ENTERTAINMENT: Movie Review: Do you know what V for Vendetta stands for?, pg. 4

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March 2 , 2013 Volume 59, Issue 8

‘The best accident that’s ever happened to me’

Alcohol Awareness Program set for March 12 at WNCC

By ALEXANDRIA MOREESpectator Fashion Editor

Wrapping up his fi nal Gala at Western Nebraska Community College, Shawn Gas-seling looks forward to graduating in May and attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the fall to pursue a major in French. Th ree years aft er graduating high school, Gasseling found his way to WNCC more accidentally than intentionally, saying

that he “had planned on going to Wesleyan, and I thought that for a backup I would ap-ply to UNL, and as a backup to my backup I applied for WNCC. I decided that Wes-leyan was too expensive, and I didn’t want to be in debt my whole life, so the July be-fore my freshman year I fi nally decided on WNCC.” Although Gasseling had not been re-cruited to WNCC by the music/vocal program, headed by Rita Stinner, his love of music and experience in choir in high school led to his auditioning for the varsity show choir his freshman year. “I like music, so I decided to join the choir; it’s probably the best accident that’s ever happened to me because I love it here. Th e people are wonderful,” Gasseling said. He added, “Rita is a great teacher. She’s

COVER STORY

See Shawn, page 2

Keeping students ‘challenged and

interested’

See Wylie, page 3

By ALEXANDRIA MOREE Spectator Fashion Editor

On March 12 at 7 p.m., Western Nebraska Community College will open its doors to host the fi rst Alcohol Awareness Program. 

Th e program is sponsored by Phi Th eta Kappa, an interna-tional honors society, facilitated at WNCC by Amy Winters and presided over by student Rachel Griner. While the organization is responsible for the event as a whole, the undertaking of such a thunderous event was spearheaded by PTK member Jill Eich, a non-traditional student at WNCC.  I was fortunate enough to be able to go in and do what I do with this event. I have been organizing events for years and years and was lucky enough to have the complete support and coopera-tion of everyone involved, said Eich of planning of the event.  Th e program is not only a PTK event. Th e Art Club, Criminal Justice Club, Muslim Association, and Veterans Aff airs Offi ce are also helping to put on the event. Th e event will begin at 6 p.m. outside of the little theater at WNCC with pizza, which everyone is invited to come eat; we will have plenty of pizza, Eich said.  At 7 p.m., immediately following pizza in the theater, several presenters will speak to students and community members about the various options that are available when it comes to an alternate form of transportation.  It is entirely open to the community, Eich said, continuing with, all of the high schools are invited to come and, hopefully, we

will have a fair turnout. Unfortunately for the tightly-knit community of Scottsbluff and Gering, this event will inevitably touch some still healing wounds. Th e erstwhile year has dealt the small valley more than its fair share of devastating losses.  Th is town is very ripe for this kind of event right now, Eich said.   Susan Yowell, vice president of WNCC Student Services, will begin the night by addressing the audience and introducing the master of ceremonies, Ray Richards, the 911 Communications Director at the Scotts Bluff County 911 Center.  In addition to Yowell and Richards, Scottsbluff Sheriff Mark Overman will present: discussing the dangers of driving inebri-ated and the plethora of options available to any who do choose to drink. Cory McManigal and Gary Cotton from ACCS, a drug and alcohol counseling center in Scottsbluff , have also agreed to pres-ent at the event.  Finally, Lynette Richards of the Coalition of Underage Drink-ers will talk to the students and community. Additionally, there may be a handful of guest speakers that will address the audience; however, names have not been released to the press as of yet.  Although it is an alcohol awareness event, Eich says that it is not their goal to scare people out of social drinking, rather to encourage responsible drinking and to provide other options to getting behind the wheel intoxicated.  “I think that social drinking is part of becoming a grown up, being able to recognize your limits and stick to them,” Eich said.

By CIERRA PEDERSENSpectator Reporter

Jeff Greenwood is a fresh-man at Western Nebraska Com-munity College. He transferred to WNCC from Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb. Being at a new school with new people is a challenge that he says he’s en-joyed tackling.  Q: Why did you decide to come to WNCC after only a semester in Wayne? JG: I came to WNCC because it was close to home, and it’s a good environment for stu-dents.  Q: How have you like the ad-justments?JG: I have a close niche of friends, and the small town makes me feel at home.  Q: What college courses are you taking this semester? JG: English Comp. 1, College Algebra, Intro to World Reli-gion, and Intro to Business Ad-ministration.  Q: What’s your major? Why? JG: Business Administration because there’s a lot of job op-portunities.  Q: If you could play a sport at WNCC, what would it be and why? JG: I’d play basketball because I played in high school. I really miss it! Q: What are your hobbies? JG: I like to hang out with my family, play basketball, and just have a good time.  Q: How many hours do you think you spend studying? JG: Actually, I only spend about two or three hours. It’s not very good.  Q: What is your favorite food? JG: My favorite food is prob-ably Chinese.  Q: What’s your favorite quote?JG: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising when we fall.”

Student SPOTLIGHT: Jeff Greenwood

By HEIDI HANCOCKSpectator Reporter

What is the WNCC Business Incubator Program, you ask? Judith Amoo, dean of econom-ic and community development, has a wealth of information about a program that was little known in this area until two years ago. “Th e Business Incubator Pro-

gram is a program that is designed to help support small business startups or expanding businesses,” Amoo said. Because of the increasing in-terest in the program, the Busi-ness Incubator Program has been placed in the John N. Harms Ad-vance Technology Center. It’s a

From the classroom to the boardroom

See Incubator, page 2

Western Nebraska Community College

WNCC Business Incubator Program helps support small business startups

and expanding businesses

Photo by Cierra Pederson/Spectator

Spectator Photo

SPORTS: Men’s, women’s basketball teams get ready for regionals, pg. 5

Judith Amoo, the WNCC dean of eco-nomic and community development, is excited about the WNCC busi-ness incuba-tor program. Photo by Heidi Hancock/Spectator

By JOY ANITEYESpectator Feature Editor

Guy Wylie came to WNCC in 1977 and expected to teach here for two to three years. He now is in his 37th year of teaching at WNCC, where he enjoys the small class sizes that al-low him to see his students blossom. He teaches several sections in social science, keeping him ‘challenged and interested’. Th is se-mester he’s teaching intro to psychology, psychology of learn-ing, life span, and in-tro to human servic-es, and he also does a directed study with students in human services. Wylie has earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in counseling, and a PhD in counseling. He also maintains a national certifi cation as a counsel-or, which he obtained in 1983.

Q: Where are you from?A: I grew up in downtown Philadel-phia, and I spent 23 years on the east coast. In 1975 I wandered off the

Guy Wylie

Guy Wylie in his 37th year of teaching at WNCC

Shawn Gasseling, who hadn’t planned to attend

WNCC out of high school, excelling in college’s French

and music programs

Shawn Gassel-ing, who hadn’t

planned to attend WNCC

out of high school, has been

excelling in the college’s French

and music programs. Gas-

seling recently performed in the Gala on Feb. 23.

Top

TopCAT

Students

Major: Nursing

Honors/awards/activities: Presi-dent of Phi Th eta Kappa, student g o v e r n m e n t member, dean’s list

Favorite TV show: Big Bang Th eory

Hobbies: “Spending time with family and friends, shopping, playing with my English Bulldogs, travelling, tak-ing pictures, art, and learning any-thing new.”

Favorite book: Les Miserables

Favorite quote: “We are what we re-peatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” -Aristotle

Favorite class: “It’s a tie between Hallie Feil’s Mexican American/Na-tive American Cultures Class and her Introduction to Psychology. Every class Hallie teaches is amazing!”

Who is your role model and why?: “My mom is my role model. She is smart and witty along with hysterical and fun. She is always there to help anyone in need. Th ere is nothing she would not do for her kids or those in need. I look up to her for her forgiv-ing nature, generosity, and charity. She is fi ercely loyal and a person of integrity.”

March 2, 2013 — Page 2NNewsews

Christopher BakerTorrington, Wyo

Rachel GrinerScottsbluff

Continued from page 1

Incubator

Major: Psychology

Honors/awards/activities:  Presi-dent’s List;  New Century Gold Scholar for the state of Nebraska (2011); Phi Th eta Kappa member; founder of Student Veterans

Organization (SVO) at WNCC; President of SVO for a year.

Favorite TV show: “Stargate Universe,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Star Trek: Voyager”

Hobbies: Video games and reading about the last scientifi c and technological break-throughs on Kurzweilai.net

Favorite book: “Letters from the Earth” by Mark Twain

Favorite quote: “Our lives, our past and our future are tied to the sun, the moon and the stars. …We humans have seen the atoms which constitute all of nature and the forces that sculpted this work … and we, who embody the local eyes and ears and thoughts and feelings of the cosmos, have begun to wonder about our origins … star stuff contemplating the stars, or-ganized collections of ten billion, billion, billion atoms, contemplating the evolu-tion of nature, and tracing that long path by which it arrived at consciousness here on the planet earth (…)”

If you had one piece of advice to share with everyone, what would it be? :    “Be open-minded and try new things. Life is too short to miss the few opportunities presented.”

Where do you see yourself in fi ve years?:  “Hopefully, attending medical school at the University of Nebraska.”

By JOHNNY ESCAMILLAGaming Editor

With the PlayStation 4 reveal last week and with rumors of Microsoft ’s next Xbox

buzzing about, it’s the most exciting time to be a gamer again, when con-soles take huge leaps in technology and interactive concepts and video games are reinvented all over again. But in actuality, the eighth gen-eration of games already began with the launch of Nintendo’s answer to changing times last November: Wii U, the successor to Wii. And having given in and fi nally bought one, I can fi nally give all you a taste of what new ideas and experiences are coming, at least from the Nintendo front. Aft er the sixth generation, Nin-tendo decided it wanted to focus on just inventing new ways to play as it did with the Nintendo DS and its biggest hit, Wii. It introduced the fi rst machine dedicated to motion-con-trol and later motion-capture gaming that was more immersive, connected and active than ever before. It’s also simplifying game controls in the way the mouse did for the computer and getting people everywhere playing on a console for the fi rst time since the ’80s, or ever. Actually swinging the controller like a real sword, actu-ally pointing at where they wanted to shoot on the screen, exercising, danc-ing — everything in gaming got the chance to be completely re-imagined.

But if truth be told, Wii was both a blessing and a curse, for with the motion-gaming craze game came boring family games, cheaply-made mini-game collections, and games with dull “shake-the-remote!” prompts that greatly outnumbered ones that took advantage of its im-mersive potential. And combined with the fact that Nintendo made no eff ort to improve the animation, it was a sad console to own when the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were making much bigger leaps in cin-ematic and realistic immersion—missing out on hundreds of titles the Xbox and PS3 shared. But now Wii U is here and is currently the most powerful console in the market. So, is it a true evolutionary vision of the original Wii console? To be honest, for at least a year, it’ll be. With the ability to still use Wii’s old remotes, Wii U also has a tablet-like gaming-pad that you hold like the big-gest controller ever (but still comfort-able) that I call the “window.” With the window, games can do things like you hold it in front of your TV and get a very diff erent version of what’s on your screen liked a zoomed in sniper-scope or an infrared scan of it. You could do things like place it on your fl oor with a virtual golf ball on it that you see get hit when you swing your remote at it like a golf club—your ball then fl ying into view on your TV. Or in other cases, your friends use regular Wii remotes to escape a maze of traps while you use the

window-controller with a top-down view of everything to spring them. I think you understand the potential. If the Wii remote was a 10, the win-dow controller’s about a 6.5. Together, they’re a perfect match, but I doubt de-velopers will use the potential there. Wii U feels faster, slicker and much more connected to a somewhat better store and other people in the world with hundreds of their Mii’s (avatars) gathered on screen, each with a generic interest page gathered around censored fan-club discussion and fan-art “stations” for games. If that description of Wii U’s interface doesn’t impress you, it won’t. But if the ideas earlier did, they will as they all work. In Zombie U, I would search through my inventory on my lap or have a panic at-tack frantically punching in numbers on a key pad while my TV displayed the zombies closing in behind me. Th e point here is to make the game feel extended outside the TV, and it re-ally works. As far as games worthy of praise coming or worth having, sadly

there are still none in sight for even 2013 (even Zombie U, judging by the scores), and with consoles like much more powerful PS4 launching soon, it seems like history’s going to repeat itself and Wii U will soon alienate it-self again from the pack despite being as powerful as the consoles now. Too little too late, it seems. But no matter the case, Wii U will still bring a smile to anyone’s face, and if you’re someone who enjoys the unique personality and feel of Nin-tendo’s games and innovations, you may fi nd yourself with yet another great secondary console next to your PlayStation 4 or new Xbox (despite being pricer than I think it should be at $300). Whether that’s good or bad is up to you. I just wish Nintendo smartly thought ahead this time and somehow made the Wii U upgrad-able to bring itself to par of the other consoles when they’re released. But that’s Nintendo for you, a company that believes video games to be won-drous toys for all to enjoy.

Wii U opens the window to eighth generation gaming

place where a new business can sublet to grow its business. “ “If there are those who have a new business idea that need actual space, or equipment that they may not have the capital right up front we [Th e Business Incubator] will supply that for them,” Amoo said. “Th at can be a challenge, so we have a place here that they can come and roost and be incubated.” Although WNCC houses the Business Incubator Pro-gram, it is a Panhandle-wide community eff ort. “When somebody applies to be considered for the incubator, their application would come through the WNCC portal to me, and then I would share that application with a group of about a dozen committed, talented, invested community leaders that are part of my re-source team,” Amoo said. Amoo’s team includes bank-ers, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and others involved in econom-ic development. Th e Business Incubator at WNCC began only about two years ago; however, it was con-sidered when John Harms was president of the college a few years ago. “It wasn’t until Todd Hol-comb, our current president,

came on board, and we were doing our strategic planning a couple of years ago, and this is where the idea was resurrected,” Amoo said. She added, “It has really been his leadership and his vi-sion that we incorporate an in-cubator into our campus.” Th e purpose of the incuba-tor, Amoo said, was to create jobs in the community. Th e suc-cess of the current incubatee is a testament to the program’s pur-pose. “Th e tenant that is currently housed in our incubator has been there for a year. February 13 will be her one-year anniver-sary,” Amoo said. “Since then, she has created a job for a coun-selor, two internships, expanded the types of group counseling off erings that she provides, and she has expanded into the Kim-ball and Sidney areas as well.” Th e Business Incubator pro-gram has not branched too far into the student population as of yet, but that could change in the future. “We would love to have some student tenants in our in-cubator,” Amoo said. “Th ere has always been the vision to have students from WNCC that have a good idea. You don’t even have to have a business plan; we will help you with a business plan because part of our mission of

the incubator is to pro-vide educational inputs and resources to the people that come to our incubator.” Th e entire process of the program has been created to help those who would like to start their own business but need help with the fi rst step. Th e fi rst step is simply to apply. “An applicant would have to be able to answer the ques-tions provided on the website and complete the application,” Amoo said. “Th ey have to sup-ply a couple of references and be willing to take advice and sug-gestions from our team.” One of the main focuses of the program, Amoo said, is for participants to be willing to ac-cept help from the program. “An applicant would have to be receptive and willing to take the workshops, seminars, or courses that support small business development,” Amoo said. “We are looking for those people who are looking for that kind of support and guidance.” Benefi ts to the college are numerous, she said. “It helps the college by be-coming a hub of activity for people interested in setting out

on their own,” she said. “It is for people who are interested in that or volunteering.”She added, “It positions WNCC nicely for the students that do have an interest in owning their own business.” Amoo said the program’s mission is to help grow the local economy and educate the work-force. Amoo has spoken through-out the Panhandle about the Business Incubator Program and its future. She boasts about the innovations in the works for improving the program and making it better to help students and those interested in starting their own business.

interested in your whole life, not just school, and wants to make you the best singer you can be. Th at just spreads to everything else that you do and instills a strong work ethic in you.” While the choir at WNCC is fi lled with incredible voice aft er incredible voice, the reason Gasseling has enjoyed and cherished his time at WNCC and with the choir is the closeness that bonds the members of choir together. “I love the people I’ve met and the ex-periences I’ve had, and I love the choir,” Gasseling said, continuing with, “Choir is like a family. It’s nice to always have peo-ple that care about what’s going on with you.” While choir has had a profound impact in defi ning Gasseling’s time at WNCC, it was more than just choir that kept him in the Scottsbluff Valley. “Th e French program is wonderful,” Gasseling, a declared French major said. “Stacy (Wilson, the foreign language pro-fessor at WNCC) is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. She is a very proactive teacher. She pushed me to study abroad, which in-creased my French education and experi-ence tenfold.” Gasseling, who studied French for four

years in high school, said that the amount of time and energy that Wilson invests in her students has helped him grow in his comprehension language, both French and English. He said, “She defi nitely cares a lot about all of her students and wants the best for them.” Gasseling said deciding to study at WNCC for a third year was easy. “Th e French program and the music program defi nitely are what have kept me here. Th ey are the whole reason I did a third year here,” he said. “It’s the perfect thing for me right now. It’s something I love, and it’s with people who love me.”

Continued from page 1

Shawn(Left ) Shawn Gasselingsings during a performance of the Gala evening on Feb. 23 at the Gering Civic Center.(Bottom) Shawn Gasseling sings with a fellow stu-dent in a song during the Gala evening.

Spectator photo

You

rY

ou

r

VoiceOne question,many answers!

“I think the requirements to have a gun should prob-

ably be a little more strict.”

— Mariah Shepherd

Grantsville, Utah

“I believe it will only

cause more problems if they begin

to take them away.” — Zach

Ostergard North Platte,,

Neb.

“I feel like it’s our right as Americans to allow guns. If people weren’t able to have them, they would just go under-ground and then someone

wouldn’t be able to protect them-selves. Guns don’t kill; people kill people.”

— Ari Herrera Grand Junction, Colo.

“I can understand using rifl es, maybe even a person having a gun for protection in their house. I don’t understand a need for someone to

have a machine gun or such weapons.”

—Yahosh Bonner Las Vegas, Nev.

“The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting or shooting for fun. It is about being able to shoot back at tyrannical government. Taking this away or tampering with this is dumb.”

—Kevin Hardn,Alliance, Neb.

“I think that background checks are necessary. Other than that, I believe the gun laws now are fi ne.”

— Madison Spencer Gering, Neb .

What is your opinion about

gun control laws in the

United States?

March 2, 2013 — Page 3NNewsews

— Compiled by Danielle Hearn, Spectator

“People kill people, not guns. You should have the right to own guns in this country as long as you’re responsible and don’t have

any serious felonies” — Jonathon Borges

Scottsbluff , Neb.

By LENZIE COLESpectator Reporter

Crystal Chacon has an older sister who was involved in theater.Crystal fi gured she’d give it a try, too. She did, and she’s become pretty successful in it. Crystal is the assistant direc-tor for the play “Boys Next Door” at WNCC. She’s the assistant di-rector because some complica-tions prevented her from being able to do the part that she tried out for. Pat Ennis, the director of the play and the theater instruc-tor asked Crystal to be the assis-tant director. “It’s [the play] really interest-ing, it’s really funny, and I’m really excited all-around. It’s going to be a great show,” Crystal said. Th e play will be March h 8-10 Sunday’s performance is at 2 p.m. Th e actors in the play include Byron Th ompson, who plays Jack; and Sebastian Walton, who plays

Arnold. Th ey are two of the main characters in the play.  Th e play is about four men who live in a group home and have special needs. Jack is the su-pervisor of the group home, and he checks on them. Th e men are always up to some silly shenani-gans. Th e participants said they’ve enjoyed rehearsing for the play, especially since the members of-ten laugh and have a good time together. “I think it’s a good thing. It gives the actors a feel for what they should be expecting during the actual play. If they say some-thing funny, they need to be able to react or not react to the audi-ence, whether it’s laughing or something else,” Crystal said. Th e theater puts on about four plays a year. Th e plays that have al-ready performed this school year were “Nickel and Dime” and “A Christmas Carol.”

‘Boys Next Door’ play set to perform this month at the WNCC Th eatre

WylieContinued from page 1

off the east coast and ended up in Pittsburg, Kansas, for my master’s program. I really liked the diff erence between the con-stant traffi c jams, the constant waiting in lines in Philly, to suddenly no traffi c jams and no waiting in line in Pittsburg, Kansas. Q: When did you go into teach-ing?A: Th e opening here occurred kind of by chance. Th e opening here involved training people in human services, originally as the dorm director, and that was January of ’77. I got here, and my load was about 80 percent teaching and the dorm direc-tor’s position. At the end of the fi rst semester, they off ered me either full-time faculty or half-time faculty and half-time dorm director. I went full-time faculty, and that was the best decision I ever made. Q: What’s your favorite part about teaching?A: Students. Watching students grow and learn. Going into lo-cal agencies and seeing people I have trained, working and mak-ing a diff erence in people’s lives. Going into the local hospitals and seeing nurses that I had the privilege of teaching life span. Having a couple of students go on and get a PhD in psychol-ogy and tell me that WNCC is part of the reason they went into the fi eld of psychology and have now become a doctor. Th ere’s very little satisfaction more sig-nifi cant to me than watching students succeed. Q: When did you decide to go into psychology?A: My freshmen year of college I was an honors math student, and I had the misfortune of tak-ing a gentleman whose legacy is that of the 67 honors math ma-jors that took him; two gradu-ated with degrees in math. Th e course was suffi ciently unpleas-ant that the rest of us found a diff erent career. I would thank him if I saw him today because I found my niche. Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of teaching?A: I have played tournament bridge since 1969. I still play tournament bridge at least two times a week most weeks for a couple of hours. It keeps the mind sharp. I like to read. I sometimes like to shoot pool. I enjoy visiting with my in-laws. My mother in-law is a very good cook. My wife and I have a standing invitation for Sunday night dinner. Q: What were your college years like?A: What I really enjoyed about

Bucknell [University] is that I was able to take a lot of courses specifi cally because they were taught by excellent teachers. Particularly my junior and se-nior years I was very selective; I only took teachers who were really challenging, thought-provoking instructors. I really enjoyed the mental stimula-tion. When you expose yourself to people who are functioning at a level above that we are, it helps us grow and move to the next level. I hope that in some way my courses are challeng-ing enough to help my students move to the next level without totally being frustrated.

Q: Do you have a bucket list, and if yes, what is on it?A: I have not written out a buck-et list, but I do have a couple of things that I would like to do. I have never traveled to Asia, Australia or New Zealand. I have also never done the north-west of the United States. Stay-ing healthy will defi nitely be on my bucket list. I have been a lit-tle busy with the day-to-day this year, so I haven’t really thought long-term, but eventually I would like to be able to retire. But I have to fi gure out what I want to do when I retire because I don’t just want to go do noth-ing. And I still love teaching, so

I don’t know. Th at’s down the road several years.

Q: What advice for success do you have for college students?A: Remember that when you stumble or life trips you that you can always get back up. And if you can’t get up by your own, reach for a hand up instead of for a hand out. I had a fi rst cous-in who was a fi gure skater and in fi gure skating one falls down a great deal. And he says that the only thing about skating is that the ice is pretty cold and it reminds you to get up. Some-times we stay down and forget to get back up.

Th e actors are busy rehearsing scenes from the upcoming WNCC play “Boys Next Door.” Th e play will be performed March 8-10.photos by Lenzie Cole/Spectator

1. There are 68 females and 54 males living in Conestoga Hall.

2. There are 33 females and 51 males living in Pioneer Hall.

3.There are 46 athletes living in Pioneer Hall.

4.There are 55 athletes living in Conestoga Hall.

5.Pioneer Hall opened in 1969.

6. Conestoga Hall opened in 2007.

March 2, 2013 — Page 4EEntertainmentntertainmentBy ALEXANDRIA MOREESpectator Fashion Editor

Not only did the 1942 premier of Casablanca rocket the already

celebrated Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman into eternal stardom, it also immortalized the now closet staple: the trench coat.Standing on a misty, dark runway fedora tilted just so with a heart-breaking farewell and the famous, “Here’s looking at you kid,” the knee length khaki trench coat was forever burned into the minds of aspiring stars, housewives, and designers. While the trench coat took off with the general public in the

mid 1940’s, the coat was origi-nally designed for officers of the United Kingdom. There is still, to this day, an unresolved dispute as to who truly ought to be credited with the design of the trench coat. Thomas Burberry, the founder of Burberry House of Fashion, is historically attributed to have released his design in 1901; however, Aquascutum, a UK-based luxury clothing house, can produce designs of the garment dating back to the 1850’s. Although there has been no resolve in this centuries old battle, it is agreed that the mod-ern trench coat is made using gabardine, a fabric invented by Burberry in the 1880’s. Gabardine

is a lightweight, tightly-woven fabric, making it ideal for a trench coat in that a body is able to move fairly unconstructed in the mate-rial, and it is also waterproof. Worn by military personnel of the United Kingdom, the origin of the now fashionable jacket ex-plains both its name and several of the unusual design features. The trench coat, shortened to simply “the trench” in modern fashion, was named after the trenches that were home to hun-dreds of soldiers during World War I. Originally lined with a heavy fabric to keep its owner warm during cold nights of combat, the modern trench is generally

unlined and intended to be a spring, summer, and fall jacket. Also intended for warmth was the notably large collar of the trench coat, which was intended to help protect soldiers against wind, rain, and snow. The large lapels that characterize the coat were designed with the intention of displaying medals of honor and medical sacrifice. The trench coat didn’t make any kind of entrance into modern fashion or into the lines of any top brands until the mid-1930’s when soldiers from the war began wearing their coats without military uniforms and without any medals. Picked up by Holly-wood, the trench coat became the

go-to garment for leading men and would eventually bleed into women’s fashion. Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin, to name only a few, are accredited with making the trench coat the only choice for leading men. While it was not unheard of for women to sport the occasional trench, the coat was not intro-duced into mainstream fashion until the design was picked up and feminized by Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent in the mid 1940’s. The traditionally masculine coat has since become a dual sex, timeless wardrobe essential like that of the little black dress or the pinstriped suit.

Th e underutilization of the trench coat

With the last entry in the infamous Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy

now in people’s distant memory or in a carefully picked spot on their shelves, newly-made fans of the modern superhero epic have only the future to look forward to. Or as another masked-man in Guy-Fawkes-person-ado would eloquently put in his calm poetic demeanor: the past is where untold stories of triumph and struggle await to inspire, and that is where the world-changing power of ideas reside! If the The Dark Knight was a tril-ogy about the power of one, becom-ing a beacon in a society overrun by crime, V for Vendetta is about the power of the many, becoming a force in a society controlled by the powerful. The common people realize that the most powerful transformative force they have is the power of their num-bers to demand what is theirs: their lives, their integrity, and most of all, their freedom. To this day, I’ve never seen a movie filled with as many messages as this one, and I don’t think there’s any movie that could teach anything more powerful to the generations of the 21st century, the power they have to change anything in society they deem unjust or wrong no mater how authoritative or political it is. In just

the first several minutes, V for Ven-detta dishes out enough masterfully written dialogue to make a person think for weeks. But this movie was so quickly snubbed and forgotten. Well, I’m here to make sure this movie shall always be remembered for what

it stood for and shall never ever be forgotten! In a not-so-distant future, the UK becomes a police state with a totalitarian gov-ernment brutally controlled by a fascist political party after a nu-clear war leaves

many other world powers destroyed. But after many years of controlling the lives of the common people in name of “safety,” a freedom fighter known only by the letter “V” puts into motion an elaborate plan to begin an intention-ally theatric campaign to ignite a revolution that profoundly affects everyone in the country, convincing them to seize the power to rule and govern from their government and its corrupt leaders. When talking about this movie, words fail me, for sometimes I wonder

if its messages are too timeless, universal, deep, and complex to capture with words—or even apply to just our limited 21st century thinking. This movie, as did the graphic novel it’s based off of, engages us in a conversation about human nature that travels along a thread that runs all the way through the history of civilization—our struggle for freedom but sovereignty of the individual at the same time. Indeed, I had to break out some philosophy books just to try and capture the many ideasVendetta had. One quote felt especially relevant, as Karl Marx wrote, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Or more fundamen-tally, “the powerful and the powerless.” It’s no wonder why this movie inspired many libertarian and anarchist groups in the world, but its themes are rel-evant to a much more general scope of people, for it talks about the most basic need as evident in every struggle in human history: freedom. Vendetta is a movie so versed in its subjects that every line that’s given can be printed and engraved on a plaque

to hang, which is why I haven’t tried to include any in this review! And every conversation had has enough substance to write a book about.  It’s littered with images that are already imprinted in the minds of every free-thinker and freedom-thinker. The last scene alone, I’m sure, will go down in history as one of the most powerful images in film: hundreds of thousands of cape-and-masked common people marching down main street against their government’s armed military. I honestly could never recommend this movie enough, not just to watch, but to think about after it’s over. Think about the power you have with the lib-erties you may be taking for granted. Power is what this movie is about. The power of ideas. The power in num-bers. The power of film.  Grade: A+

Remember V for Vendetta and what it stood for

Johnny “Krr’ej”

EscamillaMovie Review

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SportsSportsMarch 2, 2013

INSIDE:WNCC softball teamWNCC softball teamto play fi rst home gameto play fi rst home gameon March 13, page 6on March 13, page 6

Ready for regionalsWNCC women enter

Region IX Tournament with confi dence, momentum

By DANIELLE HEARNSpectator Sports Editor

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Gonzalez is a sophomore on the Cougar base-ball team. Gonzalez hails from Hialeah, Fla., and has been a clutch performer for the Cougars this season. So far through 10 games this season, Gonzalez has played in nine games and is hitting .50 with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, six RBIs, and six runs scored. Gonzalez and the rest of the team will open Empire Conference play March 2-3 when they travel to Trinidad State Junior College. Th e Cougars next home contest is March 9 and 10 when they host Lamar and Otero in conference games.

Q: Why did you choose WNCC? A: “I chose WNCC because I knew how great the head coach was before I got here, and he has great connections.”  Q: What are you looking forward to this season?   A: “I’m looking forward to how we do as a team because this is a really special team that can go far.”  Q: What are you hoping to get out of this season? A: “I’m hoping to get to lift a championship trophy over my head.”  Q: What do you think is your strength this season? A: “My defense and my hitting have come along very well.”  Q: What’s your team’s biggest strength? 

A: “Hitting.”  Q: What do you like best about going to school at WNCC? A: “How nice people are even though they have never met you.”  

Injury doesn’t dampen

Rowson’s spirits

Good grades and a positive atti-tude can take a student-athlete far in life.

For Melanie Rowson, a sophomore outfi elder on the Western Nebraska Community College soft ball team, that philosophy is one she knows quite well.Rowson, from Vancouver, British Co-

lumbia, Canada, opted to make the trip south to play for WNCC soft ball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff in the fall of 2011 aft er visiting the college her se-nior year of high school. “When I came on my visit, it just felt right,” Rowson said. “I liked the atmo-

sphere, and I have always wanted to live in a small town. And Coach Winn had a good reputation, so I was excited to be a part of that.” Rowson said attending WNCC has been a good learning experience for her, and she’s also had a little fun along the way. “I have really enjoyed getting to know the team, making life-long friends, and learning so much from Coach Winn as well,” she said. Unfortunately for Rowson, she suf-fered an injury in the spring of 2012, causing her to be out of action for the time being. “My junior year of high school was when my shoulder fi rst started to both-er me,” she said. “My freshman year at WNCC is when the surgery took place.”It wasn’t until the fall of 2012 when Row-son regained enough strength in her shoulder to throw more like she used to. However, her shoulder hasn’t fully recov-ered yet. “I was not able to play in our opening games due to the fact that my shoulder is still not up to full strength,” Rowson said. She’s not letting that get her down, though. She looks forward to the day when she can rejoin her teammates on the fi eld in a game. “I want to be able to get back to my strength with my arm and be able to play again,” she said. “Going with the team to the national tournament last year has been one of my best college experiences, and I hope to repeat that again this year.” Fortunately for Rowson, her playing career won’t be over aft er this season. She has committed to play soft ball at Friends University in Wichita, Kan. She was sur-prised by the off er to play at Friends since she hasn’t recorded an offi cial at-bat at WNCC. “I haven’t had a collegiate at-bat or any stats, and I was still off ered,” she said.Getting good grades, Rowson said, helped her earn a chance to play at Friends. “My GPA probably played a pretty big role in it,” she said. “Colleges are al-ways looking for good academic athletes.” Although soft ball plays a big role in Rowson’s life right now, she has begun thinking about her life beyond college.“I want to become a physical therapist, so I have to go through PT school and get my doctorate in physical therapy,” she said.

HeidiHancock

Commentary

IN the HUDDLE: Ozzie Gonzalez

See Women’s, Page 6

By DANIELE HEARNSpectator Sports Editor

Th e Western Nebraska Community College women’s basket-ball team enters the Region IX Tournament this week with lots of confi dence. Th e Cougars won the South Sub-region tournament with an 11-1 record, and they are ranked No. 22 in the nation. By winning the sub-region, the Cougars will be hosting the Region IX Tournament, which starts Sunday, March 3, and runs through Th ursday, March 7, at Cougar Palace. Th e fi rst round tips off Sunday at 1 p.m. with Dawson tak-ing on Sheridan. At 3 p.m. that day, Eastern Wyoming will battle Miles. Western Wyoming will play Trinidad State at 5 p.m., and the last game of the night will feature WNCC against Little Big Horn at 7 p.m. Th e fi rst-round will continue Monday with Otero facing Northwest College at 1 p.m.; Gillette taking on Northeastern Ju-nior College at 3 p.m.; McCook battling Central Wyoming at 5 p.m.; and Casper playing Lamar at 7 p.m.

WNCC sophomore Ozzie Gonzalez takes a cut at a pitch during an intersquad practice earlier this season.

WNCC sophomore Gritt Ryder looks to defend an opponent during the Cougars’ fi nal regular season home game against Northeest Kansas Tech-nical College on Feb. 27.

WNCC men preparing for its biggest test

See Gonzalez, Page 6

By HEIDI HANCOCKAssistant Sports Editor

Th e WNCC men’s basketball team is preparing for the biggest test of the year heading into the Region IX tournament starting March 2 at Casper, Wyo. Head Coach Russ Beck, who is in his fourth year in the cap-tain’s chair, has had to overcome a plethora of obstacles during the season, but believes this team has made large strides in the past few weeks and attributes the progress to an improved team chemistry. “I feel like we are playing our best basketball of the year right now which is great,” he said. “A lot of teams win early and get 20 wins pretty fast, including us in the past. Sometimes you can get a little bit complacent with win-ning. For us, we are really hungry

because we haven’t won as much as we would have liked this year. So, I like where we are at. I think that our guys know where we are at and what we are trying to do. We are just trying to be playing our best basketball in the fi rst round of the tournament.” Drawing a No. 8 seed in the Region IX Tournament this year, the Cougars will be faced with the tall task of defeating Casper College on Saturday, May 2 at 8 p.m. Th e championship game is slated for March 6 with the win-ner heading to the national tour-nament that begins March 18 in Hutchinson, Kan. Beck feels it is important to get through the fi rst round be-cause there is a mentality that the team has to give 100% in every step of the journey.

photo by Heidi Hancock/Spectator

WNCC’s sophomore Sebastian Suarez from Ancud, Chile, drives to the basket during a game against Northeastern Junior College on Sat, Feb. 9. Cougars beat Northeastern 84-76.

Spectator photo

Spectator photo

Cougar softball player hoping to get back on the fi eld soon after suff ering shoulder injury last year

See Men’s, Page 6

“It’s a situation where you win or go home,” Beck said. “Your recruit-ment, season, goals, and all of your objectives hang in the balance. You have to play like there is no tomor-row. You can’t save yourselves think-ing you will need energy for tomor-row’s game, you have to lay it all out every single game that you’re playing in the region tournament. Play a 40-minute game in the fi rst round.” Th e Region IX fi eld is brimming with talent this year including some of the top Wyoming teams such as Sheridan, Eastern Wyoming, Lara-mie County, Northwest Wyoming, Central Wyoming and Western Wy-oming. Not to mention, top-seeded North Platte Community College from the south sub-region. “Th ere are so many good teams in our region, and I think the South has good teams as well. If the tour-nament started today we would be the No. 8-seed,” Beck said. “I like the idea of the match up with a team that we are familiar with. Although they are very good, it is really hard to beat any team three games in a row during a season.” Going into a powerful Region IX Tournament with only two returning sophomores in Tahir Little and Sebas-tian Suarez, Beck praises the fresh-man for all of the hard work that they have put in during the season. “We have had to have diff erent people step up at diff erent times,” he said. “Tahir, in the second game of the year, separated his shoulder; and Sebastian broke both of his wrists before we even got started. Th ose were the only two returns that had any experience from last year’s team. It has been nice that we have had guys like Rich Williams, Zach Cle-

mens, Quante Cooley, Youssoupha [Kane], and Chad [Calcaterra] have really stepped up. Guys like Isaiah [Castellaw], and DouDou Gueye have kept working hard every single day. It has been nice that we can fi ll in some of those holes when there were holes present due to illness or defection or injury.” In preparation for the Re-gion IX Tournament, the WNCC coaches have tried to give the freshman and returning sopho-more as much insight into what they will be facing as possible. With so many freshman this year, Beck felt it was important to im-part their past experience. “We try to talk about it, and learn on the experience of those guys who have already been there, and talk to them from our experi-

ence as coaches,” Beck noted. “It is four games in fi ve days, it is really wide open, even if you go in as the eight seed, if you beat the one seed in the fi rst round than you essential-ly become the one seed because you are on the same path to the cham-pionship game. It is a one-game-at- a-time mentality, and there needs to be the focus that we need to be con-sistent from game to game and build ourselves upon something that we can absolutely control. Th at has to be our defense and our rebounds.” Wrapping up an eventful season full of ups and downs, Beck remains op-timistic about the outlook of his team’s chances in the Region IX Tourney. “Th is time of year everybody is sore, and everybody is hurting,” he said. “We have been blessed in that we are healthy right now.”

March 2, 2013 — Page 6SSportsports

Cougar Scoreboard

Men’s Basketball Schedule11/2-3 @ Gillette Classic Won 98-78 — Gillette CollegeLost 104-107 OT — Sheridan Lost 49 - 102 — @ South Plains11/16-17 @ Reg. 9/18 ChallengeLost 67-68 — Southern IdahoWon 82-76 — Salt Lake CCWon 96-81 — Western WyomingLost 74-95 — Casper College11/30 @ Holiday ClassicWon 65-61 — Gillette CollegeLost 84-69 — Sheridan CollegeWon 96-85 — Northwest Kansas12/14-15 @ Northwest ClassicWon 68-59 — Miles C.C.Lost 91-83 — Northwest CollegeLost 77-76 — NW Kansas TechLost 81-74 — Lamar C.C.Lost 69-64 — McCookWon 80-69 — Trinidad State J.C.Lost 100-93 — Otero J.C.1/22 Eastern Wyoming, homeLost — 82-73 Eastern WyomingWon 88-81 — CasperLost 75-62 — Northeastern J.C.Lost 74-68 — Laramie CountyLost 100-69 — North Platte C.C.2/8 Lamar C.C., homeWon 70-62 — Lamar C.C.2/9 Northeastern J.C., homeWon 84-76 — Northeastern J.C.2/12 Laramie County, homeLost 76-74 — Laramic County2/15 @ Otero J.C.Won 78-69 — Otero J.C.2/16 @ Trinidad State J.C.Lost 93-73 — Trinidad State J.C.2/19 @ McCook C.C.Won 90-80 — McCook C.C.2/21 @ Eastern WyomingLost 75-52 — Eastern Wyoming2/22 North Platte C.C., homeLost 85-75—North Platte C.C.

Women’s Basketball Schedule** Won 88-29 — Nebraska All-stars11/8-10 @ Colby Classic** Won 62-24 — Colby C.C.** Won 58-41 — Colorado Northwestern** Won 75-40 — Hastings J.V.** Won 96-31 — Colo. Christian JV,11/16-17 @ CWC Tourney** Won 80-48 — Central Wyoming** Won 68-43 — Miles C.C.** Won 72-42 — Casper College11/29-30, 12/1 @ Prep Tourney** Won 64-38 — Adams State** Won 91-68 — Ft. Carson** Won 90-36 — Air Force12/6-8 Holiday Classic, home** Won 94-47 — Colby** Won 90-41 — Hastings** Won 92-44 — Air ForceWon 71-52 — Colo. Christian JVWon 88-52 — NW Kanasa TechWon 79-52 — Lamar C.C.Won 72-54 — McCook C.C.Won 94-61 — Trinidad State J.C.Won 68-35 — Otero J.C.Won 69-52 — Eastern WyomingWon 56-50 — Casper CollegeWon 85-45 — Northeastern J.C.2/8 Lamar C.C.. homeWon 75-26 — Lamar C.C.2/9 Northeastern J.C., homeWon 64-42 — Northeastern J.C.2/15 @ Otero J.C.Won 58-47 — Otero J.C.2/16 @ Trinidad State J.C.Won 72-38 — Trinidad State J.C.2/19 @ McCook C.C.Lost 68-51 — McCook C.C.2/21 @ Eastern WyomingWon 60-49 — Eastern Wyoming2/27 NW Kansas Tech, homeWon 79-46 — Kansas Tech.3/3-7 Region IX Tourney** indicates games team at to forfeit

Baseball Schedule2/7-8 McCook C.C., homeLost 11-0 — McCook C.C.Lost 7-1 — McCook C.C.Won 5-1 — McCook C.C.Lost 13-5 — McCook C.C.Lost 15-0 — @ Odessa CollegeLost 9-2 — @ Odessa CollegeWon 12-2 — @ Odessa CollegeLost 3-1 — @ Odessa CollegeWon 6-5 — Northeastern JCLost 7-2 — Northeastern JC3/1 @ Lamar C.C.3/2-3 @ Trinidad State College3/9 Lamar C.C., home3/10 Otero J.C., home3/13-14 @ Iowa Western C.C.3/17 @ El Paso C.C.3/18 @ Glendale C.C.3/19 @ Seminole State C.C.3/20 @ Yavapai College3/21 @ Seminole State C.C.3/23-24 @ McCook3/26 @ Northeastern J.C.3/29 Trinidad State College, home3/30 McCook C.C., home4/6-7 @ Otero J.C.4/13-14 Northeastern J.C.4/17 McCook C.C.4/20-21 @ Lamar C.C.4/24 @ Northeastern J.C.5/3-5 First Round Region IX Playoffs5/10-12 Region IX Champs5/16-19 West Districs5/23-28 College World Series

Softball Schedule2/9-10 @ Colby C.C.

Won 9-0 — Colby C.C.Lost 7-5 — Colby C.C.Won 8-1 — Colby C.C.Won 9-7 — Colby C.C.2/15-17 @ Midland College TorneyWon 6-3 — Seminole State CollegeWon 11-3 — Luna C.C.Won 13-0 — University of ChihauhuaWon 10-7 —Odessa CollegeLost 3-2 — Lubbock Christian J.V.Won 6-3 — Midland CollegeWon 5-3 — Midland College3/1 @ Lamar C.C.3/2 @ Frank Phillips College3/3 @ Western Texas College3/6 @ North Platte C.C.3/9 @ Otero J.C.3/10 @ Garden City C.C.3/13 McCook C.C., home3/14 Dawson C.C., home3/16 @ Trinidad State College3/17 @ Luna C.C.3/18 @ Adams State College JV3/20 North Platte C.C., home3/27 @ Northeaster J.C.3/29 Lamar C.C., home4/3 @ North Platte C.C.4/5 Otero J.C., home 4/6 Trinidad State College, home4/9 @ McCook C.C.4/11 Northeaster J.C., home4/13 @ Colby Tourney4/16 North Platte C.C., home4/19 @ Hastings College JV4/20 @ Muscatline College4/21 @ Iowa Western C.C.4/27 Garden City C.C., home5/ Region XI Tournament5/ District Playoff

MVCMost

ValuableCougar

ChadCalcaterra

Sport: Basketball Grade: Sophomore Position: Center/forward Hobbies/interests: “I like to lift weights a lot. I also like to play my PS3 with a whole bunch of my friends in the dorms, and I like to play my guitar that I made myself.” Favorite movie: “Step Broth-ers” Nickname: Calc What do you like best about going to WNCC?: “I really like meeting everybody, the small town atmosphere, and the small college atmosphere. I re-ally like all my teammates, and the coaches are really great to all of us.” Biggest motivation in your sport?: “I would say my dad. He has always helped me out through the years and has put in numerous hours to helping me get better. I want to do this for me, and I want to do this for my family.” Reason for choosing WNCC?: “I was at CSU for the past two years playing basketball, and when my head coach left , I decided that I wanted a fresh start.” Favorite quote: “Th e pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow.”

GonzalezContinued from page 5

WNCC freshman Ravae Herrera swings for a base hit during practice on Jan. 27. Th e Cougars are currently 9-2 on the season.

Preparingfor home opener

  

Q: What position do you play? A: “Catcher”  Q: What do you like best about playing baseball? 

A: “Th e feeling I get when I step out onto that fi eld every day, and I�m able to hit the ball and throw people out.”  Q: What motivates you the most before practices or games? A: “My father and being the best.” 

Q: What’s the hardest part about playing so far away from home? A: “Th e weather because I come from Miami, where it’s warm, and I have never played in the cold.”  Q: Why do you love baseball so much? 

A: “Because it’s what I live for. It’s also the sport that my father taught me when I was a young boy.”  Q: What do you like best about your team? A: “How united we are and so well-prepared for this season.” 

Continued from page 5

Women

WNCC’s Rich-ard Hernan-dez pitches during a re-cent practice. Th e Cou-gar baseball team is 3-7 on the season through Feb. 28

Giving it his all on the mound

WNCC assistant coach Ipek Turkyilmaz said the Cougars are ready to perform well. “We have great potential this year,” she said. “We have girls who [are ready to step up],” Turkyilmaz said.” WNCC enters regional’s with momentum aft er blowing past Northwest Kansas Technical Col-lege on Wednesday night 79-46 In that contest, the Cougars bur-ied 12 3-pointers and had seven players either score in double fi g-ures or fi nish the game with nine or eight points. Mikayla Brower and Shalisa Moffi t each had 11 points, while Ashley Stevens had 10 points in the win. WNCC fi nished the regular season not losing at home on the scoreboard, posting a 19-0 record (not counting the forfeits). “It helps a lot going in with high confi dence,” Turkyilmaz said. “If we attack the basket, run

our off ense, play defense properly, box out, and play aggressively, we should be fi ne.” She added, “Our biggest goal at the beginning of the season was to make it to regionals and win it. We know we have to give 100 per-cent.” In addition to Wednesday’s lopsided 79-46 victory over Northwest Kansas Technical Col-lege, the Cougars’ other recent wins included a convincing 75-26 win over Lamar and a 64-42 win over NJC. WNCC sophomore Gritt Ryder sparked the Cougars against the Plainswomen, scoring a team-best 17 points. WNCC also performed well in wins against Trinidad Community College, 72-38; Eastern Wyoming, 60-49; and Otero Community College, 58-47. WNCC’s only setback on the scoreboard came against Mc-Cook, 68-51, on the road; how-ever, the Cougars have bounced back strongly, including drop-ping the sub-region’s second seed Eastern Wyoming College on Feb. 21 before wrapping up the regular season with the win against Northwest Kansas in a game that features sophomore night and dorm parent night. NOTES: Ticket prices for the re-gional tournament are $25 for a tour-nament pass. Individual day passes are $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, $4 for students, and children under the age of six free. … Th e NJCAA tournament has been expanded to 24 teams with the 16 regional/district winners advancing, along with the second place teams from Regions 5, 11, 16 and 24. Four at-large teams will then be selected by a com-mittee to fi ll out the 24-team fi eld.

WNCC’s Tahir Little drives in for two points in a game against North-eastern Junior College on Feb. 9. Th e Cougars beat Northeastern Junior College 84-76.

MenContinued from page 5

March 2, 2013 — Page 7EEntertainmentntertainment

Lots of fun at the Gala

Th e WNCC Gala Evening event was held Feb. 22-23 at the Gering Civic Center. Check out more Gala photos on the Spectator Facebook page.

Black History Month celebration at WNCC a big success

Try pitching this to a movie pro-ducer or reading a synopsis like this on the back cover of a book: Bayonetta is a magic-lollipop eating, stuff ed-animal loving witch with big barreled-guns for high heels that uses her seductive charms to throw off her male foes. She channels magic from the underworld through her hair to slay angelic crea-tures with house-sized manifestations of her boots and fi sts. And in one glo-rious fi nish she can take out her ene-mies by shouting an incantation while dancing provocatively to make her hair-made outfi t fl y off her body and form giant disembodied dragonheads made of hair to gobble her enemies up. You can read that last paragraph again if you’d like! Welcome to the third paragraph and the more unbelievable fact that Bayonetta is not only one of the best games of this generation but wickedly weaves one of the best-developed and even touching narratives in modern story-telling. It’s an all-in-one lipstick-kissed package that only mad, yet bril-liant studio Platinum Games could de-liver … or video game, for that matter. Gamers know that their favorite medium produces some of the most original stories of any medium today. But what everyone else doesn’t seem to know is how off -the-wall they can be

and still tell a meaningful and mem-orable story for the player. As only a game can, I realized in remembering this 2009 sleeper hit. What’s that? I know you don’t believe me! Keep read-ing and watch me cast a spell on you! Bayonetta, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, is a third-person ac-tion game in which you fi ght the most grandeur and fantastically-designed enemies and bosses that are truly a sight to behold. Th e fi nal confronta-tion alone is immortalized in my mind as the most epic and chilling one I ever experienced. Bayonetta is all about its sense of style and over-the-top humor, and this game never lets up from its feminine and bubbly, jazzy pieces to dead-serious choirs singing like it’s the end of the world! But Bayonetta herself is easily the embodiment of the games personality: break dancing while fi ring guns from her feet, fi nishing with a playful pose for the camera, and ending in a pho-to-shutter to her cheekily-mocking, mountain-sized bosses by fl irting with them before fl inging a semi-truck in their face. Oh my! But what makes Bayonetta so fun is the combat system. You assign

a pair of weapons to her hands and her feet that literally make over one hundred diff erent combinations pos-sible, drastically changing your chain of attack on her enemies—with hun-dreds of chains, or “combos,” to learn. Th ere are so many weapons, items, costumes, and special techniques that no one could unlock them in one play through. It’s some woman who can handle rocket launchers strapped to her hips with a snake-faced whip in hand or wielding light sabers with her legs with nun-chucks in her grasp that fi re bullets like guns! Yes, gun-chucks. For all you non-gamers, though, face-a-gap, as hard as it may be to be-lieve me, as crazy as this game is, and as many times as people have called Bayonetta’s character sexist—it’s the story that stole the show and my heart while Bayonetta herself became thee symbol of women empowerment in gaming for me. In the second half of the game, as you get used to Bayonetta’s crazy world (and rubs off on you), it starts to take a back seat as you start to see sides, depths and complexities of Bayonetta that you never imagined were there before. She attempts to piece together parts of her forgotten past aft er awak-ening from the bottom of a lake and forms a close motherly bond with an

adorable girl named Cereza. Later, she is stalked by a glassy-eyed skirt chaser journalist named Luka, who suspects Bayonetta of having something to do with the death of his father. It uncov-ers a grand scheme unfolding in hu-man history involving two religious, divine overseers of history who both destroyed each in a great war—Bayo-netta being the last of either of them. In thinking back, the story had mo-ments of caring, friendship and close bonds. It had moments of sorrow and tragedy as well as a huge number of twists and shocking surprises that’ll leave you spellbound! And if you haven’t guessed it … so many “laugh-out-loud” memories. And it’s where Bayonetta herself, most importantly, becomes one hilari-ously over-the-top and off -the-wall ar-tistic expression of third-wave feminist

ideology. She taps into a pride in being womanly, beautiful and even attrac-tive that the Black Eyed Peas would be proud of—the same kind of pride that turned mini-skirts into a symbol of the 1960’s women’s liberation movement. Bayonetta uses her feminine wiles to win the battle against male aggression by using it against them. Th e game’s fe-male character, the subjected, frees her womanliness from subjugation and turns it on the subjugator. Not sym-bolically but literally! Other than some severe loading problems with the PS3 and many life-less environments in the cinamatics, Bayonetta is, as I’m sure its sequel next year will be, a true bewitching beauty. Or a knockout, if you don’t mind your-self!(Rated M)Grade: A

‘Bayonetta’ takes feminism to a hilarious extreme, among other thingsVideo Game ColumnBy Johnny “Krr’ej” Escamilla

By DANIELLE HEARNSpectator Reporter

February is a month when people in the United States cel-ebrate Black History Month and what it represents. On Feb. 20, WNCC and the college organization Residents Life celebrated Black History Month with a Soul Food Open Mic Night, which consisted of food and peo-ple doing things to celebrate Afri-can American history. Th e celebration started at 5 p.m. in the Pioneer Activity Cen-

ter at WNCC. It was open to not only WNCC students but to the public as well. Th ere were a variety of per-formers at the Open Mic pro-gram, and a lot of food was served by the dining hall. Students, teachers, and staff were among those taking part in the entertain-ment, which included singing, reading poems, rapping, dancing, and even beat boxing. “I think it turned out very well for students to share a lot of things that are associated with black culture and to have the

students recite important people throughout black history,” said Resident coordinator Yahosh Bonner. Bonner is the reason why this night happened. He planned the event and brought people together. He stated that an open mic program is the perfect way to celebrate and express black history because throughout his-tory many African Americans were famous for having musical and art talents. It was a way to teach people—with entertain-ment—the importance of Af-

rican American culture. It was also a way for people to display their own talents and their own cultures as well. “It was neat to see talent in people that you don’t see on a daily basis,” said Kayla Romey, a student at WNCC. Many of the performances included reading poems from Maya Angelo and reciting words by a famous rapper, Tupac. Oth-er people sang songs from fa-mous African American musi-cians. Resident Life involved ev-

eryone around the dorms and on campus for the event. For example, in the dorms, each hall is displaying a famous or important African American person. In addition to the perfor-mances, the celebration also helped improve people’s under-standing about the importance of black history and how it aff ects people today. Bonner said that black history should not be celebrated for only one month; it should always be celebrated.

Happily situated as the most westerly of the North African countries,

Morocco is home to more than 32 million people and some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. Boasting both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, a mountainous interior, and part of the Western Sahara, the diversity in terrain alone makes Morocco a traveler’s paradise. Alaa Chahid, a student at Western Nebraska Community College, found his way to Nebraska and WNCC from Morocco last year. Working in the library and the math lab as a tutor, Chahid says, “Th e adjustment to such a small town was, still is, diffi cult.”With an area of 710 thousand square kilometers, Morocco is the 57th largest country in the world; however, due to the unliv-able terrain off ered by the desert landscape, only 450 thousand square kilometers are hospitable to humans. Spain and the Mediterranean Sea border the northern por-tion of Morocco, while Algeria and Mauritania surround the

eastern and southern portions of the country, leaving the western border completely guarded by the Atlantic Ocean. While the offi cial language of morocco is Arabic, both Berber, also called Tamazight, a language native to North Africa, and French are spoken almost

completely throughout the coun-try.  Rabat, the capitol of Moroc-co, is the third-largest city with nearly 1.8 million people living in the city limits. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the picturesque Bou Regreg River and home to the Rabat-Sale International Airport,

the largest airfi eld in Morocco contracts with six diff erent airlines. While Rabat is the capital of Morocco, the most infamous city is undoubtedly Casablanca. A short 90 kilometers from Rabat, Casablanca sees more tourism than any other city in Morocco. Vaulted to international recogni-tion aft er the release of the Oscar winning movie “Casablanca,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and perhaps North-ern Africa as a whole. Kenitra, Chahid’s home city in Morocco, is one of the largest cit-ies in the country with a popula-tion of nearly 100 thousand and is located only 50 kilometers away from Rabat. “Couscous,” immediately an-swered Chahid, when asked about some of the common cuisine of Morocco. Couscous, a small-ball-shaped-yellow rice, is popular through not only Morocco but throughout most of Northern Africa. Borrowed by the French,

who played a large part in the cultural development and shaping of Morocco, couscous is now con-sidered as much French cuisine as it is Moroccan. While Morocco is known throughout the world for the vi-brant colors and prints it produces, the country was, and continues to be, a tremendous infl uence on the late Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and the YSL house of fashion. Spend-ing countless hours at the Ma-jorelle Gardens, now a botanical garden in Marrakech, YSL told a reporter near the end of his career that Morocco was the only place he could truly be inspired to make something beautiful. Marrakech is home to some of the most diverse and colorful landscapes Morocco has to off er and has lent its scenic views to several Hollywood mov-ies, the most famous being Alfred Hitchcock’s “Th e Man Who Knew Too Much.” A visual feast, Morocco off ers more than just an ocean getaway to any who are lucky enough to visit the colorful country.

Morocco: A diverse and beautiful countryMarch 2, 2013 — Page 8BBackpageackpage

What do you think?What do you think?

International Country Spotlight: MoroccoBy Alexandria Moree

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A few tips to keep your Spring Breaktrip fun, relaxing – and aff ordable

thetheSpectatorSpectatorWestern NebraskaWestern Nebraska

Community CollegeCommunity CollegeContact the newspaper at:Contact the newspaper at:

Th e SpectatorTh e SpectatorWNCCWNCC

1601 E. 27th street1601 E. 27th streetScottsbluff , Nebraska 69361Scottsbluff , Nebraska 69361

Phone: (308) 635-6058Phone: (308) 635-6058Email: spectator@wncc.eduEmail: spectator@wncc.edu

2012-13 Staff Members2012-13 Staff MembersAlexandria Moree, Fashion EditorAlexandria Moree, Fashion Editor

Danielle Hearn, Sports EditorDanielle Hearn, Sports EditorHeidi Hancock, Assistant Sports EditorHeidi Hancock, Assistant Sports EditorJohnny Escamilla, Entertainment EditorJohnny Escamilla, Entertainment Editor

Joy Aniteye, Feature EditorJoy Aniteye, Feature EditorKayla Romey, Design EditorKayla Romey, Design Editor

Lenzie Cole , ReporterLenzie Cole , ReporterCierra Pedersen, ReportenCierra Pedersen, Reporten

Mark Rein, ProductionMark Rein, Production

Jeff Fielder, AdviserJeff Fielder, Adviser

Let me start out by sharing one of my favorite quotes with you. “Th e world is a book, and those

who do not travel read only a page,” by Saint Augustine. I don’t know about you, but I’m get-ting excited for Spring Break. Midterm is upon us, and with all the stress of homework, projects, and tests, it’s always good to have something to look forward to and to reward yourself with for your hard work. For me, my relief comes dur-ing Spring Break. And what better way is there to get out of the everyday stress of college life than to travel? Traveling with a small budget requires a lot of planning, but you do not have to miss out on an ultimate spring break experience. Even if you’re not one of the lucky ones who get to lie on a beach

in Mexico with cool drinks all day, there are many other, far more budget-friendly plans. If you haven’t made plans yet, it’s not too late. Just like with any other college-relat-ed subject, the Internet off ers a great place to fi nd a tremendous

amount of deals and specials. It may take a lot of your time to fi nd the right deal, but it defi nitely does pay off to invest time into comparing several prices. Although it might seem as if there are many specials exclusively designed for college students, the fact is that most fl ight and hotel prices are higher during

Spring Break since a lot of students travel at the same time. To really get a good deal, you might consider a less popular destination during Spring Break. So, if you’re planning to fl y within the country, be fl exible with your dates and times. Also, to lower the cost of the vacation, keep in mind that fl ying as well as booking a fl ight ticket during the week will lower your cost. Th e best days to fl y in terms of prices are certainly Wednes-days, and the best days to buy your ticket are on Th ursdays. Finding the right accommodation is also a very important part of planning a trip. A great alternative to hotels are hostels. Not only will you be surrounded by other traveling college students, it also won’t hurt your wallet as much. You may be able to spend more on daily activities

than paying for a hotel room that you’re only going to stay in when you are sleep-ing. Finally, pick a great group of people to travel with. Whether it’s friends or family members, traveling is usually more fun when you are able to share the experi-ence with somebody else. And if you are traveling within driving distance of your current location, you can also share the gas costs. You might also consider pairing up with a friend and taking a road trip to a family member who lives in another state. Whatever you end up doing during Spring Break, relax and have fun.

Joy Aniteye is the Feature Editor of the Spectator.

Joy AniteyeFeature Editor

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WNCC Calendar of Events— “Boys Next Door” play March 8-10

— Alcohol Awareness Program: March 12, 7 p.m.— Spring Break: March 18-22 (no classes)

— No school (Good Friday): March 29— District Music Contest, no day classes at

Scottsbluff campus only: April 18— Common math fi nal: May 3

— Textbook buyback: May 6-13— Finals week: May 6-10