in WT’s history, this celebration looked bleak, and the university’s morale was low. However, almost seven decades later, this year marks the 100th year of WT’s tradition of success. A homecoming week like none before will reflect achievements.

Tim Vela, student body president, worked alongside students and faculty created this week’s itinerary. He served with the standing committee to bring in some big names for the centennial homecoming. “Homecoming is a stressful time,” Vela said. “There are a lot of things that have to happen. We basically started planning this event at the end of last
year‘s celebration.”

Quietdrive, an ‘up-and-coming’ band, kick-started 2009 by taking their style of music abroad for U.S. soldiers. Soon after, they wanted to visit U.S. high schools and colleges while touring and talk to music students about their experiences. Their tour includes a stop at WT this Friday as they perform at the bonfire.

“They are my kind of band,” Vela said. “I think collegiate students will be able to connect with them very well.”

Still, Quietdrive is only one day of homecoming week. Oct. 4 the university had a contest referred to as Maroon Madness. Students who participated dressed up in as much maroon as possible to impress judges.

“We needed to start the week off right,” Vela said, “So, this contest is to help instill Buffalo pride.”

Tuesday, at 5 p.m. in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, WT is sponsoring a Paper Football Tournament. Everybody is invited to attend.

Wednesday at 5 p.m., by the Bonfire site, there will be a tractor pull event for students. Katie Gustainis, senior speech communication major, will be attending her first pull this year as she enjoys this week’s activities.

“I’m really excited to go,” Gustainis said. “Four years later, I am going to finally figure out the tractor pull.”

Thursday at 5 p.m. in the First United Bank Center, Somaly Mam will be at convocation.

While convocation targets freshmen, the study body is encouraged to attend. At 6 p.m. the alumni will have a ‘gathering’ at the Golden Light Cantina. At 7 p.m. the Volleyball team will be playing Cameron at “The Box.”
And around midnight, at the bonfire site, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) will be having a Midnight Weenie Roast.

“RHA does a lot for homecoming,” Gustainis said. “The Roast will be a good event to attend. It’s a great opportunity to meet people.”

Friday is the traditional Pigskin Revue. All of the homecoming queen and king nominees will take center stage as the top three contestants are selected. Right after the Pigskin Revue, Dr. O’Brien, the University president, Vela, and other student government officials will lead the torch procession to the bonfire. Once the bonfire is lit, Quietdrive will be hosting the concert.

“It will be an exciting time,” Vela said.

On Saturday at 6 p.m. at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, the homecoming game against Tarleton State will take place. Last year, the Buffs tackled the Texans into submission, and this year they hope to score another victory.

Tuesday

• 12:00 p.m. Homecoming Edition of the Prairie comes out
• 5:00 p.m. Paper Football Tournament at the JBK

Wednesday

• 12:00 p.m. Midweek Homecoming Lunch at the Pedestrian Mall
• 5:00 p.m. Tractor Pull at Bonfire site

Thursday

• 5:00 p.m. Freshman Convocation at FUB
• 7:00 p.m. Lady Buffs v. Cameron University at the Box
• 7:30 p.m. Production of ‘A Doll’s House’ at the BIT

Friday

• 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Homecoming Classic Golf Tournament
• 8:00 p.m. Pigskin Revue at the Box
• 10:00 p.m. Homecoming Dance Homecoming Concert

Saturday

• 8:00 a.m. Alumni Breakfast
• 11:00 a.m. Homecoming Parade
• 6:00 p.m. Homecoming Football Game at Kimbrough Stadium

WTAMU’s Student Support Services lost federal funding in August and was removed from the campus. The termination of the program carried ramifications across campus. Between upset students and frustrated faculty, the end of SSS came during an unexpected time. Some students at WT still do not understand why or how this happened.

“We received excellent comments from this past evaluation,” Dr. Wade Schaffer, associate vice president of academic affairs, said. “For whatever reasons, perhaps politics at the federal level, we were not given additional grant money.” Funds are given during August so the director may plan for the academic calendar year. Around August 10th, the Department of Education told SSS it would no longer fund them. This left SSS with only two weeks to close down their operations.

“The university was not looking to kill this program or defund SSS,” Schafer said. “If we knew this was going to happen, we could have extended our monetary allocations further.”

The university is already notifying students involved in the program. After identifying key people to absorb SSS, certain individuals are willing to help tackle the increasing load.

“Max Seymour, director of educational services, is increasing the number of tutors available,” Dr. Schaffer said. “Amber Black, student success center manager, is reaching out to students. And Denise Skinner, director of career and counseling services, is providing test taking strategies.

The equipment that SSS bought and used is now property of the university. A possible idea is to use the ‘computer bank’ located near Classroom Center 109 as an open access lab. The lab would serve all students on campus.

“Right now, we only have four computers open for the students to use in the Classroom Center,” Dr. Schafer said. “If we opened up the ‘computer bank’ others would be able to maximize the proficiency of the area.”

Melody Graves, an IDS instructor and former SSS employee, is willing to apply for another job on campus, but is still weighing her various options.

“The termination of SSS is a loss to the university,” Graves said. “However, I believe WT is utilizing other departments to enhance the learning community for our students.”

The office space SSS occupied has already been filled. The realignment helped bring together the departments of First Year Experience, and allowed tutoring services to further expand their reach.

“It is sad to know that our co-workers and friends are no longer working at WT,” Black said. “All we found out, at the last minute, is that we weren’t getting the funding, so it’s hard for me to understand why the Department of Education would not fund this program.”

Four years ago, the Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO) was equipped to help first year students familiarize themselves and adjust to campus. This year, Katie Perkins, a junior history major and co-director of FLO, decided to change how the group works.

Differences in FLO consist of helping students understand the professional world around them, providing cornerstones for success, and showing the fun side of WTAMU Student Government. Through their hard work and constant vigilance, FLO is hoping to see an increase in student participation compared to previous years.

“For the fall semester, we are expecting a lot of people,” Perkins said. “We have eighteen dedicated students already on Facebook, and we have another sixty on an e-mail list. We will see a high turnout.”

While sharing a common thread with Student Government, specifically Student Senate, FLO is completely independent and has its own agenda.

“FLO is an organization on campus which acts as a little sister to Student Government,” Perkins said. “But we’re not just Student Government oriented. We want to do some of our own projects, teach some of our own systems, and change little things that can make a big impact.”

“We really want to have a fun time with these students,” Perkins said.

One major problem many organizations face are dues. If too costly, people might not want to join.

“Our dues are only fifteen dollars, and that covers the cost for T-shirts, snacks, drinks, silly bands and other community service based projects,” Perkins said.

In the past, FLO members promoted coherence, unity, and a desire for excellence when seen around campus.

“This year we have an overarching theme,” Perkins said. “Basically we want to help showcase the ease of communicating with the top three officers.”

Workshops help provide students basic building blocks for success. Possible workshops for FLO include public speaking, civic leadership, and stress management.

“During the academic year,” Perkins said, “students will be volunteering at Work-A-Thon and Campus Cleanup, and around midterms, we want to sponsor a coloring contest to help decrease stress.”

Dr. Don Albrecht, Vice President of Student Affairs, has been the advisor for FLO since its start.

“FLO is a very effective organization that allows students to be leaders throughout their community,” Albrecht said. “When we first adopted this program, we wanted to see individuals excel in government. Now we‘re wanting people to excel in all parts of academia.”

Students who are interested in joining FLO do not need to be exceptional students, just willing to learn and get involved.

“I really like being a leader and helping people,” Alexandria Gruhlkey, freshman mass communications major, said. “I want to be a part of FLO so I can keep being an active student transitioning from high school to college.”

FLO will meet at JBK 11, which is downstairs, at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8.

Photo courtesy of SAGE

On March 2, 2008, Oprah Winfrey debuted her philanthropic reality show “The Big Give.” In every episode, competitors in the television series would travel to different U.S. cities, donate to special organizations, assist in several service projects and empower people in socio-economic needs.

Unfortunately the program only lasted one season; however, the concept still thrives, especially through S.A.G.E. (Students Assisting In Good Endeavors) here at WTAMU.

For the past two years, S.A.G.E. has perpetuated what Oprah started causing a stir in campus activity.  Last Saturday, five campus organizations gathered together and targeted the needs of people in the Canyon-Amarillo area.

“This is our second year, and we’re only getting better,” Brittni Henderson, co-chair of Buffalo Big Give, said. “We set up this event on National Make a Difference Day, and we hoped to really make a change within the community. We want to help transform this area and instill a little more happiness.”

S.A.G.E encourages campus organizations to be more involved within the community and believes that Big Give can be a possible apparatus.

“This year, we had a couple of Greek societies and people from the eternal flame,” Henderson said, “but there wasn’t a huge turnout. We really want people to join in next year.”

Groups can only spend one hundred dollars on their idea. If they have the best presentation, their organization will receive five hundred dollars for their general fund.

“One team gave out pumpkins this year to kids in a hospital,” Andrew Mastriano, co-chair of Buffalo Big Give, said. “Last year, the WT football team went and played basketball with kids who just really needed that experience. Whatever we do, we do it for the people.”

The main goal of Big Give is to allow campus organizations to see the people in the area and witness the lives of people who need a positive encounter.

“We want to make an impact,” Mastriano said. “S.A.G.E. directs the people and orchestrates the event, so we often times don’t get to witness the impact; however, we get to hear the stories of lives being changed by just one visit.”