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Bowie’s musical

supernovaDavid Bowie’s untimely death at the age of 69 sent shockwaves all across the world as fans mourned his death and a new generation of music listeners were introduced to one of the all-time greatest auteurs in Rock & Roll history. His 9nal album, Blackstar, has been heralded as a masterpiece by critics across the board and is his 9rst album ever to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album charts. Editor Andrew Burnes’ take on his 9nal masterwork lies within. Also, shoutout to Dr. Montgom-ery with this correct usage of the term supernova.

PAGE 6

Guns, Guns, Guns

As 2015 came to a close, President Obama enacted some modest executive orders in his e:ort to help curb gun violence. It didn’t take long for the gun lobby’s 9rst defense to cry foul. ;is week, Editor Andrew Burnes o:ers his thoughts on why it really shouldn’t be that big of a deal to ask for background checks and safety research

PAGE 2

Student Shuttle Service

undergoes changes

Following student input from last semester’s surveys regarding the student shuttle service, A&M-Commerce has yet more changes underway for the student resource, including potential o:-site locations rather than ones on campus.

PAGE 3

Running on Faith

Andrew BurnesEditor

It’s 1:30 on a Friday afternoon in Commerce, Texas. A foggy morning has given way to a spec-tacularly sunny (and abnormally warm) December day. Cars 9lled with A&M-Commerce students on the cusp of their 9nal exams for the Fall semester cruise down Live Oak Street. As they pass by a seemingly average home with a few cars parked out back, nobody seems to give a second glance. But inside the home, about 30 people are taking part in something that would likely raise eyebrows for many across the nation.

Only a few days removed from leading Repub-lican candidate for president Donald Trump’s an-nouncement of a plan to ban all Muslims from America in response to terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino California, students, broth-ers, sisters, fathers, sons, daughters and Americans gather together to share their faith. ;e unassum-ing building they worship in is no longer an un-marked house; it is a designated mosque. For the people inside are Muslims.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam,” Rashed Mohammed Siddiqui, who is serving as the Imam (or prayer leader) for the day’s proceedings says to his fellow Muslims, “We should not be shy or em-barrassed when people of other faiths ask us about our religion. Let us invite them to our homes. Fear and insecurity are caused by ignorance.”

Rashed’s words are not entirely his own; he speaks from a message that was delivered to a

crowd of Muslims at the Royal Holloway Univer-sity of London by Muslim preacher Arshad Gami-et in 2001. Even so, his words are more relevant than ever in today’s America 9lled with distrust and fear toward those who practice the Islamic faith. Rashed, who graduated from Texas A&M University-Commerce last year is well aware of the current fears that America holds toward people like him. On the one hand, he understands where they’re coming from. In a political season riddled with messages and images of violence committed under the guise of Islam, combined with a lack of understanding or empathy with those within the Islamic faith (about 5 percent of the country vs. the

70 percent who identify as Christian), the outcry against Muslims is far from surprising. Which is why Rashed is very excited that I am meeting with him and others within his group today. ;e more people understand about Islam, Rashed feels, the less likely they are to lump Muslims in with groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, who, Rashed argues, are not actually Muslims at all.

Rashed invites me onto a rug to the side of what was once a living room after I remove my shoes. He wears a rather elegant white gown as he sits oppo-site me, though he admits he only wore it to impress me. “I’m wearing basketball shorts underneath” he

CONT. ON PAGE 4

A&M-Commerce muslims speak out on the controversy facing their religion, debunk stereotypes and call out Donald Trump

The easily missed location that serves as the A&M-Commerce Muslim student organization’s mosque hides in plain sight, a far cry from the elaborate churches that many Americans picture.“We use whatever we can to !t our needs” Dr. Khan says.

EAST TEXAN PHOTO/ANDREW BURNES

Fight� fire� with� fireJoseph AldermanNews Editor

Both nationally and locally, guns have been a hot-button topic in recent times, especially in re-gards to the controversial Senate Bill 11, which allows for the concealed carrying of handguns on

college campuses and within their buildings.Texas A&M University – Commerce President

Dr. Dan Jones last semester assigned a task force of faculty, sta: and student leaders in order to work of the logistics of carrying out the new law, as well as to serve as an educational voice to those on campus and in the community unclear as to how they will be e:ected by this law. Alicia Currin, vice president for business and administration at A&M – Com-merce, co-chaired the president’s task force, which focused on establishing recommendations for gun-free zones on campus, as well as educating the uni-versity community and working with campus law enforcement.

“We call it the senate bill 11 task force,” Currin said. “Really, there’s not a lot of new developments since […] last fall. ;e task force completed their work and presented their recommendations to the president on December 9rst. ;at was actually the speci9c charge; the role of the task force was just to advise the president.”

Currin said that her committee spoke with over 25 di:erent groups on campus about the bill, as well as having held a public forum, and received a variety of reactions.

“I was very pleased that most people understood the law,” Currin said. “We weren’t in there to argue the merits of the law, the law has already passed and we need to implement it, but obviously there was some concern. Some people were concerned with the guns on campus, and some were like ‘it’s going to be no di:erent than it is now.’ Just mixed reactions, and I think that’s the same all over the state.”

Speci9c areas the task force wishes to include as gun-free zones included laboratories containing hazardous areas, the Children’s Learning Center and Health Services.

“;ere’s some others, those were proposed from us, but it’s not 9nal until Dr. Jones reviews it and submits what he’s going to submit,” Currin said. “It’s not even going to be 9nal when Dr. Jones submits it, because there’s still going to be another review. ;is is the same process with every A&M institution.”

President Jones is currently in the process of re-viewing the task force’s 9ndings before making his o<cial recommendation to the A&M system.

“;e system will go through, they’ll review them, legal will review them, then they’ll end up being submitted to the board of regents for approv-al in April,” Currin said. “So we won’t really have a 9nal decision on where our gun free zones are until after that board of regents meeting in April.”

;is new information comes in the wake of multiple reported shootings in the city of Com-merce since December. O<cer Alex Suarez, Public Information O<cer for the Commerce Police De-partment, expanded on two of these incidents, one from the week prior to the start of classes, the other from just last Friday.

“We had a report that somebody drove by and shot at some people playing basketball,” Suarez said. “Nobody was shot, we couldn’t recover any [casings]; we didn’t see any damage anywhere. ;ey wouldn’t cooperate, they were more amped up, re-ally screaming and hollering and wouldn’t cooper-ate. ;ey wouldn’t give us any information.”

;is incident, which occurred the week before the start of classes, is similar to the reported inci-dent from last Friday on the 400 block of Park St., although Suarez denies that the two are related.

“We had an issue on Friday of shots 9red, but again there was no damage, nothing was found on the scene, they just heard gunshots,” Suarez said.

CONT. ON PAGE 3

President Jones commissions tasforce to prepare A&M-Commerce for campus carry

Alicia Currin, vice president for business and administration at A&M – Commerce, co-chaired the president’s task force. “The law had already passed, but obviously there was some concern,” she said.

PHOTO COURTESY/TAMUC.EDU

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“I would personally feel safe without a gun and having random students walking across campus with guns would make feel uneasy. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life, and you never know his or her intentions.” - Kieston Carter

“I don’t feel safe, you don’t know if anyone has a permit or not. You can’t tell who’s bad and who’s good. I don’t understand why you need to carry your weapon out in public anyway; we’re not *ghting a war.” -Rhyan McCloud

“I feel like there’s safer ways to protect yourself. A gun is a huge distraction and you cannot focus on a lecture with a gun in front of your face. I would want to leave that discussion and not be in the same room. You just don’t know what could happen. -Joshua Kuehn

Will you feel safer once campus carry goes into e)ect this fall?

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“I would feel more safe, because if someone does come shooting on campus, someone with their license could potentially protect us. I would feel safer with campus carry but it’s also the idea that the gun possession could be in the wrong hands.” -Miranda Garlington

Editor Andrew BurnesManaging Editor Travis HairgroveNews/Social Media Editor Joseph AldermanSports Editor Carter LacyOpinion Editor Hunter KimbleStudent Life Editor Alissa SilvaProduction Editor Patricia DillonPhotographer Kristen TaylorPhotographer Aaron HwangCopy Editor Kyria AhoDistribution Manager Sean BatesDistribution Assistant Michelle WhiteheadFaculty Adviser Fred StewartPhone 903-886-5985E-mail theeasttexan@gmail.comEast Texan Website tamuceasttexan.comEast Texan Print Issue Online issuu.com/tamuc.easttexan

Joseph AldermanNews/Social Media Editor

+e winter break is a popular time for overworked students to get a break, visit family, pursue extra-curricular activities, or simply have fun. However, I doubt that I am alone in having spent the majority of the break in my nice warm apartment watching Net,ix and sleeping in. One such time-waster my girlfriend and I enjoyed was the Net,ix original series “Making a Murderer,” which sparked a great deal of interest from armchair sleuths hoping for a great mystery in this post-Law & Order America (the NBC procedural, not the elaborate concepts). I know we were swept up in the momentum for a bit, but social media was in an absolute uproar over the perceived injustices to the show’s focal character, Steven Avery.

I won’t spoil the show for those who still wish to watch it, but the series focused on the murder trial of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who had been exonerated via DNA evidence after serving 18 years for sexual assault and attempted murder. However, it was the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach that was the inspiration of the series, as the show’s producers attempted to show that Avery’s conviction was largely based on a personal grudge held by the Manitowoc County, Wisconsin District Attorney’s O-ce.

+e series inspired so much vitriol for the Manitowoc County District Attorney’s O-ce that a White House petition calling for Avery’s pardon, to which President Obama declined, as he felt it was outside his authority. However, what many people seem to ignore, is that the series was produced for entertainment, almost exclusively one-sided in favor of Avery (going so far as to ignore valid evidence placed against him), and presented with the intention of riling people up. I don’t deny that, based on my research, local police and investigators acted inappropriately in such a way that I could not see myself rendering a guilty verdict. I don’t know if he was or not, and likely never will. However, it was not my job to make that decision. But this brings me to the biggest question of all that this series, as well as similar series such as NPR’s Serial: is it better to let a guilty person go to ensure that no innocent people go free? I feel that is it, but I understand that this is not universal. What I do know, though, is that my Facebook friends get way too worked up about stu..

Net*ix and Kill

Andrew BurnesEditor

In our *rst issue of 2015, I penned a column that garnered me a lot of heat. Displeased with what I had seen going on in our country the year prior, I talked about things that I’d like to see changed in our modern American society, things that, to me, aren’t too much to ask for, but to others apparently seemed absolutely radical. I wrote about international issues like America’s role in the creation of ISIS due to our unfortunate foreign policy debacle that was the Iraq War. I expressed my frustrations at how half of our politicians continue to blatantly deny the undeniable fact that our planet’s climate is changing at an alarming rate that, if uncorrected, could be catastrophic for not only future generations, but also our generation. I talked about the great divide between the political pillars of our country and the lack of willingness to get work done across the aisle in Washington. And, yes, I mentioned how disgusted I was with the treatment of African Americans by many (though obviously not all) in the increasingly militarized police forces all across our nation. I was told to my face that what I had written was “shit that was no better than Al Sharpton” by an A&M-Commerce employee, but I made no apologies. I still don’t.Unfortunately, in the grand spectrum of my wishes for our country’s progress in 2015, it’s needless to say that we fell a little short. But now, our national attention, spurred by reports that we had more mass shootings in 2015 than we did days, has focused on an issue that has always been relevant in American society: guns.I know that America is a very religious country;

that’s pretty obvious when we have elected politicians in the state of Texas mandating that scripture be written on the sides of police cars. As capitalists, our worship of the American dollar (it’s the bottom line of life, isn’t it?) often supersedes our twisted interpretation of a Middle Eastern man who went around washing feet, ,ipping tables, and hanging out with prostitutes. But our worship of killing machines is by far our most dangerous obsession. Every year, tens of thousands of Americans are killed through *rearm related deaths, children are slaughtered, brothers and sisters lost forever, mothers and fathers shot down just so that we can adhere to the standards of living we think were intended by rich white men who lived 250 years ago. I know that we tend to consider the founding fathers Gods that walked among men, but suggesting that they had the foresight to know that we’d be able to buy high-caliber assault weapons with extended magazines created for use in times of war in almost any given city across the nation is a little out in the woods. Look at the graph above as published in +e Washington Post. +e spread between America and other civilized countries isn’t even close. And the fact that every time a publicized mass shooting is announced, a sizable slab of our public’s *rst reaction is to worry that the president of the United States is going to use it as an excuse to take away their guns is disturbing, and telling of how deep our love for these killing machines runs.For those of us who *nd ourselves in the portion of the population that does care about the lives of our citizens, the question then becomes “okay, but what can be done?” Short of getting rid of all *rearms entirely which would be a painful, arduous and likely impossible process (though one, I, myself, would support), the solution

gets increasingly murky. But with each death, with each mass shooting, with each unintentional gun discharge, it’s clear that we must do something. Understanding this, President Obama set out to do just that. Knowing that the NRA’s *rst line of defense in Washington would obstruct any legislation on the matter, Obama has enacted several extremely minor executive actions that are a step in the right direction. Since doing so, I’ve heard many

arguments against his actions, but I’ve yet to hear one that made sense. If you’re an American citizen, why in the world wouldn’t you want to make sure that those who buy weapons, which, let’s make no mistake about it, are solely made for the intention of killing things, must go through background checks? Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear. What’s the argument against researching safer technology that can be used to help engineer weapons that are safer to our children who, with the prevalence of guns in our country, may accidentally end up with one in their reach? Since gun apologists want to suggest that mental health problems (which are no doubt very real in this country) are the real problem, why wouldn’t they support the president’s measure to increase the treatment for these patients? It doesn’t make any sense!In the end, I suppose the only real argument of merit against the president’s actions are that they are unlikely to make that much of a di.erence. And, that may be true. But the same people who make those claims are the ones who won’t allow him to do anything that actually would make a marked di.erence. +e time has come for action while we still have elementary schools that don’t require armed escorts at every door, before our college classes are *lled with more gun shell casings than they are students, before our mental health hospitals have visitors bringing guns into their hallways, before our mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and colleagues are the next statistics to be entered into the American database of death. +ose who want to protect their second amendment rights certainly have their view. But shouldn’t we be more concerned with protecting our citizens’ right to life?

Guns kill people and other facts

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Nick PatrasSpecial Contributor

One of my all-time favorite quotes is “If we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we always got.” I think I heard the quote back in the 90s at a sales manager’s conference back in the day when I was in the corporate world pursuing the dream of making lots of money and buying lots of expensive toys. +e source of the quote is unknown, but the valid-ity and truth that it holds is just as powerful today as it was the ,rst time I heard it.

Woven into that brief quote are themes of dedica-tion, purpose, direction, and goals. As we begin a new semester, maybe you are evaluating how last semester turned out. If you are less than happy with your results, perhaps the quote can give you a nudge to do a few things di-erently. If your fall 2015 was awesome, then perhaps the quote will a.rm for you that you have good solid goals, you used your time wisely, and you merely need to continue on the current course.

So how did I ,nd those speci,c themes in such a brief quote? “If we always do” seemingly indicates taking some course of action. To “do” means we pursue a direction, or choose to put some e-ort in a certain direction. If you didn’t make the grades that you want, then evaluating your direction of balance in class time, study time, extra-curricular time might be in order.

+e quote includes “what we have always done” which leaves one to speculate that “what” represents some purpose, as in doing “x” on purpose. One could easily question if any of us do anything on purpose these days, if you walk around the campus and count the number of people using their “devices” and not really interacting with or aware of life outside their device. Do you know why you do what you do? Do you follow the crowd or live your life and make choices intentionally?

Making choices to live intentionally requires dedi-cation to a cause, to something greater than oneself, to deciding that our lives matter. Inherent in accepting this requires that we set the direction of our lives and follow that vision, even when others try to in/uence us to veer o- course. Sometimes this direction-setting business can be lonely, especially when our stated di-rection may seem to others as too lofty or too “big” for someone like “you.” You know, there will always be people ready to burst your dreams.

I also think the quote infers that we have speci,c goals: short-term, intermediate, and long-term. Goals have this amazing property to give us a sense of di-rection, purpose, and urgency. In e-ect, goals serve as markers to allow us to chart our progress. Without seeing some progress, it is easy to get discouraged and to simply take whatever comes our way.

So what will you do this semester? Will you do the same as last semester or will you challenge yourself to go beyond even your wildest expectations? I hope you choose the latter!

Counseling Corner

Welcome to 2016

Suarez: ‘I don’t think guns are a problem’

CONT. FROM PAGE 1

“We don’t even know if it was a real gun or a blank gun, they just said somebody drove by and shot. But no casings, no bullets, no damage, nobody was hit, so we don’t know what to think really at this time to who it could be or they’re mo-tives.”

Suarez said that the Commerce Police intend to increase patrols in this area as well as the area of Lee St., where the f irst reported drive-by occurred. Despite this, however, Suarez does not feel that guns are an issue of major concern for the Commerce and A&M community.

“I don’t think [guns] are a prob-lem; we don’t come across very many gun issues anywhere,” Suarez said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a

report of anyone open-carrying or any-thing like that, so I think everybody’s pretty much doing what they’re sup-

posed to do.”Currin explained that the uni-

versity’s training and development is working on developing a train-ing program for faculty and staff to handle the new law, as well as the possibility open shooter scenarios, and that Jones will likely release more information through his reg-ular community updates. Suarez’s advice for students concerned about Campus Concealed Carry, however, is simple and common sense.

“Once again, we’re going to fo-cus on the same thing that the na-tional level is, if you see something, say something,” Suarez said. “If you see something suspicious or out of place or doesn’t feel right, call us. We’d rather go and check it out and

have it be nothing than to have it be-come something later on.”

“I don’t think [guns] are a problem. I think every-body’s�  pre y�  much�  doing�  what they’re supposed to do.”

-­‐�  Alex�  Suarez,�  Commerce�  Police�  Department

PHOTO COURTESY/THEDAILYTEXANONLINE

Firing LinesDespite�  the�  number�  of�  gun-­‐related�  deaths�  in�  America�  (as�  of�  press�   me�  there�  have�  already�  been�  803�  gun-­‐related�  deaths�  and�  7�  mass�  shoo ngs�  so�  far�  in�  2016�  according�  to�  the�  Gun�  Violence�  Archive),�  proponents�  of�  measures�  like�  campus�  carry,�  which�  make�  it�  much�  easier�  for�  armed�  individuals�  to�  carry�  around�  firearms,�  argue�  that�  more�  guns�  will�  actually�  save�  lives�  in�  the�  long�  run.

Key changes made to university shu!le serviceTodd KleiboerSta- Writer

+e shuttle service o-ered during the Fall 2015 semester will continue into the Spring semester, but the service has not remained totally the same.

“What we’re going to do with the shuttle service is provide service for o--campus lo-cations, and we’re going to implement some local business routes,” Risk and Safety Man-agement Director Derek Preas said.

+e shuttle service formerly ferried stu-dents to on-campus locations such as the residence halls or Rayburn Student Center, but due to the lack of use of that particular service, Preas and his department decided to cut that part of the pro-gram.

“We just didn’t have a whole lot of students that took advantage of that the last few semesters. Most of our shuttles remained empty dur-ing the trial runs,” Preas said.

An electronic survey released to the students in the Fall 2015 se-mester provided feedback for Preas’ department, and the drivers and random van surveys also provided information.

“For one, we didn’t see a lot of students in the vans, and two, the survey indicated that students weren’t really up on an on-campus service,” Preas said.

However, the shuttle services that were o-ered later in the day that took students to businesses such as Walmart or Brookshire’s were heavily used by the students.

“+at’s what we’re going to focus on this semester. We’re just trying a

new approach this semester,” Preas said.Tentative o--campus locations include

local businesses, D/FW Airport, and as-sociated campuses such as the agricultural buildings outside of Commerce and the Dallas campus. +e exact schedule has not been created yet.

“We’re reaching out to local businesses, and once we get their thoughts on what would help them, we’ll create a schedule. We’re also working with the departments that have the classes on those o--campus locations,” Preas said.

+e program has also cut back from three vans to two. One van will be assigned to the local business route, and the other assigned

to the farther locations such as Dallas.“At least for this next month, we’re going

to lease the vans, and depending on the type turnout we have for this month, we’re going to see if we need to purchase one or not,” Preas said.

+ough the on-campus branch of the service has been e-ectively shut down, that does not mean the prospect for an on-cam-pus shuttle service has faded.

“Considering what has been shown to us over the past couple semesters, I think it’s going to take several thousand more stu-dents. As our population grows, the need for the shuttle service will increase also,” Preas said.

DALLASTEXASREALESTATEBLOG.COM

DFW�  Airport�  is�  included�  in�  the�  tenta ve�  list�  of�  possible�  loca ons�  to�  which�  the�  shu le�  service�  may�  travel�  in�  the�  future.

C!"#$% JAN. 28, 2016PAGE 4

CONT. FROM PAGE 1

says with an infectious smile. To my left sits the President of the Muslim Student Association of Texas A&M University-Commerce, Habsa Ahmed. She wears a bright pink Hijab and a gorgeous smile and talks excitedly about her personal faith in Islam, rolls her eyes when I mention Donald Trump, and speaks quickly and con!dently about what can be done to shift the national views toward Islam. To my right sits Texas A&M-Commerce science professor Dr. Izhar Khan, who serves as the faculty adviser for Habsa’s student-led group. Clearly pleased that I am there, he interjects to clarify or add to things that his students say in our conversation, but seems content to let them do the majority of the talking. Despite the sometimes darkened subject matter that we discuss over the course of the next hour, he remains cheerful, smiling and laughing after nearly every sentence. In the distance studying after everybody else has left is A&M-Commerce student Mohamedomer Abdelmaged. He is dressed plainly, is clean-shaven and barely has an accent at all; In fact, if he hadn’t been at the mosque there is virtually no way that anyone would’ve guessed that he is a Muslim. He sits with us during our hour-long conversation after he !nishes his studies. "ough the Muslims gather together every Friday to pray, their faith, as is the case with many who practice everyday religion in America, is largely personal.

“It helps you navigate through life,” Habsa says when asked about what being a Muslim means to her. “It’s just like anyone else who practices religion. It doesn’t change who I am. I’m sure that I’m more at-risk for some random person who’s very hateful to come at me, but I don’t really think of it that way. I just think of it as my life.

“And hopefully, God will protect me from those crazy people!” she adds with a quick laugh.

“For me, a being a Muslim is just a person” Rahed adds. “It’s an identity and a way of life.”

"ough many in America, particularly those

of the Christian faith, often think that Muslims preach a drastically di#erent message than that of Christianity, the reality is there are many similarities between the two. Both worship one

God (Dr. Khan contends that Allah is the same entity as the Christian God), and both follow the teachings of select !gureheads like Jesus and

Moses. In fact, Jesus is just almost as important to Muslims as he is to Christians; it’s just the makeup and delivery of worship that di#er.

“Overall, the main purpose of religion whether

you’re a Muslim or a Christian is to have peace and tranquility among all people,” Dr. Khan says.

“We equally respect Jesus and Moses,” Rahed says indignantly. “"ey were the prophets of Allah, or simply, God. We respect all religions equally. We have words in the Quran that say ‘To you is your religion. To me is mine.’ It’s ok for us.”

“It’s funny when people insult our religion because we can’t do the same” Habsa says. “We wouldn’t want to do the same. It would hurt. When most people think of the word Muslim they think like of a di#erent human being or something. We’re just like any other people, very ordinary people just living our lives. I always think like ‘Oh my god, people, do you really think that the millions of people who are Muslims are going to come and attack you?’ "at’s really ridiculous.”

Raised in Minnesota, Habsa has always been an American and a Muslim without much of a contradiction. In fact, nobody ever even said anything to her about her hijab until she moved to Texas. But once she arrived, it didn’t take her long to be accosted for her appearance.

“I never had a problem with it until I moved to Texas,” Habsa says as her knowing eyes lock with mine, a grin spreading across her face. “Texans are a very vocal people. It was my !rst year here and I was trying to get my license in downtown Dallas. I was on the phone with my sister and this older Caucasian lady came up to me and was like ‘Hey you.’ I’m thinking ‘Oh! She’s going to compliment my scarf!’ because I had a pretty scarf on. She was like ‘You know people in Saudi Arabia, they have to wear that right?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah, they do have to wear like a scarf, yeah.’ And she said ‘Well you’re in my country. You need to take it o#.’

CONT. ON PAGE 5

PHOTO COURTESY/HABSA AHMED

Wrapped in Love Habsa Ahmed (Left) the president of the Muslim Student Association on campus has lived in America her entire life and considers her Muslim faith a central pillar of her life, but not necessarily the most de!ning factor. “It’s just like anyone else who practices religion. It doesn’t change who I am. I just think of it as my life.”

It’s my life: A&M-Commerce Muslims crucify myths and misunderstandings

Travis HairgroveManaging Editor

Getting a college education is practically synonymous with sacri!ce. A majority of students (even those who work) accumulate a substantial student loan debt that will be a burden for several years into their post-collegiate career, but luckily, scholarships funded entirely by donations from alumni, faculty and sta#, and other patrons assist in the reduction of that encumbrance, and those donors do it by making a !nancial sacri!ce of their own…for no other reason but to help a stranger receive an education.

Encouragingly, a milestone in donor engagement was seen over the course of the previous academic year, as Texas A&M University-Commerce celebrated its 125th anniversary.

“"e $2 million we raised over the 2014-2015 academic year is the most money we’ve ever raised in a 12 month period and $1 million is the most money we’ve ever extended for scholarships to our students…both signi!cant records,” Vice President for Institutional Advancement Randy Van Deven said. “We’ve gotten more gifts, more !rst-time contributions, and more continual contributions…which is where people give for consecutive years. Our gift count has gone up exponentially.”

While the commemorative events that took place last year likely helped to kindle the warmth of “school spirit” in the hearts of A&M-Commerce alumni, this record-breaking total in donations also stems from a more strategic, multifaceted approach being taken by the O$ce of Institutional Advancement in its fundraising e#orts.

“"e division is divided into marketing communications, alumni relations, annual programs, advancement services and major gifts, and our mission is basically centered around what we call ‘the 3 I’s,’ which is to inform, involve, and give people a reason to invest in our students,” Van Deven said. “In informing, that’s where the marketing communications comes in. ‘Pride’ is our alumni magazine, where we tell our story and inform our constituents, the students, and friends about just how great of a program we have here in Commerce. "en it goes a little bit more into getting your friends and your alumni involved on campus…coming to football games, participating on advisory boards and things of

that nature, to get them more engaged in what’s going on on a daily basis.

“How do you get them to invest?” Van Deven continued. “It’s their experience from how well you informed them, how you get them engaged, and then they !gure out something that they’re passionate about, and they’ll actually bring up ways that they want to invest in the students…so that’s how it’s done, at least at this campus.”

"ese e#orts to “win hearts and minds” may focus on encouraging the participation of alumni in helping students pay for college, but many of those who have earned scholarships also have some of their instructors to thank too.

“Basically, we’re wanting to create a whole culture of generosity,” Associate Director of Annual and Special Programs Stephanie Fiorisi explained. “We have a program called ‘Bridge Builders,’ which is our faculty and sta# giving program, and this year, 42 percent of our faculty and sta# actually gave back to the university.

"ey can give back through their paychecks. "ey can give back with a one-time gift. A lot of them, last year, gave back to the university’s 125th year anniversary scholarship.

“We have faculty and sta#, alumni, and we have friends of the university,” Fiorisi said. “A lot of our support is from friends…not just alumni. "ey may have attended here, someone in their family may have attended here…their mother, their grandfather, or their great grandfather may have attended here. "ey’re huge supporters of us as well.”

Informing the public about A&M-Commerce’s !nances as part of the Texas A&M University System has also been key in communicating why monetary gifts are still needed.

“A lot of people think that a lot if our scholarship funding comes from A&M-College Station,” Fiorisi emphasized. “We get $0 from A&M-College Station. It’s all through donations from East Texas State University/A&M-Commerce

alumni, friends and corporations. None of that comes from other members of the A&M system. "at is all from A&M-Commerce. "at’s why we really wish that everyone would understand that if A&M-College Station raises $23 million…that money doesn’t go to our students. Our students only get money that comes from A&M-Commerce donors.”

Another way the o$ce of advancement has oiled the cogs of their scholarship fundraising machine is by both demonstrating a great deal of gratitude to those who contribute, and by strongly encouraging it in the students who receive them. An example of this “creation of a culture of gratitude” to complement the “culture of generosity” is the annual Lucky’s "ank You Celebration.

“It’s a donor recognition event where we bring people back to campus, and we give them the opportunity to meet their scholarship recipients and so we all can recognize them for their signi!cant contributions to the university,” Van Deven said. “We were also able to put a donor recognition wall over in the Sam Rayburn Center [on the second %oor]. "at donor recognition wall is where we recognize people who have contributed $10,000 and above to the university.”

“Part of the proper professional courtesy that we’re trying to teach our students is that if somebody gives you something, you should be willing to send them a thank you note,” Van Deven asserted. “"at’s just common courtesy, because that money came from a real human being who had to sacri!ce a little bit for you to get an education. It’s not asking too much to have our students write a thank you note.”

With a new high mark in fundraising for scholarships achieved, the advancement o$ce is determined to continue this amount of growth.

“We’ve been celebrating our 125th year,” Van Deven reiterated. “We set some pretty good milestones: most money ever raised, most scholarships ever o#ered, highest giving percentage [of total living alumni]. Our alumni giving percentage is over 2 percent now, which is 100 percent improvement from where it was in 2009, when we were struggling to raise $900,000. Now we just raised $2 million, so we’ve made some signi!cant improvements in our metrics in what we call university advancement. Quite a bit of work goes into this to make it happen.”

Creating a Culture of Generosity

PHOTO COURTESY/TRAVIS HAIRGROVE

Leaving a legacy of opportunity On the second "oor of the Rayburn Student Center, one can see plaques like this one which acknowledges and lists the names of those alumni, former faculty and other patrons who left major contributions to the university and its students in their last will and testament.

JAN. 28, 2016PAGE 5 F!"#$%!&Commerce Muslims call for acceptance for all

CONT. FROM PAGE 4

And she has no idea that I’m American and that, in fact, I’m actually from Minnesota. I just kind of laughed at her and walked away. I wish I would’ve educated her a little bit and said ‘No, Ma’am. I’m actually American.’

A common misconception about Islam is that it is a religion that is very unfair to wom-en. Admittedly, when I !rst corresponded with Habsa via e-mail I assumed that she was a man due to my own ignorance of the Islamic faith. But the reality is that not only are women not held in lower regard, they are often raised to a higher standard of living. Rahed explains to me that when an Islamic marriage takes place, the husband must set aside a certain amount of his wealth to give to his bride that he can never use or spend again so that if he dies or divorces his wife, she will have something to live o" of.

“I haven’t seen the same thing in other reli-gions. Other religions take from the woman!” Rahed says as we all laugh.

“#ere are a lot of rights [for women in Is-lam]” Habsa agrees. “Girls receive more inheri-tance than boys do at birth. Girls are highly re-spected and treated.”

#ough she chooses to wear her hijab at all times, Habsa contends that it is just that: a choice. In fact, according to Habsa, women are not even required to wear the hijabs at all (which is quite evident upon a quick glance around the Muslim population of A&M-Commerce). While Middle Eastern countries are notorious for treat-ing women unequally, Dr. Khan blames this on the culture of the region, not the religion itself.

“#ere are some basic things about Islam as a religion, but at the same time there is cultural in$uence” Dr. Khan says. “A lot of times, what we think about Islam is culture. And when that takes over, that’s what messes up things. Other-wise, Islam is a very very simple religion.”

“Muslims have been living here for decades and decades,” Habsa adds. “We tend to be very biased in America. When we see a college-age person involved in a shooting we go ‘Oh my God they’re mental!’ If we see any other race we say ‘Oh my God they did that out of hatred’ or something. When you see a Muslim, they never look at the mentality of the person. It has to be their religion. #ere are bad people in every reli-gion, every race. Muslims are not perfect people; there are some pretty bad ones. But it has noth-ing to do with their religion.”

Habsa and the others cite slanted and often in$ammatory media coverage (particularly in broadcast) as harbingers for the hard feelings that many hold toward Muslims. Rahed even claims that initial reports from the San Bernar-dino shootings falsely reported that the perpe-

trators were three white males wearing camou-$aged out!ts (which has since created an entire inside-job conspiracy theory for some far right-wing gun owners who claim that the entire sce-nario was enacted by President Obama to help in his “!ght to ban guns”). #ough Habsa is quick to point out that such a story is only a theory, it’s clear that the entire group harbors a signi!cant amount of resentment toward the media outlets they hold somewhat responsible for creating a whirlwind of negativity around their faith.

“#e media is making a lot of money o" of this,” Habsa says. “Islam is more about peace and tranquility. I feel like it’s the most understand-ing and most tolerant religion. People tend to put others in categories and it’s scary right now because it’s actually costing people’s lives. It’s ste-reotyping. #e media should be sued right now because they’re just causing hatred among other people. As an American, I don’t feel that they’re accurately representing what I am as a Muslim.

It only represents some of those crazy people. #ey don’t investigate. #ey just run with the story that’s more popular and more attractive. #ere are many Muslims that speak up, but they don’t cover it. #ey’d much rather cover it this way to make money.”

Although America was built on the premise of the separation of church and State and the freedom of religion, Habsa suggests that the country has fall-en far short of those ide-als. Even with sentiments toward Muslims what they are, not to mention acts of violence carried out against Muslims or mosques on a regular basis and political talk-ing points that consider tracking Muslims like Jews in Nazi Germany, some Christians contend that it is their own reli-gion that is being perse-cuted, not the Muslims. When I tell Habsa this, she is shocked, and rolls her eyes in disgust.

“I feel like those peo-ple are very ignorant,” she says. “Today the country is built upon emotion. [People] are not tolerant of one anoth-er. Religious freedom, right now, is not happen-ing. Nor is the freedom of speech. #ey’re not really following the constitution right now.”

When it comes to ISIS and other radical faux-Islamic groups, Habsa and the other Mus-lims don’t even consider them to be in the same category as their own religion. Branding them “criminals” and “crazy people,” Habsa correctly notes that these groups actually kill far more Muslims than they do anyone else. And like oth-ers in America, the Muslims don’t understand what drives the suicidal terrorists like Tashfeen Malik to carry out their violent actions.

“Like you, we are at a loss,” Dr. Khan says. “We can’t relate to that. And they try to justify in the name of Islam, which creates some problems. #ey pick and choose. So there is a sentence [in the Quran] that supports their way of !ghting, but then the following words they will ignore. And the media will pick and choose also.”

“Killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity,” Rahed says as he quotes a direct scripture from the Quran. “We do not consider [these radical groups] to be of the same religion. #ey do not represent Islam and they’re not Muslims.”

“I bet if someone interviewed [people in these radical groups] they wouldn’t know anything about Islam” Habsa says with great irritation.

Habsa and the others are hardly the only Mus-lims speaking out against jihad committed in the name of Islam. Rahed cites a recent incident when a stabbing occurred on a London train. As police apprehended the perpetrator of the crime he screamed out that what he had done was for Syria. A Muslim bystander responded with a re-mark that has since been hashtagged and used by Muslims across the world in response to acts of terror “You ain’t no Muslim, Bruv.”

“And that’s how we feel, actually,” Dr. Khan says with a hearty laugh.

With blatant anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy ideas from Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, it’s somewhat surprising that the Muslims are able to remain so upbeat and optimistic. Habsa herself has trouble understanding what it is that has everyone so spooked about the way of life that she has always known. But Mohamedomer, who has remained quiet throughout the discus-sion up to this point, has a hypothesis that takes a page from President Franklin Roosevelt’s book: what they fear is fear itself.

“#ey fear what they don’t understand” Mo-hamedomer says. “#ey don’t want to get edu-cated and learn more. #ey just block it away.”

“And [Muslims] are a small minority” Dr. Kahn adds. “#ey lose nothing from attacking them and it works with their people.”

“As an American looking for someone to vote for, they’re all very stupid and ignorant,” Habsa says without mincing words. “Talking about im-migration, attacking Hispanics… As a president

you should be very caring and respectful of every person in this country. As a leader, you’re sup-posed to be bringing people together not tearing them apart. I would want to vote for someone that is very calm and very smart and would think carefully about every decision. But they don’t re-ally care. #ey’re just saying whatever they want to say to a group of people to get their attention. Racism still exists. Look at Ted Cruz. It’s like ‘Yo, Man. You need to calm down.’”

“We love Donald Trump!” Rahed says, his tongue threatening to protrude right through his cheek. “Every evening we have a discussion. We enjoy him a lot.”

Despite national opinions what they are, Hab-sa and the other Muslims take it all in stride. For them, this has become a part of their daily lives. Even though they disagree that the backlash to the Trump rhetoric may bene!t them in the long run by bringing more supporters to their cause (“It’s just decent people !ghting against a bully,”

Habsa says), they are all surprisingly optimistic that, despite the current distrust and unrest in the country, America will eventually fully accept Muslims with open arms, even if we do have a long way to go.

“I think we can get there” Habsa says bright-ly. “We just have to silence the ignorant people and make the educated ones talk. Don’t bring attention to people that are stupid.”

“#e way to accomplish this is through dia-logue,” Dr. Khan says as Habsa and Rahed vehe-mently agree. “Part of the problem is that there’s not enough dialogue. Part of it is our responsi-bility to communicate with the community that we live in. I think the next generation will be better. It’s more tolerant, more liberal. Another part of the problem is people focus too much on what is in the news. If you just listen to Fox News, then that’s all you get. If you really want to know about Muslims, come here. #at is the place. And the people who do that come away with more assurance. #at these people are like

us.”“And they’re not just plotting to kill!” Dr.

Khan adds with a laugh.As I prepare to leave, Rahed asks me how my

thoughts about Muslims changed from when I came in to when I go out. I tell him about how I pictured a grand building with statues and dim lighting in my mind when I thought about what turned out to be a regular old house that I pass on a daily basis in my car as I drive to my dorm room. Before I leave Rahed invites me to come to his house to have a meal with him. “#e best way to win people over is to o"er them food!” he says as Habsa and Dr. Khan laugh along infectiously. Even though I’ve taken up an hour of their day focusing on some of the negative reaction to their religion and the hostile environment they !nd themselves in, I walk away understanding that the people who our society is just itching to kick out are the very people who desperately want to let us in.

Choking on Ignorance Republican contenders for president almost across the board have made their anti-Muslim sentiments abundantly clear to a broadcast media cycle all to eager to shoot and run. Frontrunner Donald Trump has come forth with a plan to !x what he calls the “Muslim problem,” that includes banning all Muslim tra"c into America and tracking the ones that are here like Jews in Nazi Germany. “They’re not coming to this country if I’m president,” he said in an interview with The Telegraph last month.

Con!icting Messages

As anti-Muslim rhetoric from multiple candidates for president from the Republican Party continues to grab media attention, supporters’ hatred toward those of the Islamic faith is seemingly at an all-time high. Meanwhile, many Muslims like Habsa and the crew are natural-born American citizens. “Today the country is built upon emotion. People are not tolerant of one another,” Habsa said.

SoundtrackBurnes’ Turns

JAN. 28, 2016PAGE 6 E!"#$"%&!'#!"

My favorite Guns N’ Roses song of all time is also one of the deepest cuts they ever recorded. Everybody knows “Welcome to the Jungle” but only a fraction are familiar with Du! McKagan’s ode to his musical idol and friend Johnny "unders and the beauty of being in love with someone that’s way out of your league. Featuring mood changes, impassioned vocals, bluesy piano and one of Slash’s most moving solos ever, “So Fine” stands out for me as GN’R’s best ballad. Coming from a band armed with “November Rain,” “Estranged,” “Patience,” and “Don’t Cry,” that’s pretty damn impressive.

PHOTO COURTESY/ROLLINGSTONE.COM

It’s easy for individuals of our generation to get lost among all of the Sinatra-sounding recordings of the ‘40s. Often it comes down to this guy was in/not in Fallout or Bio-shock. But my favorite song that I found when raiding my grandpa’s record cache to help bolster my own was his ‘78 of this brass-infused, orchestral bliss of a song featuring King Cole crooning coolly. He’s still a winner.

PHOTO COURTESY/BIOGRAPHY.COM

Easily my favorite singer in the group (though maybe that’s not saying a whole lot considering the talent of his peers), Peter Criss was also the most overlooked. Bringing an irresistible soulful croon to some of KISS best songs like “Beth,” “Black Diamond,” “Nothin’ to Lose” and “Hard-Luck Woman,” his 1978 solo album was under appreciated by legions of fans who preferred the mindless strumming of Ace Frehley. But I’ll take this heart-stirrer over Ace’s entire discography any day.

PHOTO COURTESY/ MUGENMULTIVERSE.FANBB.NET

When the incomparable Lemmy Kilmeister died at the end of 2015, no doubt “"e Ace of Spades” was one of the most popular songs in the world for a day. But I immediately turned to this slow-burning reverie on the questions of the afterlife, dealing with regret, and look-ing ahead in a world that’s way too chaotic for its own good. Considering the man behind the mic, I can’t think of a better send-o!.

Blame it on the Blackstar

PHOTO COURTESY/YOUTUBE.COM

1. Guns n’ Roses“So Fine”

2. Motorhead“Line in the Sand”

3. Peter Criss“Easy Thing”

4. Nat King Cole“Make Her Mine”

Welcoming back Guns n’ Roses’ Appetite for DestructionAndrew BurnesEditor

It was a bright day in Greenville, Texas in the month of December. Texas A&M Uni-versity-Commerce students had been enjoy-ing their time o! for over a week now. Christ-mas had come and gone, but there were still several weeks between the students and their return to the jungle of schoolwork, stress and studies. "e temperature was cool, but still warm for the time of the year’s standards. As I exited my car along with my high school se-nior of a brother and my aunt in an unknown corner on the outskirts of the town where the smell of ma-nure radiated across the mul-titude of abandoned train cars and factories, I wasn’t exactly in the cheeriest of moods. In fact, with every snap of my aunt’s camera, I was actively complaining.

“Why do I have to be here?” I asked, sour that I had to brave the chilly tem-peratures just so I could stand watch as my brother, armed with his guitar, trum-pet, and uninterested gaze, went through the annoying ritual that every soon-to-graduate senior must face. “I should be at home spinning my new records or #guring out why my computer is due to explode at any given min-ute.”

Truth is, I didn’t really have that much of a problem with being there. I rather liked freaking out the “volunteer police” (which re-ally amounted to a couple of old people re-living their long-lost glory days interested in viewing the world from the other side of the cop car) with my long hair, sunglasses and hoodie as I walked aimlessly next to the road. I enjoyed being out the in the cooling temper-atures, and especially was happy to not have 99 things to worry about as I often do in the

heat of the semester. But unbeknownst to me, something was about to happen that would change my life, something that I had been waiting and dreaming of for a long time.

"roughout the course of the latter half of 2015, Slash and Axl Rose of the greatest Rock band not named "e Rolling Stones had dropped several hints that they were think-ing about a reunion. "ey were speaking to each other for the #rst time in over 20 years and several band members of the then cur-rent lineup of Guns N’ Roses were left the band after nothing creative was happening in the void between their #nal Las Vegas show

and whatever grand project Axl is cooking up next. But understanding the fact that Rose is basically completely insane and the decades of bad blood that existed between the mem-bers of the original lineup of the band, I still had my doubts that my second-favorite musi-cal entity of all time would actually o$cially get back together. "en I looked down at my phone’s Facebook wall and saw the Billboard article. “It’s really happening.”

Stunned, I tried to play it cool as I went

over to my brother, grinning half-heartedly at best next to some crazy multi-colored mural on the side of a forgotten building as my aunt jovially took his picture for the #ftieth time. All I could do was show him my phone.

As a fan of music, many bands and art-ists have changed my life. But even though Aerosmith is my #rst favorite band, Guns N’ Roses was probably the one that changed it the most. Single-handedly responsible for piquing my brother’s interested in the guitar, and helping de#ne both of our musical tastes, Axl, Slash, Du! McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler and later Matt Sorum are a huge

chunk of the reason why I am such a fan of music as a whole. From the opening notes of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in Guitar Hero II to realizing that Slash was a real person in III, we were hooked. And we still are to this day.

With each of Guns N’ Roses #ve studio releases, they recreated themselves and changed the landscape of Rock & Roll. "eir onstage performances are legendary (with Axl’s breakdowns on-stage perhaps even more so), and their collection of songs including “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Patience,” “No-vember Rain,” and “Paradise City,” include a huge cut of the greatest Rock songs ever recorded. In celebration of

their long-anticipated reunion, this space of Page 6 will be dedicated to reviewing Guns’ #ve studio albums, one live double LP, and even the controversial Chinese Democracy to help explain why, track for track, album for album, Guns N’ Roses are Rock legends that deserve the hype they’re getting leading up to their April sets in Las Vegas and Coachel-la, even if Axl still can’t make it to a Jimmy Fallon show appearance.

From left:s McKagan, Slash, Axl, Stradlin and Adler in their late ‘80s hey-day. McKagan, Slash and Axl will reunite onstage in Las Vegas in April.

PHOTO COURTEWSY/MTV.COM

Andrew BurnesEditor

David Bowie was a legend. From grandi-ose musical statements, to shocking perfor-mances, to outlandish out#ts, to believable disappearances, one of our planet’s most mysterious individuals was no doubt one of the greatest of all time. "at’s often the case when talking about someone that was truly one of a kind. Beginning with Space Oddity, Bowie’s time on our planet was, indeed, out of this world and ahead of its time. What should’ve been yet another ex-perimental next step after 2013’s lovely !e Next Day, became the Starman’s last words, and they’re all the more powerful because of it.

What’s fascinating about Blackstar isn’t necessarily Bowie himself. A masterwork of sonics and saxes, the album is truly fantas-tic and will be a hell of a bar to be measured by in the months to come as 2016 just gets rolling. But what becomes evident as each track beams down from the great black bliss

is just how great Bowie’s impact on our modern musical world really has been, and that goes way beyond the obvious Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd tenor saxophone comparisons. Look at last year’s best al-bums. Would “Tis a Pitty She Was a Whore” sound out of place on Wilco’s lovable dark matter-channeling Star Wars? What about

"e Arcs’ way-out-o-sphere bending Yours, Dreamily? “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime’s) “chilling bass groove would #t right in. And I’ll be damned if Blur’s Magic Whip doesn’t sound like it came from the exact same stratosphere as “Girl Loves Me.” Bowie’s in-%uence is clear with every note.

Of course, no mere mortal can match Bowie when it comes down to hyperspace riding bliss. "e epic title track (which is at least three songs in one) will be unmatched not only this year, but for the rest of time. And the gentle strumming on “Girl Loves Me” would sound like a run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter anthem ala Ed Sheeran without Bowie’s starry production and quivering voice. But it’s when Bowie sounds the most human on the sorrowfully titled “I Can’t Give Everything Away” that he steals the show from even himself with a stirring, Springsteen-esque undercurrent as Earth’s most extraterrestrial Rock Star beams back up into the Heavens, %oating away to con-quer whatever waits for him next beyond the stars.PHOTO COURTESY/STEROGUM.COM

PHOTO COURTESY/ PIGEONSANDPLANES.COM

S!"#$% JAN. 28, 2016PAGE 7

Kerry WilsonSta! writer

"e weekly agenda for Texas A&M University-Commerce sophomore Landon Watkins was simple: #ght with his team to score more touchdowns and prevent other teams from doing so. With his teammates by his side, he fought through the pain, gained endurance, and found even more of a passion for football. However, Watkins’ circumstances took a 180 degree turn on De-cember 3.

Watkins was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which means that his immune system is destroying its red blood cells. "e news was a shock, as well as a scare for the Watkins fam-ily and friends.

Watkins’ mother, DeOnna Watkins, described the feeling when she found out.

“It was really scary, because I mean we had no idea what was wrong with him,” DeOnna Watkins said. “His skin had turned basically yellow. "en his blood levels, for people who don’t know, you have a hematocrit level and a hemoglobin level. For normal, a hemoglobin runs anywhere from 11-15, and Landon’s was at #ve,

so he had lost nearly half of his blood. He’s our only child and so, you know, he’s always been our life and so it was devastat-ing to #nd out. He had just come out of football and you never expect your son to be weak and sick, so it was a rough diagnosis for us.”

Landon Watkins said that despite his fears, getting well is his priority.

“I was scared,” Landon Watkins said. “I’ve always played football, so I worried about playing, but I knew getting well was the most important issue. My parents are a great support

system. "ey have always been there.”A GoFundMe account with a goal

of $8000 - set up by a family friend of the Watkins - has raised more than $6000 since it was started on January 20. "e fund is to help with the cost of medical treatments.

DeOnna Watkins said that the Sul-phur Springs and Commerce commu-nities have been helpful in raising the funds and sending support.

“We’ve had a lot of people that have donated to that,” DeOnna Wat-kins said. “He’s on church prayer list, so Sulphur Springs has been amazing and Commerce has been great. Coach Storm and all the coaches came over and saw him in the hospital. Everybody has been fantastic and we really appre-ciate it.”

Landon Watkins also said that his friends and coaches have been part of his support system as well.

“"ey are the greatest!” he said. “"ey have called and sent messages. Our community is amaz-ing. "ey have always been supportive of me. My coaches have been great as well. I’m just blessed.”

Landon Watkins said his faith has carried him throughout the entire situation. It even played a role in the donating of his hair to the non-pro#t organization, Locks of Love.

“I have too many blessings not to count them,” he said. “God is good! Well, I had grown my hair out since the third grade, so it had become a signature on the #eld in a way. I thought of it as my strength the way Samson did in the Bible. So much I fought with my high school about keeping it. Staying on a leukemia $oor

in Baylor made me see how blessed I was with hair. One night I asked God if He would let me out of the hospital by Christmas if I would cut my hair and donate it. God answered my prayer and I kept my promise to Him.”

Community raises funds to support A&M-Commerce football player

Lion Athletics

"e Lions drew #rst blood after a fast break layup by Armani Jones. However, WT came right back with a three pointer by Maddison Wild that started a 7-0 run by the Lady Bu!s. Later in the quarter, WT progressed to a seven-point lead that vanished quickly after Brittany Adams hit a layup that sparked a Lion 7-0 run after a three by Princess Davis, and jumper by Artaejah Gay to tie the game at 13. "e Lions ended the #rst quarter trailing the Lady Bu!s 16-15.

A&M-Commerce started the second quarter on #re, going on a 13-1 run to lead the top ranked Lady Bu!s 28-17 halfway thru the second quarter. "e Lions held WT to only three #eld goals in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Bu!s 21-7, and went into the half with a 36-23 lead.

"e Lions shot well in the #rst half, shooting 51.7 percent from the $oor (15-of-29), 44.4 percent from three-point range (4-of-9), and 66.7 from the charity stripe (2-of-3). As far as the opposition,

WT struggled, as they shot 34.5 percent from the #eld (10-of-29), and 33.3 percent from behind the arc (2-of-6). Princess Davis had a game high of nine points in one half of play shooting a perfect 3-of-3 clip from the $oor and dishing out two dimes. Brittany Ad-ams had a big half o! of the bench for the Lions, as she tallied six points on 3-of-3 shooting as well, four rebounds, two steals, and one assist. Sasha Watson was the leading scorer for the Lady Bu!s with six points, and had a game high of six rebounds at the half

2nd HalfAlthough the third quarter was close, the Lions had a hard time

holding on to the lead with six turnovers in the third quarter alone despite having a 14-point lead. Shomari Harris and Khala Riley led the way for the Lions combining for nine points as they guided the Lions into the fourth quarter with a 52-43 lead.

In the fourth quarter, both teams went back and forth down the stretch resulting into #ve lead changes. With roughly two min-utes remaining in the half, the Lions were ahead 67-61 in what was looking like a brewing upset. Unfortunately, the Lady Bu!s

went on an 8-0 run to end the game, highlighted by a clutch three pointer by Michaela Neuhaus to tie the game at 67. On the Lions next possession, Princess Davis drives in for a layup that was re-jected by Zantaya Davis. "e Lions recovered the loose ball, but failed to put up a shot before the shot clock expired, giving the ball back to WT. After advancing the ball, the Lady Bu!s drew up a play to put the ball in Zantaya Davis’s hands where she caught the ball and kissed it o! of the glass winning the game and leaving no time left on the clock.

Sasha Watson was the game’s highest scorer with 16 points, and tied with Maddison Wild for a game high of seven rebounds. Zan-taya Davis and Michaela Neuhaus both added 13 points, while Davis had three blocks. Princess Davis led the Lions in scoring with 14 points, and tied with Shomar Harris for a game high of four assists. Khala Riley had 12 points, two rebounds, assists, and steals. Amari Jones was the last Lion to score in double #gures, and added #ve rebounds to her stat line.

Keonte HerreraAthletic Communications Assistant

A&M-Commerce Host Arlington Baptist for "eir Final Non-Conference Game "is Season

"e Lions are 9-9 this season and have lost three of their last four games after a 73-65 loss to Eastern New Mexico in Grey-hound Arena. "e Lions average 70 points per game this season, ranking them in the top three of the Lone Star Conference. In the Lone Star Conference, the Lions are second in both o!ensive and defensive rebounding, and post a rebounding margin of +5 against their opponents this season. Amari Jones leads the Lone Star Con-ference in rebounding with 8.6 boards per game and is in the top

#ve of Lone Star Conference players in blocks per game. Princess Davis has the third best free throw shooting percentage in the con-ference at 75.4 percent, and is ninth on the list for assists per game. Shomari Harris makes the top #ve in the conference in assists per game, averaging 3.2 dimes per game. Artaejah Gay, Princess Da-vis, Amari Jones, and Shomari Harris all lead the Lions in scoring with nine points per game. Gabby Scott and Khala Riley are right behind them chipping in eight points per game each.

Arlington Baptist is 12-3 this season and leads the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) in scoring as they average 98 points per game. "e Patriots shoot 44.8 percent from the $oor and leads their conference in three-point #eld goal percentage at 36 percent as well as free throw shooting percentage

at 70.5 percent. "e Patriots move the ball well on o!ense with a league high of 21 assists per game, and plays good defense with another league high of 19 steals per game. Jade Johnson is second in the conference averaging 21 points per game. Morgan Hale fol-lows behind her in fourth place with 19 points per game.

"e two teams have met only once with the Lions rolling over

the Patriots 104-73 just a season ago. In that meeting, Princess Davis led the Lions in scoring with 20 points and had #ve as-sists. Zenobia Winbush also had a good game after cashing in 14 points. Morgan Hale had a game high of 23 points as she scorched the Lions with #ve made three-pointers. "e Lions look to end a two-game losing streak and go 2-0 against Arlington Baptist.

A&M- Commerce host Arlington Baptist for their !nal non-conference game this season

"e Lions home game winning streak comes to a close a#er a 69-67 loss to West Texas A&M

S!"#$% JAN. 28, 2016PAGE 8

Lion Athletics

Portales, N.M. – !e A&M-Commerce men’s basketball team su"ered its fourth consecutive loss after struggling down the stretch in a 72-60 road loss at Eastern New Mexico Saturday in a Lone Star Conference game.

Turning Point Eastern New Mexico broke a tie at 53 with a 19-7 run over the

remaining 5:48 left in the second half to earn the win. !e Lions went two of their last 14 during the stretch run allowing the Grey-hounds to secure the 12-point win.

Highlights Anthony Adams led the Lions with 20 points after going 8-of-

14 from the #oor. Jeremy Jones followed with 13 points and seven rebounds. Everrett Pleasant was the third Lion in double $gures with 10

points. Pleasant led the Lions on the glass with nine rebounds. A&M-Commerce shot 32 percent from the #oor and 69 per-

cent from the free throw line. !e Lions failed to make a three-point $eld goal on 14 long-range attempts.

Eastern New Mexico shot 41 percent overall, 36 percent, 8-of-22, from three and 59 percent from the charity stripe.

Twenty-two of the Greyhounds 27 free throw attempts came

in the second half. Fifteen of those 22 attempts in the $nal stanza were makes.

Inside the box score!e loss drops the Lions to 12-6 on the season and 2-4 in the

Lone Star Conference … It is the $rst four-game losing streak for the Lions since the end9 of the 2012-13 season when they dropped four straight league games and the opener of the LSC Tourna-ment.Adams turned in his seventh 20-point game of his Lion ca-reer and the fourth of the season. Jones notched his 10th double-digit game of the season and $rst in the last three games. His last double $gure game came on the road at then ranked No. 4 Angelo State on January 9.

Dating back to the 2011-12 season the Lions have made at least one three pointer in every game until Saturday’s 0-for-14 perfor-mance. !e Lions lowest output of the season from beyond the arc was four made three-pointers twice.

Summary1st HalfEastern New Mexico turned an 15-11 lead with 14:22 left in

the half into a 17-point, 32-15, lead over the next 10 minutes with a 17-4 run. !e Lions went almost eight minutes without a $eld goal from the #oor during the stretch.

However, A&M-Commerce closed the $nal 1:10 of the half

with the last $ve points to chip the Greyhound lead down to 11 points, 36-26, at the half. Adams hit the $rst of four free throws following a technical foul given to ENMU after a display of frus-tration on a travel call. With seven tenths of a second left, Adams drew a blocking foul and knocked down both free throws for the half ’s $nal points.

A&M-Commerce went 27 percent from the #oor in the half in-cluding an 0-for-8 mark from behind the three-point arc. ENMU made 44 percent of its $eld goal attempts in the half and hit $ve of its 13 long-range attempts for 38.5 percent.

2nd Half !e Lions came out of the half with a 12-0 run thanks in part

to a monster alley-oop from Jones to Crowder. Jones sparked the run with the $rst four points that saw the Lions take a 37-36 with 14:52 left to play in the half.

ENMU held a narrow margin for the next eight minutes be-fore the Lions pulled even at 49 with 7:40 left to play following a Pleasant layup. !e two teams went back and forth for the next two minutes before the Greyhounds closed the $nal 5:48 with a 19-7.

!e spurt started at the 5:48 mark with the game knotted at 53 and ended at the $nal buzzer with the Greyhounds walking away with the 72-60 win.

Greyhounds hand Lions fourth straight LSC loss Saturday

Lions Athletics

Commerce, Texas – West Texas A&M handed A&M-Commerce its third straight loss despite a pair of 20-point performances from Bryant Crowder and Anthony Adams Wednesday night in a cross-state rival showdown in !e Field House.

Turning PointAfter A&M-Commerce took a $ve-point lead into the half, but

with WT trailing 42-40 with 16:52 left in the second, the Bu"s mounted a 14-3 run over the next four minutes to take a nine-point lead, 54-45. !e Bu"s used three triples during the clutch run.

HighlightsCrowder paced the Lions with 23 points after going 11-of-16

from the #oor.Adams followed suit with 21 points after making six of his 13

shots from the #oor. He also converted eight of his nine free throw attempts.

Everrett Pleasants was the third Lion in double $gures with 16 points and team-high eight rebounds.

!e Lions $nished 45 percent from the #oor, 27 percent, 4-of-15, from beyond the 3-point arc and 59 percent, 19-of-32, from the charity stripe. !e Bu"s ended at 39 percent overall, 36 percent, 13of-36, from long range and 80 percent, 16-of-20, from the free throw line.

WT outrebounded the Lions 44-40 and 15-11 on the o"ensive glass. However, A&M-Commerce held a 15-9 advantage on second chance points.

A&M-Commerce out scored WT 40-26 in the paint, but the Bu"s out scored the Lions 39-12 from behind the 3-pt arc.

!e WT bench outscored the A&M-Commerce bench 41-13.Inside the box score!e loss drops the Lions to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in the Lone

Star Conference. It is the $rst three-game losing streak since the 2013-14 season.

West Texas’ David Chavolich became the third person to notch 30 points against the Lions. Chavlovich $nished with 31 points after going 9-of-22 from the $eld and 6-of-14 from long range.

!e Lions had a pair of 20-point games for the second time this season. Jeremy Jones and Adams scored 22 points and 21 points respectively at Henderson State.

Adams scored 20 points for the sixth time in his two-year Lion career, while Crowder notched 20 plus points for the $fth time while in his $rst season with the Lions.

Summary1st Half!e $rst frame saw eight ties and four

lead changes. After exchanging the lead through the $rst seven minutes, WT took a $ve point lead, 25-20, with 6:02 left to play. !e Lions mounted 10-0 sparked by six points from Crowder including two demonstrative dunks from the 6’9” forward to take a 30-25 lead with two and a half minutes remaining.

A&M-Commerce pushed the lead to as high as eight points, 35-27, with 51 seconds left before taking a 35-30 lead into the break.

2nd HalfWest Texas forced two ties before #ipping a 42-40 de$cit into a

54-45 lead with 12:29 left to play following a 14-3 run.!e Bu"s led by as many as 13 points, 72-59, with 5:24 left to

play, before the Lions chiseled away at the lead cutting the margin

down to $ve points, 79-74, with 1:23 left to play. However WT, claimed the victory after going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the waning seconds for the 85-81 win.

What’s Next?!e Lions travel to Eastern New Mexico for tipo" against the

Greyhounds at 5 p.m. central time/4 p.m. mountain time in Portales. !e Greyhounds enter the game at 4-13 overall and 0-5 in league play after an 89-71 loss on the road at Tarleton State Wednesday.

Bu!s bounce Lions 85-81 Wednesday night

Lion so"ball Team holds camp for 8th through 12th

EAST TEXAN PHOTOS/ KRISTEN STEWART

Operation: Next GenerationLast weekend, the members of the A&M-Commerce lions softball team worked with high schoolers from the surrounding area to further their skills on the !eld from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The day’s in!eld, out!eld, pitching, catching, bunting and running drills culminated when the girls were split up into three di"erent teams to compete against one another in 30 minute scrimmages followed by a Q&A session with A&M-Commerce coaches and players.