Chaparral 2013
Midland College Student Publications
Editors . . . . . . . . . Kourtney Kelley
Mary Margaret Peterson
Writers:
Mary Margaret Peterson, Kourtney Kelley,
Troy Pardue, Esther Nambi, Erin Barnes, Vanessa Alvarado, Blake Rackley, Janae Skaggs, Ben Spencer
Photographers:
Mary Margaret Peterson, Kourtney Kelley,
Troy Pardue, Bob Templeton, Esther Nambi
Graphic Arts Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . Kent Moss
Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Templeton
...................................
Editors’ Note:
It is said that having anything worthwhile isn’t easy to come by,
and working on this magazine definitely proved that to be true.
As editors, we were told that publishing a magazine might not
have been possible this spring semester. Surely enough, being
the persistent students we were, we made sure that there would
be another issue this year. Collaborating as editors, we worked
together making certain our staff went out as journalists and
seized their stories.
After struggling together over hours of editing stories, critiquing photos and laying down page layouts, the magazine came to
be. As editors we are more than proud of our staff team and of all
those who contributed to this issue. Throughout the process we
grew not only as editors but as journalists as well.
We would like to thank all of those who wrote, shot and put
together this magazine.
We also would like to say a special thank you to Bob Templeton, Kent Moss and Midland College for letting us have the opportunity to create this magazine.
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Mary Margaret Peterson
Kourtney Kelley
CONTENTS
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8
Infinite Spectrum of Beauty
By Kourtney Kelley
“Imagine a world where society not only allowed a person to think for themselves but allowed them and everyone else to conform to what they solely believed”
Martial Arts and Heart
By Mary Margeret Peterson
“Ichi! Ni! San! Shi! Go! Obi! Wan! Kenobi!”
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24
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16
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Cover Photography
by KOURTNEY KELLEY
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Texas Independent Music
By Troy Pardue
“I came down here to Nashville with a million tales to tell”
Suicide
By Erin Barnes
Suicide: the intentional taking of one’s
own life.
END IT Movement
By Blake Rackley
Claiming slavery is over and a thing of the
past is a hard pill to swallow.
Adoption Angels
By Janae Skaggs
Adoption is a beautiful thing, and it gives
hope to a child who may not have had opportunities otherwise.
What Defines Beauty
By Esther Nambi
What happened to: “You are perfect just
the way you are”?
BALLS BALLS BALLS
By Vanessa Alvarado
“I stay devoted to my team because I love
the tradition behind it”
Boquillas Beckons Again
Compiled by Staff
A fulltime trail guide leads a tourist from
the Mexican river entry point to the village
of Boquillas del Carmen.
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4
P.
L.
U.
R.
Infinite Spectrum of Beauty
Story and Photos by Kourtney Kelley
I imagine a world where society not only
allows a person to think for themselves but
allows them and everyone else to conform
to what they solely believed. I imagine a
world where persons are applauded for
thinking for themselves and for being able
to dissent from the norm. A world where
everyone is accepted for who they are, a
world where judgment holds no meaning
and a world where there is no shame. Believe it or not this world exists for me; it is
the world of Electronic Dance Music.
around me.
Conformity resembles the act of corresponding in a form of some sort. Whether
conformity is right or wrong, in any sense
of the word, it stands for individual decision. Still, ultimately, no one is excluded
from participating. Thus directing the importance of our thoughts and opinions,
for they operate our lives and others. We
remember not only the negativity but the
positivity of necessary willingness to apprehend and interpret others’ thoughts for
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is home
they can later help shape our own.
to the ‘freaks,’ home to the outcasts and
home for those who live for the music.
In the EDM culture there is an acronym;
it is P.L.U.R. It means: peace, love, unity
The current state of our society inces- and respect. This acronym carries a messantly depicts moments that exemplify the sage of such significance because the inoverwhelming importance of our constant terpretation is one’s own. The acronym is
struggle for acceptance, while simultane- not just something that is said when at a
ously striving to please ourselves; I find music festival; it’s a way of life. It is the
this obtainable in EDM.
actions you put into your daily routine. It
is about who you help, what you change in
“As far as a music culture goes, EDM the world and how you view anything and
is the one who will accept the kids on the
everything you see and hear.
outliers, the ones who get bullied, the ones
who feel like they may not quite fit in. This “Imagine there’s no countries; it isn’t
community is exceptional in its ability to hard to do, nothing to kill or die for and
bond all types together, and I am not ex- no religion, too. Imagine all the people livaggerating when I say it saves lives,” said ing life in peace. You, you may say I’m a
Kaskade, EDM artist.
dreamer but I’m not the only one. I hope
someday you will join us and the world
Being a fellow lover of EDM and the will be as one,” sang John Lennon, peace
culture that goes along with it, EDM has
activist and musician.
illustrated the dire want and need to have
a conscious understanding of the people
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“One good thing about music, when
it hits you, you feel
- Bob Marley
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no pain.”
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Martial Arts and
Heart
Story and photos by Mary Margaret Peterson
Brian demonstrates a punch for a class of self-defense students.
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At the beginning of a martial arts class Chris Brian,
Midland College martial arts instructor, counts while
the class does jumping jacks. He announces the next
10 will be counted in Japanese. “Ichi! Ni! San! Shi!
Go! Obi! Wan! Kenobi…” As the class starts to laugh,
he chuckles and reminds them they are supposed to be
doing jumping jacks.
Brian teaches kinesiology classes at MC. He has
taught self-defense, martial arts, basketball and weightlifting and is a fourth degree black-belt. His favorites
are martial arts and self-defense, he said.
“I really enjoy those,” Brian said “I had a friend who
was in martial arts when I was in my early 20s and he
wanted me to try out martial arts with him; he smoked
cigarettes at the time and he told me that if I would join
martial arts he would quit smoking cigarettes. He quit
smoking and I fell in love with martial arts.”
It took three or four years to get to black belt, he said.
He was working full time, going to a martial arts school
five days a week in the Dallas area where he was helping teach all the classes and going to tournaments on
the weekends.
“I was really gung ho,” Brian said. “I worked real
hard at it.”
In his early years, Brian won several kickboxing and
mixed martial arts tournaments. Kickboxing competition involves all different styles.
“I spent years competing,” he said. “I would go to one
Brian shows a block to Cody Brooks while other students look on. Others (left to
right) are Judy Esparza, Charlie Brooks, Erik Cantor, Joe Mathis and Dustin Kite.
a month, when I lived in the Dallas area I was going
twice a month. I almost always finished in the top three.
I’ve won at the Southwest Karate Championships, Texas State Championships, at the Bruce Lee Nationals
and Troy Dorsey Invitational.”
“One of the guys I got my black from, Brian Dorsey, was a middleweight kickboxing champion and his
brother Troy was the world kickboxing champion and
he was the world boxing champion,” Brian said. “He’s
the only person in the history of martial arts to have
ever done that; it had never been done by anybody else,
that’s pretty cool. He was a friend of mine. I would go
to his school and go to his tournaments.”
Prior to 1998, Chris Brian was an instructor at his
own karate school in Midland.
“I had a karate school here and I was working my
karate school, was raising a family with kids and everything and decided I needed to further my career and find
some way to get some insurance, benefits and health
care, all that kind of stuff,” Brian said.
Brian had only completed up to the 9th grade. He
talked to MC staff about his first possible position at
MC and administrators were impressed with Brian’s
martial arts credentials. The catch was he would need
at least a high school diploma or equivalent to be hired,
he said. However, the semester started in six weeks.
That was six weeks of 12-to-15-hour days of earning
the equivalency diploma, passing college entrance exams and enrolling in college courses. He accomplished
it and got his college teaching gig.
After two years, Brian graduated from MC with a 3.95
GPA. He was awarded a full scholarship to University
of Texas of the Permian Basin through the Abell-Hanger Foundation. He graduated from UTPB with a major
in kinesiology and a minor in special education, while
maintaining a GPA of 3.96.
Brian has a group of students who are working up
the belt levels through continuing education. His program hasn’t changed as much as those at other schools
have. Other mixed martial arts have become more like
Brian’s teaching style.
“We were doing cross training; we do judo, jujitsu,
akido, kempo, tae kwon do and boxing,” Brian said.
“We called it cross training and we’ve always done
cross training and now days they call it mixed martial arts. Many years ago I think martial arts was a lot
rougher. Back in the Dallas area where I trained and
even here when I started my school, it’s mellowed out
a little bit.”
Brian enjoys teaching martial arts to MC students.
He likes the fact that he is able to help people gain
confidence, and martial arts have the ability to change
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“Really positively, it takes people who are shy
and reserved and gives them confidence and they
can carry themselves with a whole new, different
level of confidence.” - Chris Brian
people’s lives, he said.
“Really positively, it takes people who are shy and
reserved and gives them confidence and they can carry
themselves with a whole new, different level of confidence,” he said. “They are able to get out there, they’ve
learned how to learn, and they’ve learned how to stick
with things and follow through and reach goals.”
Part of the martial arts program Brian teaches is selfdefense. The majority of the students who take selfdefense are women, but Brian encourages men to learn
self-defense, too, he said.
“Through the self-defense I’m able to help a lot of
women not become victims,” Brian said. “I have several success stories of women who successfully defended
themselves after taking my course. It’s really a good
thing that I’m able to help them gain confidence, how
not to be a victim and learn to defend themselves if they
have to. So at this point, what I’m doing is passing on
martial arts to the next generation.”
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Martial arts belt and sparring gear.
Martial arts are a family activity for Brian.
“My wife, Anne Brian, has an orange belt; she started
and went through orange belt but it really wasn’t for
her,” Brian said. “But she learned how to defend herself
very well and she thought that was enough. She always
ran the business side of things. She still does the certificates and all that kind of stuff for me.”
Brian’s son, Donnie Brian and daughter, Charlene
Brian-Satterfield also competed in martial arts tournaments, he said.
“My son was a state champion kick boxer,” Brian
said. “My son and I would go to tournaments and we
would come back with five, six trophies and win several divisions and when my daughter started going we
got even more. We got more trophies than I could ever
keep in my store; I had to start giving them away.”
Neither Brian nor his son competes in martial art tournaments anymore. Donnie Brian comes in and spars,
still does martial arts with the classes and watches tests,
but doesn’t compete anymore, Brian said.
“My daughter does the same thing; she comes in on
tests and still spars,” he said. “She doesn’t compete
anymore, either. She’s thought about it, she still has
ideas she might want to run a school one day.”
Brian has two grandchildren; his son has a nine-yearold daughter and his daughter has a five -year-old. Both
grandchildren are training in martial arts with BrianSatterfield.
Family is important to Brian.
“When I lost my mom a few years ago, I donated my
karate school and founded a church; that was her last
wish.”
Living Hope in Midland was founded by the wish
of Joyce Rankins. Brian doesn’t regret giving up his
school; he enjoys the time he is able spend with his
family.
“My son and I are really high-level, competitive tennis players now; we go to the state championships every
year,” he said. “We’ve transferred our martial arts into
tennis now and we compete all over Texas. Now that
I don’t run a school full time, I’m able to spend a lot
more time with my son traveling and playing tennis.”
Brian took advantage of the tennis facilities at MC to
get started playing tennis.
“I just came up here to the college and started going out there (to the tennis courts) and playing,” said
Brian.“I just loved the competitiveness of it; it’s re-
ally good exercise and it’s the hand-eye coordination
through martial arts that has helped me and my son tremendously with tennis. We started off at a low level
and we’ve worked our way up in the last five years. We
started off at 3.0; we’re all the way up to 4.5 now.”
Brian got a job with the Midland Independent School
District in 2004. Next year will be his 10th year. He
teaches at MAP (Midland Alternative Program) and
does disciplinary alternative education. Behavioral
management is his specialty.
“I help tutor all subjects, and work with those kids
that are very at risk,” he said. “I work with 7th through
12th grade. I have taught PE classes; in fact I have
taught one this year. I teach PE and health (at the high
schools) and PE over at Midland Freshman. I plan on
teaching another 10 years for MISD before I retire. Get
my 20 years in.”
Brian is thankful for the presence of martial arts in
his life.
“If I had not gotten into martial arts, I don’t know
what I would be doing right now, I really don’t,” Brian said. “There’s no telling where I would be or what
direction I was going. But through the martial arts, it
got me the job here, got me through college and going
through college got me a teaching job through MISD.
It’s wonderful, (MC) has taken really good care of me
out here, treated me really well. Like I said I’ve been
here a long time, 15 years.”
Brian critiques students’ forms during a throw. Others (left to right) are Erik Kator,
Judy Esparza, Joe Mathis and Ivan Hernandez.
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texas independent music
Story by Troy Pardue
Aaron Watson performing at Texas Thunder Music Fest.
Photo by Clint Avants
Texas Country Means Independence
swing to packed rooms from Waco to Hollywood. During the time Wills was performing, most country bands
I came down here to Nashville with a million tales to didn’t incorporate drums or horns, but that’s what gave
tell
Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys their distinct sound.
The first thing that I found out was that the truth don’t
Fast forward a couple of decades, and you’ll likely realways sell
member the names of Waylon and Willie. Waylon JenWill Hoge - Another Song Nobody Will Hear
nings got his first real start in music in 1958 playing
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If you have spent any length of time in Texas, you
can’t help but notice how life here is just a little bit different. Sunsets seem to redefine colors, Friday nights
in the fall are for football, men still tip their hats and
say yes ma’am and we love our independence. Texans
like to do their own thing, set their own pace and if you
don’t like it, there’s the state line.
For the past 50 years musicians across Texas have
been breaking tradition and putting out their own brand
of music which hasn’t received as much attention as the
artists in Nashville. This independent genre of music
has seen a resurgence in popularity, one that parallels
the rise of the Internet and social media sites such as
Photo by Troy Pardue
MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.
Some of the earliest music to come out of Texas that Aaron Watson, aka The Honky Tonk Kid,
didn’t fit the Nashville sound at the time was Bob Wills. telling a story to the crowd.
Wills was a master on the fiddle and played his Western
Photo courtesy Facebook.com/richotoolemusic
bass for Buddy Holly. After the tragic death of Holly,
Jennings moved to Arizona and started a rockabilly
band, aptly named The Waylors. In the 1970s Waylon
became involved with what was then labeled as the
“Outlaw movement.”
The outlaw movement, or outlaw music, was a genre
of music that had spun off from country music, rebelling against the Nashville sound.
As rock and roll was taking off in the late 60s and early 70s, country music was changing from its roots of a
raw honky tonk sound to something more polished and
watered down. It was during this time when Waylon,
along with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and David
Allan Coe, started wearing blue jeans, grew their hair
long and started recording songs about working hard,
playing hard, drinking and drugs.
When fans match cities with their musical origins,
they often think of Nashville for Country, Seattle for
Grunge and Atlanta for College. Nashville still remains
as the center for mainstream country, but Lubbock and
Austin are on the front lines of today’s musical assault.
Internet stations, newspapers and trade magazines
have labeled this music as “Texas country,” but listen
carefully and you’ll find these artists are throwbacks
to the outlaw movement of the 70s and are striving for
the same goal today as Waylon, Willie and the boys did
back then: independence.
Rich O’Toole is one such artist who was characterized as being Texas country when he released his first
album, Seventeen, in 2007 and like a lot of musicians,
O’Toole got his start playing venues around a college
campus. For O’Toole, that meant College Station and
Texas A&M, where he graduated from with a degree in
communications.
Why do the media and major record companies label
certain artists as Texas country and don’t give them as
much air-play as they deserve? “Because our music is
what we like, we don’t really care if it offends anyone,”
O’Toole said. “With mainstream country you have to
make sure you don’t offend anybody, you have to be
more careful.”
When O’Toole started out, he wasn’t necessarily aiming to be labeled as a Texas country artist; it just happened that way. He doesn’t mind the moniker, but says
he would prefer to be called an independent artist: “My
music should just be Rich O’Toole music,” he said.
“All over the country people are a little tired of mainstream, they love the fact there is this alternative,” he
said. “I keep up with the fans on Twitter and Facebook
and get their feedback, so if I work hard and put out a
product the fans like, they’ll follow me.”
Casey Donahew, founder and lead singer for the
Casey Donahew Band, took a different approach when
he started playing gigs. “I knew from the beginning that
I would be regarded as a Texas country artist,” Donahew said in an exclusive interview with this author. “I
knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to go in the direction of Pat Green.”
Donahew’s approach has worked well for him and
his band. His band has been together now for 10 years;
made regular appearances on the Texas music charts;
released four albums without the help of a major label;
Photo by Troy Pardue
A glimpse of Charlie Robison on the video screen
at Texas Thunder.
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and continues to play night after night to thousands of
fans all over the country. Donahew’s latest CD, Standoff, held the number seven spot on the Country Billboard Music Chart during the week of April 26.
With all the success he is having as a Texas country
artist, have any major labels talked to him about a deal?
“We’ve had conversations, you know, talked about it
but they haven’t offered anything we could agree to.
I’m an independent artist and no one tells us what to do
or what to play.”
According to Donahew, it’s that independence that
sets Texas country apart from mainstream. “In Texas
country most of the singers are writing their own songs.
We have more singer/songwriters than in Nashville and
we’re not told what to do.”
Like O’Toole, Donahew uses social media sites to
help bolster his fan base, offer downloads and update
followers as to when and where his next show is. “The
worst part about my job is all the traveling, bad motels, bad food and being away from my family. But it’s
worth it when we take the stage and play for 90 minutes,” Donahew said.
Don’t be fooled by the term “Texas country”. These
artists’ sound reaches far beyond the Lone Star State;
from Paris, Texas to Paris, France and anywhere in bePhoto by Troy Pardue
tween.
Casey Donahew Band recently celebrated 10 years
Aaron Watson is one such artist who has ventured of playing for fans all across the United States.
outside of not only Texas, but the United States, to en“The crowds in Europe have a great appreciation for
tertain crowds. Watson recently finished his fourth Euold school country,” Watson said. “Plus, I’m a World
ropean tour in two years, playing in such cities as VenWar II buff and getting to visit the historic battlefields
ice, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland.
has been great.”
He also described how the whole Texas country
music scene differs from mainstream country. “Well,
mainstream has become kind of trashy. It seems that a
lot of the music coming out of Nashville doesn’t have
any substance…it just doesn’t sound ‘country’. Texas
country is a little more broad, more old school, it has
a grass roots feel to it,” Watson declared in his West
Texas drawl.
“The bottom line is I’m independent, I write what I
want and treat my fans like clients, because that’s what
they are, clients. I’m offering a service and they are
buying it so I want to treat them right.”
Like most independent artists, Watson also uses social media sites to his advantage. “Unfortunately, it’s
been a great tool,” Watson said. “I say ‘unfortunately’
because I’m not a technical person, but yes, social media has been great. We use social media to promote our
Photo courtesy of caseydonahewband.com
upcoming shows when radio stations won’t give us any
support.”
Don’t be fooled by the word “country” in labeling
artists Texas country either. Several of today’s top performers in the Texas country music scene have a sound
that is more in line with southern rock groups from the
70s. Whiskey Myers, from the East Texas town of Tyler, along with Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights
out of Dallas are two such bands.
To look at the members of these bands, with their long
hair, beards and clothes reminiscent of hippies hanging
around Haight-Ashbury, you wouldn’t think that they
fit the mold of the Texas country music scene, but you
would be wrong. Both of these bands, and others like
them, are very popular and travel in the same circles as
O’Toole, Donahew and Watson
Photo by Troy Pardue
Bobby Barber and Justin Kaczyk jamming
with Brian Milson’s band from Odessa.
aren’t playing gigs, they are busy writing, recording
and raising families. These artists may be doing what
they love, but there is a lot of hard work and countless
hours that go into their music in order that their fans
will continue to support what they do.
If you haven’t given Texas country music a chance,
you don’t have to look very hard to find where a band
might be playing. Midlanders are fortunate to be home
to Crude Fest, Texas Thunder Music Fest, and concerts
every Thursday night at the Rockin’ Rodeo. So check
out these artists online, look up their tour dates, pull on
your boots and open your mind (and ears) and experience the best Texas has to offer…independent music,
aka Texas country.
Photo courtesy of whiskeymyers.com
When asked how it is that groups that are more “rock”
in nature fit in with country artists, Watson told this author that it all goes back to these artists just being independent and trying to play the music they love.
Tami Millspaugh, owner of Texas Record Chick
Promotions, promotes several of today’s hottest Texas
country artists such as: Wade Bowen, Bart Crow, Will
Hoge, and JB and the Moonshine Band.
Millspaugh said that even though her clients aren’t
making the amount of money Jason Aldean and Blake
Shelton are, they are happy with their success and even
happier that they can write and play the music they
want.
Most Texas country artists are busy traveling and
playing more than 200 days each year, and when they
Photo by Troy Pardue
Turnpike Troubadours hit the stage.
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Suicide
Story by Erin Barnes
Photos by Kourtney Kelley and
courtesy of Hannah Munoz
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Suicide: the intentional taking of one’s own life.
It has been a trending plague that several of Midland’s teens caught. During the 2011-2012 school year,
there were five teenage suicides within four months.
The lives of the parents, siblings, families, and friends
of the victims have been devastated and will never be
the same.
While suicide stays in the headlines for a few days or
maybe weeks after a suicide has taken place, the attention soon fades.
“I have lost family, but nothing compares to losing a
friend (to suicide). My best friend took her life and no
feeling can compare to it. It just stays with you,” said
Vanessa Portilla of Midland.
It seems like as soon as the casseroles and cards stop
coming, people stop caring. After all of the attention
and programs that arose last year, suicide struck again.
On Saturday April 20, 2013, two students of Midland
Independent School District took their lives.
Depression is not something to be ignored or over
looked. “It’s not a weakness; it’s an illness, and if treated, you’ll feel so much better,” said Maura Callendar,
organizer of the Out of Darkness walk held in Midland.
“Depression can be recognized through an individual’s behavior. Sadness, anger, irritability, alcoholism, isolation, impulsiveness, and feelings of guilt or
worthlessness are all symptoms of depression,” she
said. “While every person is different, the symptoms
of depression are similar and pretty straight forward;
students these days are stressed and don’t know how to
deal with all of their problems. Talking to someone is
not easy and most of them think that no one will care
anyway. Students are dealing with problems that some
adults don’t even encounter.”
According to Mywesttexas.com, a parent complained
that the Midland Independent School District is not offering the accessibility that students who are trying to
talk about their problems need.
“My daughter goes to the office at Lee High School
and says, ‘I’m having a really bad day and I just really
need to talk to somebody and they tell her to go back to
class because they’re testing. That’s what happened,”
said Brian Massey, father of a suicide victim.
School may not be a teenager’s entire life, but most
teenagers spend eight hours
of their day there five days
a week. There is no bulletproof plan against teen suicide. Suicide will forever
affect the lives of people
everywhere and hearts will
continue to be broken.
However, there are things
that can be done ahead of
time to help prevent suicide. Schools are disseminating information through
the “Signs of Suicide” campaign, which encourages
accessibility, trust, and outreach.
“Talk to someone. You’re
not alone. Tell an adult,”
a counselor said. Those
are just a few of the things
that people tell teenagers
who are struggling. A teenager contemplating suicide
doesn’t need to hear those
words, they need someone
who truly cares and wants to
talk to them.
A Facebook status saying,
“If you need anything, I’m
here for you; suicide is not
the answer” can be effective
but outreach is what’s needed. Advisers emphasize the
signs that are all over social
networks. These days, social
networks are like diaries. Individuals update their lives
on there all the time.
Hannah Munoz
While recognizing the
signs of a teen contemplating suicide is the first step,
some teens may not express their depression. Instead
of showing the negative symptoms of depression, they
are exaggerating positive symptoms, a Midland school
counselor said. Teens may not trust anyone that can
help them. Most of them want it to stay confidential but
they can’t trust the person they are talking to. A lot of
teenagers may not know why they have those feelings
and don’t understand them. Therefore, the individual
probably won’t talk about what they’re going through.
One teenager, Hannah Munoz, lost her best
friend, Jensen Getz to
suicide. “Jensen was
something else,” she said.
“He always put everyone
and their problems before himself. He never,
ever wanted to talk about
himself or his issues. You
could try to get it out of
him, but I never could.”
Getz was good at hiding his real emotions.
Munoz never understood
him and he told her to
never try. Their friendship
was based on their fun
times together. “He was
really athletic. He didn’t
really play video games,
but he did sometimes; he
liked being out but not in
crowded places. He’d get
so mad if I even asked
him to go to the mall,”
Munoz said.
Getz was the victim of
a mental illness. Depression ran in his family, and
Getz wasn’t the type to
talk about his feelings.
“He was so good at hiding his feelings. I could
never read him,” Munoz
said. “When he was angry
or sad, I would try to get
it out of him and he would
tell me he didn’t want to
and Jensen Getz talk about it. I never want-
17
18
ed to bug him but now, I wish I would’ve begged him
a little more.”
After dealing with the loss of Getz, Munoz went
through many phases of grief. “I didn’t eat… It’s the
constant thought of where did I go wrong, why is my
best friend gone?” she said. “It’s like you don’t want
to be awake. I got really depressed, I didn’t want to go
out, I didn’t want to socialize. I just wanted to be home.
I just wanted to be home and I wanted to sleep. When I
was asleep, I didn’t have to think about it. Sometimes I
would dream of him and it was nice.”
In the beginning, she was sad and depressed; she then
became angry. “I was mad at first. I thought, ‘Was I not
good enough for you to stay?’” Munoz is now dealing
with the aftermath a year later. “I don’t like celebrating
birthdays. I don’t like the thought of getting older while
Jensen’s still 16.”
Munoz is still in contact and close to Getz’s family.
“I was at his house a few days ago. Me and his mom
talk about him all the time. His brother and dad, they
don’t really talk about him because it’s still really hard
for them,” she said. “His brother is very angry… His
mom was telling me about these kids who were in a car
accident and their parents were so mad and she told me
that she would give anything to go pick up Jensen from
a small wreck.”
Getz’s family is still dealing with the devastation of
losing him. His mom is still hurting, his father tries not
to talk about him because it still hurts, and his brother
is angry at Getz for leaving him.
All over social networks is the religious debate of
what happens to persons when they take their own lives.
Munoz deals with the negativity with grace. “I know
where my best friend is and I
have my beliefs and they have
theirs,” she said. “So I won’t sit
here and argue with them.”
Not only do the family and
friends of the victim have to
deal with losing their loved one,
they are dealing with the negativity that follows. The impact
of suicide is much bigger than
most people think.
Teen suicide kills more than
just the victim. It takes away the
liveliness of the victim’s family
and friends.
“When Linda died, she took a
part of me with her,” friend Van
I need Help! Call:
Permian Basin Community
Centers for MHMR
432/570-3300 (24/7 Crisis Hotline)
Samaritan Counseling Center
432/563-4144 and 800/432-4144
Centers for Children & Families
432/570-4069
Facebook Group (discussion forum)
Teen suicide, 100% Preventable.Help us. <3
essa Portillo said.
Munoz and Portillo exhibit a solemn disposition when
discussing suicide. There was a part of them missing.
“It will never be the same and I will never stop missing
him,” Munoz said. Today, there are more available hotlines and help for
suicide prevention. Although there is no possible way
to save everyone from becoming a victim of suicide,
hopefully all of the changes being made will help.
“People talk about what they’re going to do to help
but nothing has been done,” Munoz said. “Suicide is
hard to talk about but it is something that needs to be
talked about.”
END
IT
Movement
Story by Blake Rackley
Photos by Kourtney Kelley,
Mary Margaret Peterson and
courtesy of enditmovement.com
Claiming slavery is over and a thing of the past is a
hard pill to swallow. For some, slavery indeed ended
with their ancestors. But on the contrary, slavery is still
thriving and existing today.
The biggest problem is that it’s not in some third
world country or in some place far away from the comfort of the Western society. It’s going on in the United
States: in backyards, hotel rooms, brothels, factories
and even squalid alleys.
Combating this trend and choosing to end slavery
once and for all is the END IT movement, which is an
organization designed to end modern slavery. Whether
it’s child labor or human trafficking, companies and
non-profits have banded together to form a cause that
raises awareness through social media and word-ofmouth.
Presented at the Passion Conference in Atlanta, GA in
early 2013, the faith-based conference raised awareness
of the different types of slavery going on throughout
the world and in North America. For the 60,000-plus,
college-aged students in attendance, many were stirred
to take action, raise awareness and do something about
ending slavery for good.
Melissa Ahler, an attendee at the Passion Conference
heard about END IT first hand. She then took what she
heard and went on a quest to raise awareness including
telling people at her work and in her social circles. That
led to her co-worker, Sarah Caroline Ransom, finding
out. Both were moved by the effects of modern slavery
and knew they could do something about it.
Having heard it first-hand, Ahler gave fresh insight
into the movement and what it’s about. Having heard
it through Ahler, Sarah Caroline Ransom showed that
even though finding out about the movement through
word-of-mouth, there is still a way to get involved and
make a difference.
EDITOR: How did you find out about the END IT
movement?
MA: The END IT movement was presented for the
first time at the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
One of the panels included members from Made In A
Free World, A21 Campaign, Polaris Project, Free the
Slaves, Love 146, Not For Sale, and the International
Justice Mission--the seven agencies which compile the
End It Coalition. This was presented to the 60,000 of us
in attendance as a grassroots campaign in that it was up
to us to take the END IT message and spread it through
social media, etc.
SCR: Melissa was the one who exposed END IT to
me. She presented it once in a meeting at work, in a
room with about 30 some people, but I didn’t pay much
attention to it. Then she came to a friend’s house and
sat me and a few other people down and talked about it
more in depth. Melissa is an amazing advocate in that
area.
19
20
EDITOR: What led you to get involved?
MA: In January, my heart was completely wrecked
by the horrors of human trafficking. As humans we instinctively understand that women should not be raped
20 times a day and that children should not be forced to
make bricks for 18 hours a day. As a follower of Jesus,
I filter situations through his teaching and the Bible.
It became very apparent that my God consistently upholds the cause of the orphans and widows, the weak
and oppressed. He commands his followers to do the
same. There is simply no getting around that when
you read Scripture. Micah 6:8 puts it simply, “What is
required of man? To do justice, love mercy and walk
humbly.” Jesus added
that the greatest commandment was to
love. When the END
IT movement was presented to us in Atlanta,
I was very excited that
the time was right for
such a large awareness
campaign! It gave
tools for me to share
with others and lent
legitimacy to what I
had been carrying on
about for a year.
SCR: Once I realized it was happening
in Midland, Texas, it
was foolish of me to
think that things like
this were just happening over-seas and in
poverty-stricken countries, but once Melissa
and the information I
gathered told me that
it was happening here, it
sickened me and made me
feel convicted. Here I was
blatantly ignoring this as I
sat at home and snacked.
But the beautiful thing
about END IT movement
is that it wasn’t rooted to
make you feel guilty; it
started so that you can live
passionately about this and Sarah Caroline Ransom
speak out with the tools God has blessed people with
like phones, the computer, iPads, outgoing personality,
public speaking ability etc.
EDITOR: How are you currently associating yourself with the association?
MA: I have signed the END IT petition online, participated in their various social media campaigns, and
put up about 60 fliers around town. I reached out to the
Midland Reporter Telegram and Odessa American. I’ve
written letters to Representative Tom Craddick, Senator
Ted Cruz, and Senator John Cornyn specifically regarding the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act (TVPRA), a bill that chiefly aims to protect victims
forced into prostitution in the U.S., as well as offering
restorative care for those victims. Along with that, I’ve
also talked a few people’s ears off and worn my swag.
CR: I have also signed the END IT pledge on their
website, also I have printed a ton of packets about human trafficking awareness, and put up a bunch of posters and red Xs on almost every locker at my school.
Plus, my youth group has heard a presentation I put together. Lastly I tweet, Instagram, and post statuses that
I’ve written or copied from one of the partnering teams
with END IT.
EDITOR: Why is it
important for others to
know about the power and importance of
END IT?
MA: Regardless if
you follow Jesus and
His teachings, as humans we must have a
compassion that actually leads to action.
Mere sentimentalism is
now and Americans think that it was abolished years
ago. Christian or not, you should care that human beings are being sold for less than the price of a tank of
gas. It’s sickening, and without people that speak out
about this, nothing is going to change.
Melissa Ahler
EDITOR: What’s one final thought you
could leave someone who is reading this article and your personal testimony about the END IT movement?
SCR: We have to be a voice for the voiceless.
MA: I think William Wilberforce said it best, “You
may choose to look the other way, but you can never
again say you did not
know.”
The END IT movement Day recently
commenced with millions of people going
silent on Instagram,
Twitter, Facebook and
other social media
websites in honor of
the 27 million people
who have no voice to
speak for themselves.
For more information on the END
IT movement and how
you can get involved
both nationally and in
your local community,
visit www.enditmovement.com.
a joke. SPEAK UP. If we do not stand up for those that
are in a living hell, then who will? If you are a follower
of Jesus, well then get up and do work. We have been
given the Light that dispels darkness and we know that
our God is in this with us! Previous generations have
obviously done a good job at turning a blind eye while
millions of people are in the shadows. There is no excuse to turn your back while others are robbed of their
dignity.
SCR: How are people going to stand up to slavery
if they have no idea it still exists? It’s happening right
21
Story by Janae Skaggs
Photos courtesy of Phillip and Jenna Knight
22
Adoption is a beautiful thing, and it gives hope to a that runs deep into your bones for a child that you did
child who may not have had opportunities otherwise.
not carry,” she said. “For a child that you have not even
That was the driving force for Jenna and Phillip met yet, a child across an ocean. It is amazing how God
Knight when they adopted a precious girl from Ethio- transforms your heart when you say yes. You find yourpia last summer. Emme was welcomed with open arms self vulnerable to so many foreign feelings and emoin Midland.
tions.”
January 2012 was a life-changing month for the
The Knights consider Emme a gift from the Lord.
Knights. That is the month when they welcomed pre“I don’t know why God has allowed us to be the parcious Emme into their
ents of this amazing child
family.
but he has and I am forev“Completely surreal,”
er thankful,” Mrs. Knight
Jenna Knight said. “I
said.
could hardly sleep that
Why would people choose
night before.”
international adoption over
The trip was not withlocal or state adoption, one
out stress and fatigue, but
may wonder.
that all disappeared when
“There are many reasons
the Knights saw Emme.
families adopt beyond the
“Being
welcomed
U.S. borders. One of the
home by the most amazprimary reasons is need,”
ing support group made
Jenna Knight said. In the
those long hours on those Emme Knight smiles for the camera .
U.S. at any given time,
flights so worth it,” she
there are roughly 500,000
said. “I can’t even dechildren displaced from
scribe the emotion that came over me when I saw all their home and within the foster care system. Of this
the faces of those that had fought so hard spiritually to 500,000, only 80,000 to 100,000 are actually ‘adoptget us here.”
able.’ There are roughly two million American families
The Knights have two biological sons.
looking to adopt a child from within the U.S.
“During the wait for Emme, I dreamed about her like
With so many families and so few children to adopt,
I did the boys when I was pregnant with them,” Jenna many capable parents find themselves on waiting lists.
Knight said. “I would sit and wonder what she was
This would mean that if a child is healthy and young
like. What she sounded like, what she felt like, what in the U.S. (and not part of a large sibling group) they
she smelled like. What it would be like for her to be in will be adopted without delay.
our house and with us every day.”
“Emme was an orphan, but she is an orphan no lon“ It is amazing how God can place a love in your heart ger,” Jenna Knight said.
Top: Emme and Jenna Knight walk
through the Midland International Airport.
Left: Friends and family welcome Emme
to Midland at the airport.
Bottom left and right: Emme spends time
with her family.
23
What Defines Beauty?
Story by Esther Nambi
Photos by Esther Nambi and Mary Margaret Peterson
In Africa, women are conalready witnessed these signs in
sidered beautiful if they are
our young girls. While watching
more towards plus size. Being
a popular television show about
a size 8 is considered reasonthe world of child pageants,
ably skinny for most of the
there is a clear decline in morals
African culture. But in Amerfor parents who basically force
ica, being a size 8 is actually
their children to do something
considered “fat” and the presthey don’t want to. In a way they
sure to work out, go on diets
are living through their children.
and take all types of suppleThese little girls are caked in
mentary diet pills is always
makeup along with fake nails
encouraged.
and spray tans; even as young as
For centuries women have
three years old.
come up with ways to make
In Africa, most girls have their
themselves more attractive.
first mascara or lip gloss in their
Makeup was basically inventlate teen years and there is no
ed in the days of Cleopatra,
pageant culture.
who lived 2000 plus years ago,
If girls grow up believing
where she did simple things
that they have to wear cakes of
like rub red roots together to
makeup to look beautiful then
make lipstick or bathe in milk
what is society teaching them?
and honey so that her skin was
Society perceives that a woman
A Ugandan woman does chores dressed in simple clothes.
as soft and smooth as a baby’s
must be blonde haired with blue
bottom.
eyes, have long legs, a six pack,
So what really defines beauty? What criteria does big boobs, the slimmest nose with raised cheeks, a tight
one have to go through to eventually be considered butt, olive skin tone and with all this they must ideally
beautiful? After researching and finding out the exces- be a size zero.
sive amount of money that the plastic surgery indusWhat happened to “you are perfect just the way you
try makes in a month; it is amazing how some women are?” This is crazy because even if someone has this
would rather risk their lives to go under the knife as body, they have been genetically gifted and no amount
long as they achieve the perfect butt, nose, cheeks, arms of plastic surgery can ever make you look like that. This
or thighs.
is what most people fail to understand. There is even a
Has anyone thought about what this teaches the fu- notion that it is only if you are beautiful that you will
ture generation? This type of emphasis on looking per- make it further in life compared to someone who socifect is going to be passed down and just keep on dam- ety deems “imperfect”.
aging the self-esteem of these young girls. Society has
I guess part of the problem is Hollywood and the
24
way that celebrities are worshipped. Their images are
skinny with barely any body fat with perfect teeth and
faces. Little does society knows what they go through
to look that way. Without even counting the number of
hours they go to work out at the gym with their personal
trainers, they take all types of cleanses and go on the
most extreme diets that are not only harmful to their
health but can also lead up to little girls trying to emulate what they are doing in order to look just like their
favorite movie actress.
However we have seen some celebrities start to
break the “skinny in Hollywood” theme and they have
embraced their bodies. These are the kind of role models we need but even they keep getting bashed or being called “too curvy” which is society’s polite way
of calling someone fat. This is a phenomenon that is
growing everyday with more and more people falling
into the trap of self-doubt if they are not blonde haired
and blue eyed or if they are not a size zero.
“I always see images of perfect people when I open
one up.” Solome Magambo, an MC student, said about
how she perceives the magazine industry. Magambo said she wishes people would put normal pictures without all the extra effects. When someone
opens a magazine, they see an image of someone
who has no flaws with a perfect chin, perfect arms
and the perfect waist. It is hard for one to have a
high self-esteem with all these ideas of how one is
supposed to look. This look can never be achieved
because these images have most probably been Photoshopped and air brushed to have the flawless look
as the final product.
The way these companies make their money is by
selling an image that they know can’t be achieved
in real life but people keep falling for this thinking
that if they buy certain products or do certain things that
they will look like those people in the magazines which
sadly isn’t true.
This problem is not just associated with women and
girls but also some men who feel pressured to have
the muscles and “macho’ look to feel attractive.
There have been reports of boys becoming anorexic
due to their quest to lose weight or the ones who take
steroids to enhance their bodies which have been
known to have serious side effects. And even with all
the warnings, people would still risk it all to achieve
the “perfect body”.
People should be able to believe that they are beautiful and that they are perfect even without the perfect nose, legs or body. The next generation should
grow up without all this pressure to fit into a certain
mold that society has created.
25
BALLS
BALLS
BALLS
Story by Vanessa Alvarado
Photos by Kourtney Kelley
26
“Tony Romo drops good snap on a potential Martin
Gramatica 19-yard field goal with 1:14 to play.”
Dallas Cowboys fans jaws drop as their hands creep
up to cover their wide-open mouths, while every Seattle Seahawk fan joyously laughs.
“There’s a swing and a high fly ball, right-center field!
Back it goes, racing back Logan jumping up and that
ball is GONE! Number 756! Barry Bonds stands alone.
And on the night of August 7th, 2007, in San Francisco,
California, Barry Lamar Bonds has hit more home runs
than any major leaguer in the history of baseball.”
“Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in
miracles? Yes!” Americans across the nation celebrate
as they had just witnessed the Miracle on Ice.
To the average person that sounds like just a football
game, a record that was simply broken and a regular
hockey game. However, to the ears of a die-hard fan,
these games means way more. They mean memories,
enjoyment, and even heartache. It’s not only a “game”
to a truly devoted fan; it’s a lifestyle, and becomes part
of your everyday routine.
There is entertainment, drama, fear, controversies,
great upsets and great accomplishments that go along
with being such a fan. While of course, let’s not forget about the superstition of wearing the lucky jersey,
or having to be in a specific environment, or particular
seat to watch the game.
It’s all part of the devotion and love of the game.
Gabby Buzan, Midland College student, is well acquainted with being a die-hard fan.
“I would consider a die-hard fan someone who sticks
with his or her team no matter what. I’m a die-hard
Texas Longhorns fan, no doubt. Win or lose, I will always support my horns.” Buzan said.
Tradition also plays a significant role for Buzan in her
love for sports.
“I stay devoted to my team because I love the tradition behind it,” she said. “My family consists of all
Longhorn fans, and I grew up going to all the games;
being at DKR Stadium and doing the chants. Watching my team play is one of the greatest feelings in the
world.”
All fans are familiar with getting the overwhelming
enjoyment one feels while being in their favorite stadium. It involves chills rushing down one’s spine with
the kickoff of the Dallas Cowboys and the New York
Giants, to holding tears back because of the powerful
and emotional first pitch thrown by a father of a Sandy
Hook shooting victim at the opener of the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels game.
27
“I would consider a die-hard fan
someone who sticks with his or
her team no matter what...”
- Gabby Buzan
The stadiums and living rooms are places in which
these traditions and memories are built, and they last
forever. They make you build a special bond with the
teams or players that you’re watching.
With many fans, family has a huge impact and influence on your tradition in which you take pride.
“Oh yea, my family has had a huge impact on my
love for the Longhorns! My dad graduated from the
University of Texas and both he and my mom are from
the Austin area, so I was born into a Longhorn family,”
she said.
Buzan is well familiar with the crazy antics of whatever it takes to win the game.
“I’m very superstitious when it comes to sports. If
my team is doing well, I won’t move from the spot I’m
sitting in so I don’t risk ruining the good ‘karma.’ If
my team isn’t doing very well, I move spots or change
the channel because I feel like it would help! It sounds
crazy, but it works,” she said laughingly.
Even if one isn’t a die-hard fan, or the type to throw
on the team t-shirt while attending a game, sports can
always unite society. Whether it’s a college bowl game,
the Super Bowl, the World Series, the World Cup, or
even a tragedy, people connect and band together.
The Boston Marathon is an astounding example of
people coming together.
28
Since 1997, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, has
been heard all throughout Fenway Park. In 2002 it became tradition to play the song before the Red Sox bat
in the 8th inning.
The following day after the Boston Marathon bombing, the New York Yankees, the Red Sox long time rival, announced they would be playing the song during
their home game, followed by a moment of silence, as a
tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Soon after the Yankees’ game, “Sweet Caroline” was
played at multiple sporting events throughout the nation as a tribute to the town of Boston and all the victims. Not only is the song played, but fans everywhere
put their heart and soul into singing it, while swaying,
dancing, and clapping.
Every time the song is played one can’t help but
join in, “Sweet Caroline, BUM BUM BUM! Good
times never felt so good, SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO
GOOD!”
The Boston tragedy is one of many situations through
which sports has shown gratitude and honor.
The tradition and dedication isn’t just on game days,
it’s an everyday thing.
Some people might consider being a die-hard fan
a hassle, but die-hards don’t know any different and
wouldn’t have it any other way.
Habla Espanol?
Boquillas Beckons Again
A full-time trail guide leads a tourist from the Mexican river entry point to
the village of Boquillas del Carmen, where customs checks passports.
The optional ride costs $8 round trip, which is the sole income source for
the guide and his family. Past the U.S. customs, visitors may simply wade
across a shallow part of the Rio Grande River and avoid all costs. But they
must check in at the town customs office both entering and exiting the town.
Passports or their equivalents are necessary. Cash and checks are accepted
in town but not credit cards.
29
Student Media Photos
30
The first view of Mexico at Bouquillas is seen below
as visitors are rowed across for a $5 round trip, with
tickets purchased at the Rio Grande Village store in
Big Bend. Guests are greeted by Victor, the “Singing
Mexican.” A Vermont patron (left) imbibes at the only
bar in town, which features inexpensive refreshments
and the accompaniment of a guitar-playing singer.
Above, visitors can view Texas from the Mexican side.
Food and drink are the essence of Boquillas, the quaint Mexican village across from Rio Grande Village
in the eastern most part of Big Bend National Park. Visitors, such as the Australians and Americans
below, can partake of their favorite beer and authentic Mexican food in the open-air Falcon cantina,
which closed with the rest of the village after borders were shut down shortly after the 9-11 catastrophe of 2001. The unmanned crossing (video visit with El Paso agents) was reopened in April after more
than a year wait for Mexican authorities to establish their customs process. Lilia Falcon, above with
her daughter runs the restaurant, a gift shop and this general provisions shop. Her mother is seen in
the background preparing tacos and burritos. She also rents a two-bedroom, single-bath house for $80
a night. Her cousin Ruben Falcon runs the Bienvenidos restaurant in Ft. Stockton.
31