Student Government Association members are holding Field Day non-competitive events on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Quad beginning at 5 p.m. with competitions starting at 6 p.m.
Jacob Warren, SGA publicity chair and economics senior, said, “Field Day is part SGA’s initiative to be more involved with the students and trying to retain them. A lot of the students complain that there’s just not enough events going on. I took that personally, so I was trying to make events that way students would have something to do. Our biggest purpose is to inform the students that there is an SGA and that we do care about the student body. This is just one of those steps to prove that.”
This is the first time that the university will be having Field Day during homecoming week. It was a new idea that Warren proposed last spring.
There will be different competitions throughout the day, with both non-competitive and competitive portions.
Warren said, “The non-competitive events are going to be open to the public not in an organization, and they will feature tug-of-war, three-legged race, a sack race and tricycle relays. The competitive portion will have those same events on top of the egg and spoon relay, water balloon tosses and a balloon body pop.”
This will all be new to the Student Government Association, according to Warren. With it being a new event day added to the homecoming schedule, there is not a big expectation for the non-competitive portion of the event because there is no prize for that portion.
“The idea is to have cash prizes for the winners in the competitive portion of Field Day,” Warren said. “First place will receive $80, second place is $55 and third place will receive $35.”
Mathew Howard, radiologic science junior, who will be competing with the Radiology Club, said, “It’s kind of cool that we will get the Radiology Club out there because we see a lot of class time together, but we don’t get to be socially active with each other. Really there’s nothing better than looking like a bunch of goobers.”
Howard is excited to get out there with his fellow club members and see what this event will be like.
“We heard about this event through SGA, and it’s the first time the Radiology Club will be in a competition like this,” Howard said.
Other student competitors are feeling optimistic about Field Day as well.
Hannah Schulte-Bisping, radiology senior, said, “I like to get involved in homecoming week because it’s really fun. I’ve never participated in Field Day since they’ve never had it before, so I’m excited for it.”
She said she tried to get her sorority sisters to sign up and compete to get a little friendly competition.
Warren said any organization who wants to participate in the competitive portion of the event would have to approach it like they were signing up for a league sport on campus. Anyone who wants to participate in the non-competitive portion of Field Day can just show up at the Quad and compete.
David Bellot, accounting senior, attempts to outrace his friend Tarrah Miller, biology senior, on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Jacob Warren, economics junior, organized the first Field Day competitions as part of homecoming week. Students headed to the quad at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18 for non-competitive events and 6 p.m. for the actual competitions.
2017 Homecoming Field Day Competitions
David Bellot, accounting senior, attempts to outrace his friend Tarrah Miller, biology senior, on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
David Bellot, accounting senior, attempts to outrace his friend Tarrah Miller, biology senior, on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
David Bellot, accounting senior, attempts to outrace his friend Tarrah Miller, biology senior, on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, analyzes his cornhole shot at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, analyzes his cornhole shot at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, analyzes his cornhole shot at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Steven Ehlert, criminal justice junior, Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, both anticipate and egg on their opponents in a game of cornhole at the quad on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Steven Ehlert, criminal justice junior, Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, both anticipate and egg on their opponents in a game of cornhole at the quad on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Steven Ehlert, criminal justice junior, Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, both anticipate and egg on their opponents in a game of cornhole at the quad on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, throws in a sand bag in a game of cornhole at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, throws in a sand bag in a game of cornhole at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Johnny Dang, pre med sophomore, throws in a sand bag in a game of cornhole at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
AJ Rubio, mechanical engineering sophomore, tosses a sand bag during a game of cornhole at the quad for field day competitions on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
AJ Rubio, mechanical engineering sophomore, tosses a sand bag during a game of cornhole at the quad for field day competitions on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
AJ Rubio, mechanical engineering sophomore, tosses a sand bag during a game of cornhole at the quad for field day competitions on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Mikayla Thompson, nursing freshman, and Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoop on the quad in a attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017 for the field day competitions. Photo by Sara Keeling
Mikayla Thompson, nursing freshman, and Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoop on the quad in a attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017 for the field day competitions. Photo by Sara Keeling
Mikayla Thompson, nursing freshman, and Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoop on the quad in a attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017 for the field day competitions. Photo by Sara Keeling
Dalena Pham, radiology junior, hoolahoops on the quad hoping to have fun and relieve some stress at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Dalena Pham, radiology junior, hoolahoops on the quad hoping to have fun and relieve some stress at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Dalena Pham, radiology junior, hoolahoops on the quad hoping to have fun and relieve some stress at the homecoming field day competitions on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoops on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions in an attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoops on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions in an attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
Candace Bledsoe, nursing freshman, hoolahoops on the quad at the homecoming field day competitions in an attempt to take a break from studying on Oct 18, 2017. Photo by Sara Keeling
The annual High School Art Competition opened this week in the Fain Fine Arts Center Foyer Gallery. The art show will be housed in the gallery from Jan. 29, until Feb. 3. The gallery consists of at least 250 pieces of artwork from different high schools in the surrounding area.
Steve Hilton, associate professor of art, stated in an email, “This is always an outstanding exhibition of artwork in a variety of media such as photography, drawing, prints, painting, ceramics, sculpture and mixed media.”
Students put a lot of hard work and hours into creating the pieces they enter into the competition.
Natalia Hernandez, Hirschi High School senior and one of last year’s first place winners, said, “It took me about 50 hours to paint my watercolor and about 20 for the pencil drawing that I entered.”
Not only do the students put in a lot of time and effort so does staff and student helpers from the art department. Carlos Aleman, exhibition preparator, and his student staff spend about three days to a week going through the artwork, checking it in and making sure the pieces are appropriate.
Aleman said, “We pretty much have to show everything, but there have been occasions where every once in a while you’ll have something that just isn’t appropriate.”
They spend about three days total setting up the gallery.
Aleman said, “We used what is called a salon style [to put together the show], where there’s not really a rhyme or reason on how it gets put up. We just put it up where it fits and how it fits. Of course you have a little bit of editing whenever you put up stuff like this, where some of the better pieces will get more centralized locations for viewing where we pretty much have to show everything. We try to do as much as we can when it comes to the kids having their work shown.”
For those interested in viewing the students artwork, the opening reception will be held in Fain Fine Arts Center Foyer Gallery on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cash awards and scholarships will be given out roughly around noon.
The gallery is also open during its regular hours, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Come out and show the high school students support.
To promote a healthy well-balanced life for students the Wellness Center administration members offer various events, services and classes to help students increase fitness while enjoying the facility they pay for.
About 850 people visit the Wellness Center facility each day throughout the fall and spring semesters during the week, and about 450 during the weekends. Along with general workout equipment, Angie Reay, director of recreational sports and Wellness Center, said the Wellness Center staff and administration are constantly working to tailor to the needs and desires of the students “to get everything they can out of the center because they are paying for it anyway.”
As a part of students’ tuition and fees, students pay a recreation center fee of $130 to the Wellness Center to help maintain and build to the facility. For the fall 2018 semester, Reay said they have added new equipment to the floor such as an assisted dip and pull machine, free weights and a captain’s chair, per students’ request, to further the personalized feel to the center to the facility.
Part of establishing a healthy lifestyle requires a balance in physical, mental and emotional health, and Reay said the Wellness Center focuses on a variety of events that promote an overall healthy life and to create a holistic wellness program for students for those who use the Wellness Center.
Smaller events to emphasize all aspects of health are scheduled in the fall semester including “Thank Your Body Thursdays,” “National Women’s Health Day” and the annual “Turkey Trot.”
“If there is something students want, they just need to let me know, and we will try to make that happen,” Reay said. “This is a really good way to get excited about the fall semester. There is a lot of good energy for the fall semester, and I always like starting the semesters because it’s so fun.”
Classes
In addition to the new equipment and events, new faces have been added to the Wellness Center.
Five new student instructors are teaching classes throughout the day: Sadie Gent, Pablo Cruz, exercise physiology junior, Anissia Jones, Bridget Reilly, sociology and criminal Justice juniorand Bianca Zuleta.
“Some of our veteran instructors are not wanting to teach as much, and I like it because some of our students have a little flexibility ability in the evenings so they are able to teach some later classes in the evening,” Reay said. “A lot of our other fitness instructors have other jobs outside of this, so they are having to do this on top of all their other commitments.”
Thirty-seven classes are offered throughout the week at the Wellness Center scattered throughout six days.
Even if someone attends a class and doesn’t find the right fit, Kelton Vidal, mechanical engineering student and former Wellness Center employee, said there is something for everyone.
“You need to get some exercise to release stress and tension,” Vidal said. “I did spin [class] once, but it’s not for me, so I like doing free weights. They really listen to student input and try to help them find something that works for them.”
Class lists:
Aquatics
Barre
Cardio Combo
Core Crusher
Circuit Class
HIIT
Sculpt and Tone
Spin
Step Express
Yoga
Zumba
Personal Training
Last year, the Wellness Center administrators began working with kinesiology students to introduce the personal training pilot program to the campus. Reay hired kinesiology graduate McKenzie Shawn to help with personal training. Throughout the year, Reay said she hopes to add one to two more personal trainers to the team as the need arises.
Recreational Sports
Alongside regular facility usage, Mike Richardson, assistant director of recreational sports, said he is eager to implement more recreational sports throughout the semester to include a wider reach of the Midwestern population.
“My anticipation is to have the high participation numbers, but to have a more inclusive feel to our department,” Richardson said. “We are trying to have something every single day, so students can come out and try new things. I like having more options to choose from for the students to get involved in.”
Last year, Richardson said the organization saw an increase of participation by 10 percent, and because of the community investment by staff and students, they hope to see that trend continue.
“We were really fortunate in our marketing efforts and with our great student staff,” Richardson said. “We had a very low forfeit rate last year, and that’s something that’s very important to me. Our students have built a great rapport with the participants because they are their peers, so I feel like it is a culmination of things that produced so much great participation last year. Our marketing efforts were really very intentional, and we wanted to build a great rapport with the students.”
And students are continuing to show up for the recreational sporting events. For the Roundup Week dodgeball event, Reay said they swiped in 550 people to either watch or participate in the event from 7:30 p.m. until close.
Having a good structure to the recreational leagues is the reason students can feel confident in the recreational sports at Midwestern, Richardson said. Because of the effort to welcome everyone into the games and find a place for anyone who wants the opportunity to join a team, Richardson said he expects the recreational sports to have another great turn out this year as well.
Independent Workouts
Along with all the extras added to the Wellness Center, the basic usages are also available for uses. The basketball court is open for free play most times and only blocked off for special events or recreational sports activities. During those free time opportunities, students can play basketball or volleyball.
“I started coming out here as soon as I got my card because I had a membership at Falls Fitness, but it’s as big here, and there are so many machines,” Austin Boyd, undecided freshman, said. “I like the environment, plus it’s free. I play football, and I just come here for a little extra workout for myself.”
According to Reay, the pool hours have been extended and the Wellness Center staff are hoping to keep it open until the end of September.
There is a circuit station area on the first floor that has nearly 30 machines along with the ellipticals an treadmills. The first floor also holds the two classrooms set for the various classes offered. The second floor contains free weights, cycles, stair climbers and a running and walking track that wraps around the basketball gym area.
Acountability partners Michaela Disher and Allison Cisheros, radiology juniors, laugh at each other as they continue to push through on the cycling machines in the Wellness Center on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. Photo by Cortney Wood
About 25 residents of Killingsworth Hall participated in the annual bake-off competition on Feb. 27 in an attempt to bring back tradition and prove which sex is better.
Sopapilla cheesecake made by Evalyne Roberson. Photo contributed by Evalyne Roberson
“The bake-off used to be a thing some time ago, so we decided to bring it back to life and make our residents compete,” Tiare Hidalgo, resident assistant and biochemistry junior, said.
Second floor RA, Evalyne Roberson, won the competition with her sopapilla cheesecake.
“I was pretty pumped when my dessert won,” Roberson said. “I had put a lot of work into it and knew it would be a close call because everything else looked really good.”
There was a total of 10 teams in the competition. Each team was composed of all girls or all boys since the tradition was once Pierce Hall residents, an all-boys dorm, versus Killingsworth residents, an all-girls dorm.
“The fact that the boys now live in Killingsworth didn’t change anything when we organized the competition. We tried to keep it as traditional as we could,” Hidalgo said.
Jenna Lawrence, biology freshman, said that the bake-off was a great way to bring everyone together.
“I really liked seeing everyone down in the lobby doing the best they could to make the best dessert. It made every team work together and an overall way to bond,” Lawrence said.
According to Hidalgo, the competition proved to be a success.
“We hoped to bring all the residents to get to know each other and have a fun time,” Hidalgo said. “The bake-off was everything we expected it to be, and we are really looking forward to doing it again next year.”
The Spring 2021 Boomtown Shootout Festival was a two-day event on March 19 and 20, in Burkburnett with live music, giveaways, community vendors, cooking competitions and MSU Texas’s very own Jeremy Duff, associate professor of political science.
The festival began Friday afternoon with a steak competition, vendor booths and live concerts from Jamie Richards, Zack Crow and the Chris Shackelford Band. The festivities reopened Saturday morning, kicking off the day with friendly competitions, food vendors, family games and a bean tasting competition.
Competitors of the Celebrity Pie Eating Competition at the Spring 2021 Burkburnett Boomtown Shootout. (Emily Beaman)
Amongst the fun and games, Duff’s main focus was the Celebrity Pie Eating contest on Saturday afternoon. He was selected to be one of the “local celebrities” competing against others from the community. Despite being a first-time-pie-eating-competitor, he said he had no prior training or preparation for the competition aside from that morning.
“I judged beans this morning, so I prepared by eating a bunch of beans,” Duff said.
Following up the Silver Thunder Band, around 1 p.m., eight men and women took their seats on the amphitheater stage and had their pies placed on the table in front of them. To take the competition one step further, the contestants were required to finish their pie without using their arms or hands. Duff commented that his personal favorite type of pie is chocolate, but was rather unimpressed when given a cherry pie for the competition.
“It was okay,” Duff said.
The time began, along with Weird Al Yankovich’s parody song “Eat It”, and all eight contestants dug in. Duff admitted to turning to those at the table with him, asking if one of them could “hurry and finish” so he could stop as well. After five and a half intense minutes, Kendric Manuel, head coach of Burkburnett Elite, was named the winner.
Duff had finished half of his pie, but was still proud of his accomplishment and simply honored to be part of the celebrity line-up for the competition. He was the only participant from MSU.
“I am so proud and humbled and honored to represent Midwestern State University in this incredible feat of athleticism and eating ability,” Duff said.
After his grueling competition, he headed to the Community Center. As a self-proclaimed barbecuing professional, Duff was also scheduled to judge the rib tasting competition. He sat on the finals table along with six others to judge the 15 samples of ribs that moved past the preliminary rounds. After turning in his ballot, he returned to the vendor booths to spend the rest of his day hanging around the festival.
Homecoming Celebrations at Midwestern State continued with the annual Lipsync Battle at the D. Ligon Coliseum on Oct. 27thwith, MSU Texas Cheer, Alpha Psi Omega, and Sigma Nu and Gamma Phi Beta emerging as finalists (in no particular order). This was MSU’s first Lipsync competition since 2019, and school spirit flooded the coliseum just as students, alumni and faculty alike packed the stands to cheer, dance to recent hits, support the performers and enjoy the homecoming fun!
“Coming back from not being able to do Lipsync in 2020, this was a great opportunity for students, especially those that didn’t get to enjoy homecoming last year. First year students got to have fun as well,” Mario Ramirez, director of Student Leadership and Involvement said. “It went really well, we had about 450-500 students, so it was a pretty good crowd as expected. The performances were great and they really stepped it up.”
The Baptist Student Ministry perorms a variety of songs in the guise of a radio show at the Lipsync Competition, Oct. 25. (Diamond Gamboa)
Due to the effects of Covid-19 on campus activities last year, homecoming celebrations were limited. Students who weren’t able to partake in the lip-sync competition were happy to be back on stage and in the stands. For others, it was their first time ever experiencing the tradition.
“I enjoyed it. I just did not expect so many people to be there. I’ve never done it before so it was a little nerve-wracking but it was fun, I really enjoyed it and it’s been a great experience. We’ve been working on this for weeks straight.” Conner Dwyer, nursing sophomore, said after performing with Sigma Nu and Gamma Phi Beta on stage.
Nursing sophomore Conner Dwyer performs with Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Nu in the Lipsync Competition, Oct. 25. (Colin Stevenson)
Students came out in their numbers to show love and support their peers partaking in the battle. Their enjoyment of the music, choreography and drama unfolding onstage was evident as their loud cheers and whoops echoed across the Ligon Dome, adding to event’s thrilling ambience.
Alpha Phi and Tau Kappa Epsilon perform together in the Lipsync competition, Oct. 25. (Diamond Gamboa)
“This was awesome! There was a lot of crowd interaction, and I was just super glad that everybody was so hype. A lot of my friends are in Chi Omega and Kappa Sig and I just wanted to support, you know? Gotta be my girlfriends’ biggest fan!” Jenna Thornton, biology freshman said after her Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma’s performance. “I loved it and I definitely think Chi Omega was the best, but the MSU Cheer team did really well too, so it’s gonna be a close one.”
The organization didn’t make the top three as expected by many, so Chi Omega and their supporters were evidently disappointed going home. Ramirez emphasized, however, that the organizations all did extremely well and expressed genuine pride in all of their performances, whether they made the top three or not. Zetta Cannedy, Homecoming MC agreed.
“I think that Lipsync went so good, especially coming out of Covid, for this to be the revival Homecoming of MSU Texas was so awesome. These groups went all in. I loved their energy, their passion, and the fact that they came out to do this with such high energy, ’cause it can be a little scary to perform in front of a crowd like that, but all of these groups were poppin’!” Cannedy said. “They did so good and I was so impressed cause I was not expecting that, but I loved every minute of it. This is such a great Homecoming tradition.”
It’s the battle of the scholars, as The Redwine Honors Program and the Priddy Scholars compete in a variety of competitions. This began with Joshua Ysasi, coordinator of Priddy Scholars, who noticed that both scholar programs have never worked with each other.
“The summer when I was planning [the Priddy Scholars programming] for this school year, I was going for a walk…and I thought…we have the Priddy Scholars, there’s Redwine Honors Scholars, they’re two really great programs for students that are expected to be excellent inside and outside of the classroom, with community service, academic achievement things of that nature, and just being engaged on campus. They do nothing with each other and I was like ‘wouldn’t it be so cool if there was a kind of rivalry?’ A friendly rivalry between the two scholarship programs and just kind of push each other in a fun and competitive manner,” Ysasi said.
Ysasi then pitched his idea to Steve Garrison, director of the Redwine Honors Program, who agreed. This was an opportunity for both programs to become involved with each other and the campus.
“Both of our programs are a little bit more academically minded than maybe some of the other organizations on campus and this was a way for the two programs to interact with each other and just become a little more acclimated to campus and be involved,” Garrison said.
There were a total of five competitions: trivia, kickball, window decorating in Legacy Hall, and the competition will bleed into homecoming with the cardboard boat race and art banner. Ysasi said when creating the events they made sure to include an athletic, creative and academic aspect and as they are planning for the future they want to add a service competition as well. The goal is to have something for everyone to participate in and Ysasi says this by remembering the kickball game.
“What was great about the kickball and I just come to that because the idea of having a kickball game kind of came from a lot of my students who wanted a softball game…they just wanted to do something athletic just release energy compete and have some fun…but kickball is more accessible, more open to everybody versus something like softball…What I was able to do…when I filled out my roster…because we have 53 Priddy Scholars I said ‘I need 15 of you committed to playing the kickball game but I need 10 committed to show up…y’all are committed to show up and cheer the team on and participate’ So even those that feel insecure about doing an athletic event in front of people, those who have no desire to compete in athletic things are still included,” Ysasi said. “I think that’s been the best part is that kind of focusing on trivia with academic side of things…having elements of creativity with building a boat…Being able to have these fun events and make sure that there’s elements that everyone can participate in and play to their strengths and take on leadership roles, I think it empowers students. Ultimately when you’re empowering students and they’re having a good time, having that positive feedback and gaining that confidence then everybody just has a lot of fun.”
Both Ysasi and Garrison hope to continue these competitions in the future and make a new tradition. As long as both sides are interested they plan to host different competitions every semester.
“Josh and I talked about trying to continue [the competitions]. We talked about the possibility of having a service challenge in the spring and doing similar type of competitions. Hopefully, we’ll continue, I think both sides are interested in continuing,” Garrison said.
Students such as Kara Rodgers, chemistry freshman, have been participating in the competitions. Rodgers is both a Priddy scholar and a Redwine Honors student and has been helping out both teams.
“I’d say it’s healthy competition and it’s really interesting how they have two scholar programs going against each other and it’s also interesting for me because I’m in both Redwine and Priddy so I’ve been having to take sides in different competitions but I think it’s been fun,” Rodgers said.
Not all students are part of both programs and competed for their respective side. Addison Elliott, business administration sophomore, is a Redwine Honors student and was part of the winning trivia team, The Power Rangers. Elliott has enjoyed the competitions, both socially and competitively.
“I think we all love competition and it’s fun too. I know Priddy Scholars and I’m friends with them but it’s nice to be able to meet all of them and hang out as organizations,” Elliott said.
The MSU Cheer team took the mat on Friday, Jan. 14, in Orlando, Florida, at the UCA College Cheerleading National Championship. The team was able to place third in the Open Co-Ed Game Division. Head Coach, Collin Stokes, said the team did well this year, especially since last year, the national competition was held virtually.
“I think the team did an amazing job this year. It was a returning year for ‘Live & In-Person’ competition, after last year’s virtual competitive experience due to COVID-19. I was extremely proud of the hard work our team did as they faced many teams from larger universities, from the D1 level in the Open Coed Game Day Competitive Division…being able to return to the UCA College Nationals was both exciting and nerve-racking. Our team had only five returning members that had ever competed in-person at a national’s competition,” Stokes said.
Stokes said that there is only one time a year where teams get the ability to participate in the national championship. She also said that though making finals is tough, making it into the top three is even tougher.
“What most people don’t know is that for college cheerleading nationals, we get one shot for the year. We work all year for one performance. Making finals is tough. Making top three in the nation is even tougher. Placing third in the nation was an overwhelming feeling that cannot be described…my favorite part about this year’s team is their strong bond. We call ourselves a family and that is exactly what we are. Plus, this competitive experience comes with the addition of college memories and friendships that will last a lifetime,” Stokes said.
Cheer captain, DanLee Duncan, has participated in every national competition since being a member of MSU Cheer. Duncan, a kinesiology and English senior, said that the team pushed their bodies to their absolute limit this year.
“We competed with some of the best, even some of the strongest D1 schools, knowing the strong competition we had, I am so proud of how we did. We pushed our bodies to their absolute limit…we had so many injuries, from busted faces and torn ligaments to a broken foot right before competing, and we were still able to compete and be successful. My favorite memories at Disney this year had to be how well-known our cheer program actually is. We had other universities meeting us just to chat. There were friends I have from the UCA Staff that were excited to watch us compete and individuals showing support from so many different social media platforms, ” Duncan said.
Jose Flores, physical education sophomore, is one of the 12 new members on the team. Flores had no cheer experience before becoming an MSU cheerleader.
“August 25 of last year was the first time I ever cheered. I joined because of Hector, he had been playing about me joining then one day he told me a few guys had left so he told me there was a need. Being a part of cheer was 10 times more difficult than I thought it would be,” Flores said.
Flores’ favorite part of Disney was the very first time the team performed. He said making it to the finals was a relief.
“Game Day was my favorite. The first time we did it, we were all just so nervous and some of us were even crying. Making it to finals was such a relief and that was going up against D1 schools as well,” Flores said.
General business senior, Jordan Gomez, is a fifth-year member of MSU Cheer and said that this season has been a blessing. She is extremely proud of her team, considering many members have never competed at a collegiate competition before.
“This season was a surprise season for me. I was supposed to graduate in August so I didn’t think this season would’ve even happened. They canceled one of my classes, putting me to graduate in December, so this season has been such a blessing. I got to have one last experience performing in Orlando with my team. The energy and determination was amazing. Most of the team had never competed before and some have never actually competed at Disney at UCA because last year we had to compete virtually. My favorite memory was definitely during our game day routine. Everyone on our team gets to be on the mat and we all have that same experience being out there,” Gomez said.
MSU Cheer performs its routine as they compete with other universities at the 2022 Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals, Jan. 14. Photo courtesy of Collin Stokes.
Sparks flew as mechanical engineering and computer science senior Sharome Burton cut and shaped a piece of metal in the Sikes Lake Center garage. Soon, the small piece disappeared into the body of a racecar – a racecar Burton and his teammates have designed and built themselves. Piece by piece, day by day, working through breaks and into the night, the MSU Formula Society of Automotive Engineers team is building a racecar from scratch. It’s a daunting task in its own right, but the FSAE team has even bigger ambitions – a trip to Brooklyn, Michigan, where the best Formula teams in the country compete.
Starting line
If MSU’s FSAE team succeeds in its goal and makes it to Michigan in May, it will mark the second year in a row MSU has taken part in the competition. But for every finish line there’s an equally important starting line. For the FSAE team, that start happened over two years ago.
Burton said the team began in January of 2021 when a group of engineering seniors pitched the idea. He said the initial response among students was largely incredulous.
“Really it was a pitch from a few now-graduated engineering seniors. They said “Let’s build a car,” and you know, they saw that we were doing a lot of you know undergraduate research and other things that could be helpful toward that. And the first reaction is always kind of like “What kind of car?” You know, ‘An RC car?’” Burton said.
He went on to explain that despite money concerns and no foundation to build off of, the willpower of those first few students got the project up and running.
“Long story short, it was a very, you know, very enterprising bunch of students. Those formed the organization from scratch, got the requisite number of members to start it,” Burton said.
Since then, the team has attracted and retained students through its mission and unique opportunities.
Mechanical engineering sophomore Adolf Frederic trims down a piece of metal, preparing it for a race car suspension, March 21. (Colin Stevenson)
Burton said he’s remained involved because he wouldn’t otherwise get the hands-on experience building a racecar provides.
“But what really got me to stay was the access to manufacturing things, you know. As high-level of a vehicle as you actually put an actual person into. Not being an automotive person heading into it, you know, it’s something I saw that I could adapt into in order to get me some better opportunities career-wise,” Burton said.
The novelty of the team has even attracted non-engineering students to participate in the project in other capacities. Psychology senior Aretha Fontaine said was surprised when she heard there were MSU students building a real car, and joined the team in a marketing and fundraising role soon after.
“I was just really intrigued by the fact that students were able to build an actual car. So I just wanted to learn all about it and figure out like what they had to do, what steps they had to take, how they would source funding. Like it was just really interesting, so that’s why I joined,” Fontaine said.
Roadblocks
The Formula team is in the middle of an intense stretch of production right now as it tries to complete objectives before the May 17-20 competition. While the team is confident in the design and construction of the car, a handful of obstacles remain.
Fontaine said the largest obstacle facing the team right now is money.
“Well right now, the main thing is funding. We’re trying to get enough money to be able to compete in Michigan in May. so we need some more funds to get the missing parts that we’re missing. So we need to get tires, the stuff to get the body of the car, a few other things. But we just need the funding to make sure that we actually do have a major car by May, so that’s the major issue. And besides that, nothing really, cause we have active participation. Everyone shows up when they need to, like I said it’s just funding right now,” Fontaine said.
The cohesive nature of the team has aided its goals. While some team members are focused solely on production of the car, the team’s unified vision allows others like Fontaine to tackle the funding issues. Fontaine said there are a variety of ways the team is working to achieve its monetary goals.
“So we have the funding page, we’re going around the city, village, whatever, we’re going around and trying to do like sponsorship drives and stuff like that. So that’s what we’re working on right now. We’re trying to stay active on social media to create some kind of traction, and those are our major sources right now,” Fontaine said.
The finish line
The team set the goal of competing in Michigan for a variety of reasons, ranging from validating their hard work to building connections for their future.
Mechanical engineering and computer science senior Sharome Burton grinds down a rough edge on a connecting piece for a suspension, March 21. Burton said that the car’s measurements need to very accurate, so each piece is given much care. (Colin Stevenson)
Fontaine said the event allows for all those things and more.
“The overall idea is to compete, show off your car and possibly gain sponsorship for like creating more cars. You can get access to new jobs, it’s like a great opportunity for any kind of student really,” Fontaine said.
After making it to Michigan last year, the team has experience to build on for this year’s competition. Burton said the past event was difficult because MSU hadn’t competed in the event before.
“Last year, and it sort of led into this year as well, it was an absolute – how would I call it – it was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, and this continues to be as well. The odds were so much against us, you know heading into the winter of that year, the winter of 2021. We still hadn’t started on actual manufacturing. We were still, you know, iffy on the funds, the designs, we had a lot to learn because we had to teach ourselves to build cars,” Burton said.
Burton explained that the process this year has been much smoother. While last year, the team was making adjustments to the car on the trip to Michigan and even right before displaying it, he said this year the team is in a better place.
“We’ve documented things better, we’ve been more organized, we’ve done things to a higher standard,” Burton said, later adding “When it comes time for competition, we’ll have a lot more to show to the design judges than a “Yeah, we barely made it, sorry we don’t have a full book or a report of everything we’ve done, itemized and picturized.” So yeah, lot of progress.”
Burton said the overall experience of both building the car and entering it into competitions has been educational. He added that it has been a highlight of his college experience.
“I’d say it’s the pinnacle of education, the opportunity to put your own ideas and thoughts into a form that you can actually test and use to compete against some of the best students around the world in a competition with high stakes. You have human lives at risk in these student-done machines,” Burton said.
A repurposed motorcycle engine sits in the chasis for MSU Texas Racing's new car, March 21. The engine had 3D printed parts attached for checking measurements, to be replaced with more durable metal parts once the fit is finalized.
