Collegian T he Cameron University
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Monday, September 30, 2019
Strategic investment:
Volume 101 Issue 3
Enrollment and Cameron budget Payton Williams Managing Editor @YoureSoVanya
This semester, Cameron University saw a drop in student enrollment of about three percent, and this drop has had an impact on the university budget. According to Cameron Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success Jerrett Phillips, the drop is representative of the types of enrollment drops happening at colleges and universities across the state of Oklahoma. “This is a relatively small decline,” Phillips said. “If you look at other universities in Oklahoma suffering a seven percent decline, we’re pretty much in the ballpark. We’re in good company.” However, Phillips also added that, at this point in the semester, a comparison of enrollment rates statewide is difficult to determine with certainty. “The official numbers that go to the regents and then get published out, don’t get released until much later in the semester,” Phillips said. “Our current information is mostly anecdotal. Unofficially, enrollment across the state is either flat or seeing a slight decrease.” The actual enrollment numbers at Cameron are determined by a census that is carried out about 30 days into the semester. The numbers can still fluctuate after the census has been conducted, but according to Phillips, those numbers don’t change much. “At about thirty days in, we get our first snapshot of what enrollment is like,” Phillips said. “That number is pretty solid. It doesn’t deviate much.”
The cause of the drop in enrollment, both at Cameron and statewide, can be attributed to several factors, but chief among them, according to Phillips, is a lack of new high school graduates in the state. “We’re all competing for the same freshmen,” Phillips said. “The high school graduation rates across the state are staying stagnant, they’re not moving.” The stagnation of high school graduation rates in the state of Oklahoma has been hurting college freshman enrollment rates for some time now. According to Phillips, this is the sixth consecutive year Cameron has seen a net drop in student enrollment. Most universities in the state, including Cameron have, in light of the lack of new incoming freshmen from high schools, begun to look very seriously at recruiting transfer students, a change which has made the search for transfer students in the state very nearly as competitive as the one for freshmen. To that end, Phillips spoke about some of the new things Cameron is attempting in order to boost enrollment. One of the chief solutions mentioned by Phillips was the shifting of Cameron’s recruitment focus closer to home. “My predecessor, before I came, really shifted our focus to the Dallas market,” Phillips said. “Unfortunately, those students just weren’t coming here. So we’ve realigned our market to where we think we’re stronger.”
Another important factor in enrollment, for Phillips, is the focus on concurrent enrollment, or enrollment in classes by high school students, at Cameron. “We have a very strong concurrent enrollment program,” Phillips said. “Which we think is very mission-central for us, it’s a good driver for students to be able to prepare for college and get ready.” Concurrent enrollment is currently up by eight percent at Cameron, despite the net drop in enrollment. Another focus for Phillips and the Office of Enrollment Management and Student Success is expanding enrollment in the University’s graduate program. “We made some strategic investment last year in graduate enrollment, to be able to focus on new graduate students,” Phillips said. “I’m pleased to announce that our numbers there have had a four to five percent increase.” While Cameron has been seeing a steady drop in enrollment, this particular semester has seen a less drastic drop than in previous years, and Phillips is optimistic about enrollment rates rising in the near future. “If you look at Southwest Oklahoma, and you look at the high schools where predominantly, those students come to Cameron,” Phillips said. “We’re going to be flat for about two more years, and then there’s a spike in the [high school] student population.” A spike in high school graduates usually translates to a boost in freshman enrollment for Cameron, and as for the drop in enrollment this year, while it isn’t ideal, according to Phillips, it was planned for. “From a budgeting standpoint,” Phillips said. “We knew those challenges were coming, and we built those challenges into the budget.”
Photo by Payton Williams
What’s Inside Poetry and Chill
“Booksmart” Review
Alma Duran profile
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News
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September 30, 2019 www.aggiecentral.com
Photos by Bryan Araujo
Drink it all in: Juli Meyers poses for the camera holding a bottle of Leninade — A Russian lemonade-based soda. The drink is usually for Russian celebrations, but Meyers had the soda available during her Russia Bear Watching II Workshop in Nance Boyer.
Tasting the globe with Juli Meyers:
Russian and Ukrainian Recipes By Bryan Araujo Staff Writer
International Languages sophomore Juli Meyers’ food blog “Pandemonium Noshery” features recipes from over a hundred different countries.
Meyers is the daughter of a former U.S. Navy Urologist and eventually became an Air Force spouse. She has been traveling since childhood and considers herself a nomad in a sense — jumping from one destination to the next.
Her travels have taken her through 48 states in the United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Israel, Switzerland, England, China and the Philippines. These experiences have exposed her to the many cultures from all these different countries. “Pandemonium Noshery” started as a hobby in 2015. As a full-time, stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher stationed in Georgia with her husband, Meyers was looking for an expressive outlet. “I needed something that was mine and my own that I was building,” Meyers said, “I wanted to travel and this was sort-of traveling or a least as much as you could do without leaving the house, so I started cooking.” Meyers has been adding to her archives of recipes ever since. Meyers uses pandemoniumnoshery.blogspot. com, a free blogging platform to present her recipes, capturing and editing photos with a doit-yourself approach and dollar store items to create backdrops. She doesn’t have big ambitions for her blog; she does it simply for the pleasure of it. “It’s just my hobby,” Meyers said, “and that’s what I want out
of it.” She said it can be difficult to find people in Lawton interested in studying food. She took her focus online to engage other people via Facebook groups and other cooking blogs where she participates in challenges every month. “I’m part of one called ‘Eat the World’” Meyers said, “We just pick a country every month and cook something from there.” This month, Meyers prepared Russian and Ukrainian dishes to present and share at the Communication, English and Foreign Languages (CEFL) Russia Bears Watching II workshop. Meyers prepared “plov,” a dish comprised of beef stew meat, rice and carrots and a cake called “ptichye moloko” which translates to “bird’s milk cake.” Foreign languages instructor Donna Clopton is teaching the Russia workshops. Clopton shared bottles of “Leninade,” a popular fizzy beverage from Russia at the seminar. She said she got lucky when Meyers volunteered to do the cooking for all her workshops. “She’s not only a very good student, by the way, but she’s a very good cook,” Clopton
said, “I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone that had over fourhundred recipes that they were a master of all at the same time. She’s extraordinary, I’m lucky to have her as a student.” The Russia Bears Watching series is a collection of one-credit workshops covering Russian Culture. This was the second of three. Meyers said her friendships and experiences while living in Israel contributed to her international culinary skill set. While attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints religious services, Ukrainian/ Russian culture became endearing to her. “When we were in Israel, everyone we went to church with was Russian and Ukrainian refugees and immigrants,” Meyers said. “So I got to talk to them, church was in Russian, they would cook for us. So that was pretty cool.” Meyers made some friends who spoke English and would help interpret for her. Meyers would like to eventually move back to Israel, where she mostly feels at home. The front page of her blog features her most recent dish: Caruso Pasta, a Uruguayan pasta dish with ham, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Her favorite dishes come from the Middle East, but lately she’s been into South American cuisine. Aside from her blog, Meyers also works for the Red Cord in Lawton. The Red Cord is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to spread awareness on Human Trafficking. “I’ve always been interested in law enforcement,” Meyers said, “I was looking at what bothered me the most.” Ultimately, Meyers aspires to one day work for Operation Underground Railroad, a private organization started by Tim Ballard to fight against Human Trafficking by finding missing people and bringing traffickers to justice. Tim Ballard will be visiting Lawton Red Cord in January for their fundraising gala.
September 30, 2019 www.aggiecentral.com
Student Life
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Photo by Isaiah Hernandez
Poetry and Smile: (Top, left to right) Kalen Haynes, Bethany Green, Mike Inman, Reagan Pyles, Leahe Smith, Lorenzo Davis, Patrick White, Kathrine Book, Etienne Dufrene, Gregory McPhenson II. (Middle) Anthony Crawford, Danielle Lewis, Catherine Jacobs, Charise Wi, Jarod Swanson. (Bottom left to right) Halie Ransome, Breah Villarreal, Kobe Neighbors and members of RHA posing for a photo after Poetry and Chill.
Poetry and Chill:
A Haven for Self-Expression
Isaiah Hernandez
Delta hosted the Poetry and Chill Workshop in Staff Writer the Shepler Ballroom, At 6 p.m., Sept. 19, the featuring Poetry and Chill Resident Hall Association business owner Gregory McPherson II and ninth(RHA) and Sigma Tau
grade teacher Anthony Crawford. McPherson and Crawford came Cameron to help create an environment that allowed Photo by Isaiah Hernandez
Creating safe places: Poet Anthony Crawford explains why he feels poetry is a safe place, during the Poetry and Chill event.
people to be introspective with their emotions and to express themselves in a creative format. Author of “Black Pain’t,” Crawford hoped the workshop provided a safe place to create. “We’re trying to give them a space where there is no judgement,” Crawford said, “where it is all love, and people feel comfortable in their own skin.” Originally, McPherson planned for a solo event, but as a poet, he saw the impact that poetry had on his community and decided to create a more interactive program. McPherson said the main objective of Poetry and Chill is to create a judgement-free zone for people to come and express themselves with like-minded individuals. The purpose of attending this particular workshop was to allow collegiate students to express themselves and their emotions in a literary manner without censorship. Around 40 students registered to attend the event, and the first 20 students received free notebooks.
During the event, instructors gave attendees tools to discover their selfimages. One of the tools came in the form of questions. Crawford asked students to describe a person and their views through symbols and allowed for attendees to take notice of their egos. For reference, students described the traits of their favorite animals. The answers to this question corresponded with their personal self-imagery and gave insight into how they felt about themselves. Attendees presented epistolary poems — poetry in the form of letters — focusing on a personal attribute they had written about earlier. Creative Writing Senior
Katherine Book atteneded the workshop. As the President of Cameron’s Writing Club as well as Treasurer for Sigma Tau Delta, Book was excited to support the workshop and see the effect Poetry and Chill had on students. “It made us think about writing on a deeper level,” Book said, “and I think that the impact also got us to open up and write about things that may not be comfortable to write about.” On Oct. 24, Poetry and Chill, RHA, and the Diversity Diplomats will host an open mic night in the McCasland Ballroom. For more information about Sigma Tau Delta, contact William Canery and the student housing office for RHA.
Photo by Isaiah Hernandez
New financial aid regulations Adrianna Finch Assistant Editor
In Fall 2018, Cameron University’s Office of Financial Assistance released a letter indicating Financial Aid disbursements and refunds would be withheld until after the last drop date (fourth week of classes), starting Fall 2019. As a means of helping students to understand the new policy, Cameron published a Q&A on the Cameron website. According to the Q&A, Cameron would set up a charge account with the new book store company, Texas Book Company (TBC). Later Financial aid stated that the amount would be with a predetermined amount of 500 dollars for students to obtain books and any supplies they needed for class. If students needed more than the 500 dollars, students could increase the amount of the charge account. Later, Cameron released another statement on the Cameron website giving students information about how students could collect financial aid refunds. “After your financial aid is applied to your account,” the website said, “any credit balance will then be processed through the system. Initial refunds should be available by the fourth week of classes (16 week semester).” After summer classes ended, Financial Aid published a schedule on Aggie Access of disbursement and refund release dates relative to
Photo by Katie Hall
when classes started. For the sixteen-week courses and the first set of eight-week courses, financial aid would process disbursements starting Sept. 5 and refunds would be given out starting Sept. 6. As for twelve-week courses, disbursements would start Sept. 26 with refunds starting Sept. 27, and
second eight-week refunds would start Oct. 30. Financial Aid disbursments and refund will continue to be processed this way from the Spring 2020 semester. If students have any questions they can call Financial Aid directly at (580) 581-2293 or visit them on the third floor of North Shepler.
A&E
4 Lea Killian A&E Editor @talkingLea
Throughout the summer, movies like “Avengers: Endgame,” “John Wick: Chapter 3,” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” dominated the box office. Among the pandemonium of consistent midnight premieres and record breaking opening weekends, a quiet success shattered expectations for what a coming-of-age comedy can really accomplish. On May 24, “Booksmart” premiered in theaters across the country. In Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, the film follows two young women, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), on their final day of high school. Striving for academic success over popularity has worked well for the pair thus far with Molly being accepted into Yale University and Amy into Columbia, but when they find out that even the students who value their position in the status quo over exam grades were accepted into prestigious universities, as well, Molly realizes their mistake. “We chose,” she said. “We didn’t party because we wanted to focus on school and get into good colleges, but the irresponsible people who partied also got into those colleges. They did both. We messed up. We didn’t have to choose.” Upon this realization, they make the decision to go to their first party. While Molly believes attending this party will change their story, Amy primarily tags along in hopes that she will finally kiss a girl, having come out as queer two years prior. Even though their motivations are different, they both know that
have unjustly labeled their classmates. In an AMC Theatres interview, Olivia Wilde discussed the complexity of her characters and what she hoped the movie instilled in audiences. “Your college life doesn’t define you,” Wilde said. “What college you get into is not going to define who you are. That’s all that mattered to these girls, but then they
Lilly Singh: Staff Writer
On Sept. 16, Lilly Singh’s talk show, “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” made its debut on NBC. Unlike many of the current late night talk show hosts, Lilly is a bisexual woman of color. She intendeds on using her platform and perspective to reach a wider audience. The first episode opens with Singh walking into a boardroom meeting full of white men wearing suits. They tell her to sit down in a chair that is not at the table, to which she ignores and pulls a chair up to sit alongside them. They bombard her with tired suggestions that follow the traditional formula that many late night talk shows already use. “We want to get crazy,” one of them said. “We want to get loco ― something no one has ever seen before. We are thinking of doing an opening monologue where you cover headlines, news of the week and presidential tweets.” When Singh disagrees and tells them the way she wants to run her show, they start to make fun of her, mocking her for standing up for what she wants. In ways unique to Singh’s humor and creativity, she drives her point home with a rap about how she is taking charge of what late night television can be, complete with backup dancers, singers and props. In addition to her entertainment career, she is the cofounder of #GirlLove in collaboration with Me to We. #GirlLove is a campaign that promotes acceptance and love between young girls and adult women. It encourages them to raise each other up rather than tear each other down. Since the start of her YouTube channel, Lilly has
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Wilde’s ‘Booksmart’
the only way to achieve both goals is to take the risk. Without the small details added to each scene, like Amy’s “Elizabeth Warren 2020” bumper sticker or Molly’s insistence on correcting the grammar on graffitied bathroom walls, audiences may fear in the beginning that “Booksmart” is just another teen comedy. Even when it falls into tendencies typical of the genre, like the what-are-wegoing-to-wear montage, the film still manages to stand out in a modern, witty fashion. With themes and discussions circling around feminism, politics, female sexuality and ultimately, the dismantling of the patriarchy, “Booksmart” might not be for everyone. However, it does not fail to break the monotony of teenage comedies that audiences have grown so used to. Where most movies of this nature that are geared toward younger audiences feature one dimensional characters, this film’s best quality is the care that the writers claim in crafting such layered and interesting personalities for each character. In a typical teenage comedy, the nerdy girls would have gotten revenge on the popular kids. They would have taken off their thick rimmed glasses to reveal their “true beauty,” so the jock who never looked in their direction would finally notice them. “Booksmart” breaks every rule ― and does it well. It is a film that celebrates human complexities and denies the labels that threaten to restrict all of us from becoming who we really are. Not only do Molly and Amy realize they have been holding themselves back by honoring their labels, but they also begin to see how they
Adrianna Finch
September 30, 2019
quickly realize that it doesn’t have to be like that. Everyone can be so many different things. Why do we put people in categories? If we’re doing that to others, we’re doing that to ourselves. There is so much in seeing one another. I want people to imagine what it would be like to see their peers and for them to know what it’s like to be seen.” The film becomes poignantly self-aware near
the end when one of the characters, Jared (Skyler Gisondo), reveals that he has dreams of one day producing musicals. “Enough with the revivals already,” he said. “Audiences deserve something original, I think.” In every way, “Booksmart” delivers the “something original” that audiences are craving. I rate this film 9/10.
Courtesy photo
A new face in late night television
had amazing success that had led to her new talk show. She has received four Streamy awards, a People’s Choice Award, an MTV Fandom Award and two Teen Choice awards for her content and outreach programs. In between winning these awards, Singh has had two world tours. In her first world tour, “A Trip to Unicorn Island,” she entertained her audience with dancers and music, but took the time to slow down the show and talk with her fans. “You do not need anyone to be happy besides yourself,” she said. “Happiness is the only thing worth fighting for in your life.” The second world tour followed her New York Times bestselling book “How to be a
Bawse,” in which Singh wrote about how she struggled to get where she is now and how she is still struggling to stay happy even with all of her success. Singh has always been very open about her mental health issues. She has suffered from depression and anxiety for many years, an issue close to home for many of her fans. Since her start on YouTube, Singh has grown accustomed to being on the screen. It is no surprise that she would find success on television, as well. In one of her many vlogs, Singh told fans what she hopes for this new chapter in her life. “I want Team Super to promote the eff out of this show,” she said. “It’s not about the money; it’s not about the fame. It’s about the fact that there is now a bisexual woman of color on late night television where there has never been one before. All I want is for everyone to see that.” “A Little Late” with Lilly Singh airs on NBC at 1:30 a.m. PST on Mondays and Thursdays.
Graphics by Lea Killian
Voices
September 30, 2019 www.aggiecentral.com
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Hurricane Dorian’s Destruction Cam Alsbrook Assistant Editor @ForrestSpirrit
Starting on Aug. 30, Hurricane Dorian made multiple headlines as information about the damages and losses poured in. Dorian quickly grew into a category five hurricane, causing devastation and ruin for the Bahamian residents. As recently as Sept. 23, Barbados Today lists the death toll at fifty three with several outlets reporting over 1,300 missing individuals. In the case of damages caused by Hurricane Dorian, it is estimated to be over seven billion dollars. Flooding was a major cause of devastation, as the rapidly rising waters became more dangerous than the wind, peaking at 185 miles per hour. According to Trump’s Administration, evacuees trying
answer the call for aid
to go to the U.S. need to be vetted for proper identification due to the risks of criminals and gang members arriving from the Bahamas. This was in contrast to the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, who stated at a White House conference that people fleeing from the dangers of Hurricane Dorian were going to be allowed into the United States—without identification. Due to this announcement, individuals who hoped to make the journey to the U.S. were told to leave the vessel that would have taken them there and remain on the dystopian-like ruins of their homeland—with support. Thankfully. The Abaco Island suffered the brunt of damages and destruction. Their electrical grid was damaged
beyond repair, their hospitals gone, while cars and boats were crushed. Bahamian college students affected by Hurricane Dorian were able to attend classes to finish their college requirements at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, since academic buildings were also demolished in the Dorian onslaught. Along with institutional devastation, animals also suffered in the wake of the Hurricane. One such example took place in North Carolina where twenty-eight wild horses were swept away due to the strength of the flooding waters. Organizations such as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) worked to provide medical treatment, water, and food to remaining affected residents. Meanwhile, celebrities such as Michael Jordan pledged large sums of money to the relief process for Abaco Island and other affected areas, as well as non-profit organizations working with relief efforts. Companies such as Walmart have also made pledges to help in relief funding. As for the notion of thoughts and prayers — which totally “helps” — there needs to also be an increase in the vocalization of natural disaster
relief efforts. From Hurricane Dorian damages in the Bahamas, to Puerto Rico, Flint Michigan, Singapore and many more areas, there are abundant health concerns. Our best hope to fix the issues Hurricane Dorian caused is to donate to relief aid, as well as encouraging others to do the same. The people of the United States need to speak up about what’s best for the world—not just for our one nation, which is ‘under god,’ yet above holding our own government officials accountable. Our political representatives who will not take responsibility for things that need to change need to be changed themselves, or our international environment will only continue to worsen. We, as Cameron students, should pay attention in every election to where our candidates stand on fixing our issues both nationally and internationally; We need to focus on supporting and cooperating, in addition to contributing to solutions proposed by foreign governments for problems. The end of Hurricane Dorian was Sept. 10, but the damage across the Bahamas—and across our own soil—will undoubtedly last much longer.
Notice: U.S Army officials in Oklahoma have issued a press release warning Lawton residents about a possible mass shooting linked to the “Joker” premiere on Oct. 4. If you are planning to attend, please be careful and remain vigilant. About Us
The official student newspaper of Cameron University, The Cameron Collegian is available each Monday during the year. It is printed by the Lawton Constitution. The first issue is provided for free. Each subsequent issue is $1.50.
Our Views
The opinions expressed in The Collegian pages or personal columns are those of the signed author. The unsigned editorial under the heading “Voices” represents the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. The opinions expressed in The Collegian do not necessarily represent those of Cameron University or the state of Oklahoma. Our student media are designated public forums, and free from censorship and advance approval of content. Because content and funding are unrelated, and because the role of adviser does not include advance review of content, student media are free to develop editorial policies and news coverage with the understanding that students and student organizations speak only for themselves. Administrators, faculty, staff or other agents shall not consider the student media’s content when making decisions regarding the media’s funding or faculty adviser.
THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY
COLLEGIAN
Letters Policy
Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna
Letters to the editor will be printed in the order in which they are received and on a space available basis.
Editorial Staff
The Collegian reserves the right to edit all letters for content and length. Letters should be no more than 250 words. Letters from individual authors will be published only once every four weeks.
Managing Editor - Payton Williams A&E Editor - Lea Killian Sports Editor - David Perkins Voices Editor - Amanda King Copy Editor - Kim Frey Assistant Editors - Cambron Alsbrook, Adrianna Finch Social Media Editor - Abby Gonzalez Photographers - Katie Hall, Stacie Larsen, Cierra Walters
Newsroom Staff
Financial Officer - Susan Hill Staff Writers - Bryan Araujo, Katie Hall, Isaiah Hernandez, Haylee Key, Xavier McClure, Isabel Rosales-Aparicio Circulation Manager - Payton Williams Faculty Adviser - Prof. David Bublitz
All letters from students should include first and last names, classification and major. No nicknames will be used. Letters from people outside the Cameron community should include name, address and phone number for verification. Letters can be sent by regular mail, by e-mail to aggiecentral@ cameron.edu or they may be dropped off at our office - Academic Commons 101 or at www.aggiecentral.com.
Sports
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September 30, 2019 www.aggiecentral.com
Alma Duran
Photo by David Perkins
Making Cameron History Pho t
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David Perkins Sports Editor
When sophomore Alma Duran got the first win of her college cross country career on Sept. 13 at the Aggie Duels meet, she was not fully aware of the significance of her win. History was made at the only hometown meet of the season. Duran’s first place finish marked the very first win of the women’s cross country program. “It really caught me off guard even during the race,” Duran said. “I didn’t know I was going that fast, and I wasn’t aware that I was in the lead.” The women’s cross country program is very young. They had their inaugural season thirteen years after the men’s program. The program began last year and only has one full season under its belt. Last year saw three second place finishes out of six meets. Now, thanks to Duran, the Aggies have tacked on their very first win in the program’s history only two meets into their second season. “That’s cool to hear that I am the first girl to win first place,” said Duran. “I saw myself as fortunate to be getting my education and getting to run. So this is a bonus, and I am genuinely proud.” The win comes after a summer of hard work for Duran, who has been training in her hometown of Laredo, Texas. Her goals have been steady improvement,
staying consistent and maintaining endurance. “I try to run six or seven miles every day if my work allows,” Duran said. Duran believes that the three major factors for cross country racing are speed, endurance and, most importantly, mentality. Getting a win for the Aggies is a big boost for her mindset. “Mentality can be a break through,” Duran said. “You place your own limitations on yourself.” The reason why the women’s program is getting such a late start goes back to a time when Cameron was short one men’s sport in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and men’s cross country was a cost effective sport. Now, thirteen years later, the women’s program has been added and Coach Zach Johnson is at the helm coaching both teams. The women’s LSC cross country competition shares a quality with the men: It is extremely tough. The LSC has a reputation for being one of the toughest conferences in the nation for track and field sports. Johnson is pleased with the way the women’s team started out the program in the brutal competition last year. “For the first year of the program I thought we did pretty well,” Johnson said. “We were really young and depending on a lot of freshmen. On a perfect day, I thought we could have been a spot or two higher at the conference meet, but with that many freshmen on the team that is probably the best we could’ve hoped for.” So far this season, the women have placed third and first in their first two meets. A strong start, but Johnson said they have had a run of bad luck with some of their top runners. Summer injuries and accidents and even homesickness of one international athlete have been setbacks for the team. Returning all-conference athlete Edna Cheptum has not been able to race yet this season either because of an IT band problem. “She’s just now getting back into it,” Johnson said. “Hopefully she will be back for the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville.” Despite these less than ideal situations, coach Johnson has been pleased with the performance of the team. “Alma’s been leading all the workouts,” Johnson said. “She’s been running really well. So has Taylor Esquivel, Keyanna Patterson, and Vivien Chesire. They’ve all stepped up and filled the top five pretty well.” Throughout the season cross country runners only have a handful of events. This year the women have seven scheduled meets. “All considered, we just need to get Edna back in the lineup and running well,” Johnson said. “If we can do that for our second season we will have a pretty decent team.”