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WEDNESDAY
February 29, 2012
Vol. 95 ⢠No. 7
www.therambler.org
The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Wesleyan alumna turns passion for jewelry into business.
Discover how movie industry greats did at Academy Awards.
Community, page 4
Arts & Entertainment, page 6
Chemistry professor set to serve country Tristian Evans
Tkevans1098@txwes.edu
Over the years, two desires have remained with professor Phillip Pelphreyâhis love for the field of chemistry and his desire to serve his country. In addition to being an assistant professor of chemistry at Wesleyan, Pelphrey has recently become an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve. âIt was always a strong desire of mine to serve the country in what-
ever capacity I could,â Pelphrey said. âSo Iâm definitely happy that the time has come.â Born in Virginia, Pelphrey said he developed a love for chemistry the moment he stepped into his first chemistry class in high school. âI had a really excellent high school [chemistry] teacher. I just really loved it,â Pelphrey said. He said being raised by two parents who worked for the government and having a grandfather who was in the military, he grew
Budget cuts still creating lasting Wesleyan impact
up knowing the importance of giving back to his country. Pelphrey attended a military high school in South Carolina. He said he would have gone into the military after high school, but chose to finish his education first. âTo get a Ph.D. in chemistry and try and do full time military stuff is very difficult. They both have a lot of demands,â Pelphrey said. After getting his bachelorâs, Pelphrey attended the University of Florida for his graduate studies, and then attended Dartmouth
College for his Ph.D. After that he spent two years doing research at the University of Buffalo, and eventually made his way to Texas Wesleyan. When he moved to Texas he decided to try and join the military. âItâs not as simple as saying âI want to [join the military]â I think a lot of people have that mentality that if you say âI want to be in the Naval orArmy Reservesâ itâs a done deal,â Pelphrey said. âIf youâre in the support side of things, itâs actually very competitive.â
Pelphrey said the process took two and a half years. He said itâs like any other job interviewâyou submit your resume, you are interviewed, and you submit letters of recommendation. All of this information is sent to a board who reviews all the applicants. âThey called me up and said with [the] science background [I] have, the Navy [was] looking for an intelligence officer with that
ďľ NAVY, page 3
Johannes MĂśller serenades Wesleyan
Eliana Mijangos
emmijangos@txwes.edu
Following a 3 to 4 percent rise in tuition last fall, faculty and staff must now work with the provost to adjust to budget cuts recently initiated. John Veilleux, vice president of marketing and communications, said this budget cut is due to a lack of student enrollment and a rise in costs. âWe need to identify areas we can save and we will depend on the provost to act with academic officers to decide where those areas will be,â Veilleux said. Joe Brown, professor of theater arts and communications and dean of freshmen success, holds a 34-year tenure at Wesleyan. He said he is prepared and expects raises and bonuses to be out of the question this year and the next to come. âThe school has to pay its electric bill,â Brown said. Veilleux said Frederick Slabach, Wesleyanâs president, is looking to cut as many miscellaneous expenses from the budget before cutting student services. âThe president said [referring to a faculty meeting that took place Feb. 15] the first place they do not want to
ďľ BUDGET, page 3
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes MĂśller performs some of his original work during a concert in Martin Hall Feb. 24. MĂśller is an award-winning musician who has been playing concerts since age 13. This performance was his third in Fort Worth, and was one in the line up of the annual Wesleyan Masters Concert Series presented by Guitar Fort Worth. After his performance, MĂśller signed autographs in Martin Hall.
Big Read brings classic literature to Ram territory Rolandra West
rdwest@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan and Fort Worth partners have combined efforts to re-establish Fort Worthâs community reading called The Big Read âFort Worth Reads Together. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an initiative that provides a grant to universities and other or-
ganizations, to re-establish reading in American culture. Texas Wesleyan has been awarded an $11,700 grant to participate in the event. Texas Wesleyan staff and faculty will work along with other partners such as: Fort Worth Independent School District, Tarrant Area Food Bank, Friends of the Fort Worth Library, Texas Christian University, Tarrant County College, The
Reading Connection, Dallas Model A Club, Barnes & Noble and many more. Dr. Twyla Miranda, professor of education, said the intention of The Big Read is to provide opportunities for communities to read and enjoy books together. âCanned food will be collected at all events in February, March, April and May so that as people talk about the book, The Grapes of Wrath,
by John Steinbeck,â Miranda said. âWe will remember what hard times are like.â The Grapes of Wrath is about the depression of the 1930s and how people had a difficult time finding enough work to feed their families. âThe story is relevant today, because we have seen such an increase in non-employment,â Miranda said. Annette Lance, Big Read student worker and senior
advertising public relations major, said she is working on soliciting funding for the Big Read. âPart of my job as a student worker on the grant is to contact private schools to see if we can also get them to participate in the Big Read,â Lance said. âAnother area we are looking into is the senior living, active senior citizens that were alive during the great depression have been
invited to all of the events.â Deborah Roark, director of grants and research at Texas Wesleyan, said she is honored that Wesleyan has received the grant from the National Endowment of the Arts for the Big Read-Fort Worth Reads Together. âThis funding supports the collaborative efforts of so many across Fort Worth
ďľ BIG READ, page 3
Today is Leap Day. Did you know... ¤ It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made calendar year
didnât always match up. ¤ Thatâs because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun â 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact. ¤ According to astrologers, those born under the sign of Pisces on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities reflecting their special status. ¤ Most have to wait every four years to âofficiallyâ observe their birthdays, but leap year babies typically choose either February 28 or March 1 to celebrate in years that arenât leap years. Illustration by: Erica Estrada
MonâWed @ 5:15pm TuesâThurs @ 12:30pm
Graphic by: Shauna Banks, Information source: chiff.com