Category Archives: Education

College Admissions Bribery Scandal

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The recent college admissions bribery scandal continues in the news with the beginning phase of sentencing for the people who have plead guilty. The scandal, given the name Operation Varsity Blues, is the largest college admissions scheme ever prosecuted. In the center of the scandal is William Singer, a businessman who allegedly collected $25 million in bribes from wealthy parents who were trying to get their children into some of the top colleges in the country.

The indictment claims that Singer’s company called the Key was a front to allow briberies of college sports coaches and cheating on standardized tests. Parents would pay non-taxed donations to Singer’s non-profit organization which promoted itself as a college preparation and counseling program. Prosecutors say the scam ran from 2011 to 2019. Larry Davis, Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University-Texarkana said, “Some wealthy people think they can buy their way into things that other people cannot. If you have money to buy things, that is fine, but if you use money for illegal payoffs, that is wrong.”

Fifty people have been charged in this scheme including thirty-three parents, Mr. Singer, and coaches and professionals from multiple universities. Universities including USC, Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, University of Texas, and Wake Forest University. No institution has been charged in the case. Mr. Davis stated that, “Texas A&M University-Texarkana has criteria that students must meet to be admitted. High school students must have a certain GPA and if they do not, they can appeal it and then they might have some guidance on remedial courses they can take to be admitted.”  Twenty people have pleaded guilty in this case.

The three most well-known parents indicted in the scandal are Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer; Mossimo Guinnalli. Huffman plead guilty to charges that she paid $15,000 for someone to correct her daughter’s SAT answers. The maximum sentence for her act is 20 years but prosecutors have recommended only four months in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 13, 2019. Loughlin and her husband, on the other hand, have pleaded not guilty to paying $500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters admitted to University of Southern California as crew recruits. All the university coaches involved are either on leave or fired from their universities.  It is believed that many of the students involved were not aware of the illegal activities taking place to get them admitted. As of now, no students involved have been charged in the scandal.

Coach Dobbs Talks Basketball

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The student body at Texas A&M University – Texarkana have had an exciting 2019 as the Patterson Student Center opened with a beautiful basketball court, a gym filled with new equipment, a game room, fitness room, trainer’s office, and classrooms. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this new building is the opportunity is has brought to student athletics. TAMUT has welcomed men’s and women’s basketball teams to the sports offered at the university. Women’s Basketball Coach Kevin Dobbs was excited to share how he feels about his inaugural team starting.

Coach Dobbs has 12 seasons of college head coaching experience and was previously  head coach at University of the Southwest, another team in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC), for three seasons. Coach Dobbs is confident heading into our inaugural women’s season due to his knowledge of the RRAC and its playing style, talent, venues, traditions, and what is needed to compete.

Coach Dobbs predicts there will be about 20 women on the roster, recruiting primarily  throughout Texas with some from Arkansas and Oklahoma. However, he is not limited to these states, “If a young lady can make three pointers in bunches, I will go to Antarctica to sign her,” Dobbs said.

As our campus gets excited for what’s to come in the Athletic department, Coach Dobbs agrees he is most eager to train and develop these young women as athletes who represent the school proudly. Get ready to cheer on our new basketball team this semester, because from the sound of it, they’re going to be ready to compete.

Open Your Ears: Poet Joy Ladin visits Tamut

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** IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER, REFER TO THE A&M TEXARKANA WEBSITE OR CONTACT CORRINE HINTON AT CHINTON@TAMUT.EDU ** Image result for joy ladin

A&M-Texarkana will be hosing a worship for poets, aspiring authors, and lovers of literature! Both the workshop and reading will take place on Thursday, May 9th. The workshop will be at 5:30-7 p.m. in University Center room 230, followed by a reading from 7:30-9 p.m. in UC 217.

Joy Ladin is an American poet and the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair in English at Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. She is the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution. Joy Ladin is an American poet and the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair in English at Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. She is the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution.

In 2013, Ladin published a series of poems formed entirely from words and phrases found in popular women’s magazines. These poems, such as “Ready To Know,” link both trans women and cis women’s experiences of gender to the “commodity capitalist engine of the production of femininity.” This work emerged when Ladin gave herself a “writing assignment” to creatively engage with the “how-to” rhetoric of mainstream femininity.

“I am a teacher, widely published essayist and poet, literary scholar, and nationally known speaker on transgender issues” Ladin says. Ladin has given invited talks and readings at many universities and colleges such as Harvard and Smith College. After this Thursday, A&M University of Texarkana can be added to the list.

Walking in Non-Traditional Shoes

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The educational lifestyle of this post-traditional student has been unexpected, to say the least.

I remember telling my 15-year old son at the time, I was going back to college. His response was, “Mom, no offense, but I think you are too old for college.” I tried to explain to him older people go back to school all the time to complete an education.

After all, I had quit as a Sophomore and then went back at 24 to take two more semesters. This was not a huge or noticeable age difference at the time.

My son was right, going back to school at 49 was quite a different challenge. Back in the day, I was used to turning in a hand-written paper, literally, in paper form. Not so anymore.  I had to teach myself the basics of Word, and stayed up many nights crying in frustration because I could not get Word to understand the formatting of APA.

In my first FTF (face-to-face) class, I noticed there was another lady there close to my age, we sat together and talked about class, and about our children, which made it less anxious for me. She ended up taking 15 hours that semester and graduated.

In my next FTF class, I was the oldest.  When we were standing in line to get a research topic from the professor, about three young gentlemen students said to me, “Go ahead, ma’am.”

Ma’am?  That was confirmation, despite their efforts to be kind. I recall a couple of events I attended where I pulled out my student ID and was told to “Go ahead….oh, you’re a student?” I also remember a class where the professor was trying to show us a YouTube video and an ad for soap popped up of a 30-something woman in the shower. The young professor said, “Oh I’m sorry, I’m sure the last thing you wanted to see was an old lady taking a shower!”

In my Public Speaking class, I had chosen to write a press release about the UT sniper in 1966. From the distant looks and the yawning, I realized I needed to consider my younger audience. So, my next speech was about “college hazing”, in which the audience seemed quite interested. So, in presentations, I’ve learned to “young-down”.

I recently asked a professor in class why book titles are no longer underlined. He replied, “Awhile back, typewriters had to use underlines because they were unable to italicize.” Embarrassed, I realized I had just publicly dated myself back to the era of typewriters.

I am very excited, though, because my son will be graduating from high school this same year I graduate from college. I am quite sure he will be relieved I will be done when he starts college this fall!

If there happens to be a “traditional” student reading this, my best advice is not to quit college, finish while you are still young.

A Dyslexia Visionary

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Section 504, the American Disabilities Act of 1973, has affected the method by which school districts serve students with disabilities.  Wendy Gandy, District Coordinator of the Section 504 and Dyslexia Program for general education at Granbury ISD in Hood County, Texas, has been credited with re-creating the dyslexia initiative for the district over two different programs.

“Section 504 is like an umbrella which basically includes any condition which impacts a major life activity of a person.  This includes dyslexia, learning disabilities, asthma, celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, high-functioning autism, as well as hearing and vision impairment, for example,” said Gandy.  She further explained these students are “typically classified as general education.  The more severe, such as lower-functioning autism and more mentally challenged students are categorized as special education.  One of the most difficult parts of the job is scheduling services on the campuses.  Every campus schedule is different, so trying to find a time for students to miss other instruction can be challenging. Every aspect of learning is important, and the school day is already packed.”

Gandy applied her master’s degree in education and her previous experience as a diagnostician to work the puzzle of creating a successful, user-friendly program. “When I arrived here five years ago, the section 504 program was already in place, we just tweaked it, but we completely revamped the dyslexia program.  We implemented the changes in my first year and have continued to expand. In the first year, the specific research-based dyslexia program was chosen, 8 certified teachers were hired and received extensive training and approximately 100 students received dyslexia specific services. It has now grown to 15 teachers and approximately 300 students.” she said.

Gandy oversees the quality assurance of the program, ensuring it runs smoothly, maintains its integrity while ensuring Section 504 laws are upheld, as well as supervising, supporting and training the teachers.  In addition, she evaluates and performs diagnostics for students with dyslexia. Asked about her job satisfaction on a scale of one to ten, Gandy said, “Most days, I would give it a nine.”

Mrs. Gandy says she loves the problem-solving aspect of her job and enjoys going to different campuses to train teachers and students.  She said most of her fulfillment comes from observing students overcome limitations as she watches her program continue to blossom.

The Robots are Walking!

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Technology is constantly changing, and soon, even how we write will not be the same. But change can be a good thing if it is gradual. And it will not be like certain robot takeover movies. That’s right, robots! This is a great thing if our crazy imaginations do not intervene.

Robotics is one of the greatest innovations in science and technology. There are current observations on robots where scientists study their logistics to better aid them when performing aggressive tasks. Unfortunately, robots might be better than us, yet they need our supervision to function properly.

Boston Dynamics is one of the leading companies in the robotics industry. The developers there have created many robots with impressive functions. One is called Spot which is built similar to a dog. A video has two Spots thinking to each about how to open a door. One of them eventually opens the door so the other Spot goes out along with the other.

Another robot is called Atlas. It’s designed to have motor functions like a human. Another incredible video shows him jumping onto and over every obstacle. He falls over in the end but for comedic attribute. Atlas is still operational to this day. Dynamics have also made another version where he can go outside through any type of environment.

In recent times, an achievement of Boston Dynamics happened to be 10 spots pull a large truck. This has become very shocking to the people due to the success of these robotic dogs performing a miraculous task.

Who knows what will happen next?!

All the world is changing, for better and worse. Old technology may soon be gone, but the new technology can make impossible dreams a reality, especially robots.

Fun Boston Dynamics YouTube Links:

For information on Boston Dynamics click here:

HOPE for Homeless Students

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Massachusetts recently instituted a pilot program which addresses the issue of youth homelessness, according to the Boston Globe.

Governor Charlie Baker announced four colleges were chosen to receive $120,000 in state funding to offer housing to homeless students: Bridgewater State, Framingham State, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Worcester State.  More funding will be  included the next budget, for an estimated total of $3 million in grants to organizations assisting homeless students.

Recently, Massachusetts’ universities have experienced reduced enrolments, so extra dorm rooms have become available to offer community college students who are unable to afford housing.  The state hopes this program will diminish problems these students experience, such as inefficient transportation from the homeless shelter to campus, lack of privacy to study, and no computer access. These factors lead to waning grades, discouragement and eventual drop out.

So far, 20 homeless students in the area have begun participating.  The stipulations include: students 25 and under, enrolled in school full-time, and in good academic standing. In addition to the safety of living in a respectable and convenient place, these students enjoy the benefits of free meals at their host campus dining halls, privacy for studying, computer access and free mental health counseling, all in hopes to increase their chances of graduating.

Other states are expected to duplicate the Massachusetts model for their homeless students to encourage their higher education endeavors.  For instance, the Seattle, Washington area has been notorious for years of struggle with youth homelessness.  The high cost of living in the Seattle area makes it difficult for young college students to afford housing.  To counteract this, Tacoma Community college is working with their local housing authorities to offer federal rental assistance vouchers.  Also, a private developer in Tacoma is renovating some apartments near campus where he has already begun to open to homeless students.

HOPE is an academic organization which researches solutions for hunger and homelessness.  It’s founder, Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, reported some U.S. colleges are considering opening their parking lots at night, staffed with security guards, for homeless students who live out of their cars. The goal of HOPE is to continue to work toward U.S. students’ ability to gain the freedom to focus primarily on school, instead of  worrying where they will sleep each night.

For more information, visit https://hope4college.com/

Twitter at #RealCollegeStudents

Instagram at Hope4College

To Get To The Next Level, You Must Read Blessed and Unstoppable

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Photo taken by Cambresha Knight

Clear your mind, and reach deep within yourself in order to vividly dream YOUR dreams because in order to succeed, you need to know what you want in life. This book, Blessed and Unstoppable, was designed to put you in a position to gain strength, a deeper knowledge, and exert your full potential in order to move in greater steps. The author of Blessed and Unstoppable Billy Alsbrooks stated that “My book was written to initiate action, not to just sit back and read.” He also explains that “Each day in my book has self assessment questions that set in motion a change in mindset, to open the mind up in a strategic way so that it can design the breakthroughs required to step into greatness”. I believe this book is about waking up your purpose and the dreams that God has planned for your life. This book is so precious, and points out the fact that the readers of this book have a great deal of potential as well. “If a person wants to achieve the highest levels of success, they must be willing to do the inner homework required” Mr. Alsbrooks says. Therefore, I strongly recommend this book to all students, and staff on campus, as well as the community. This book will take everyone to the next level, and lead you towards your purpose as you answer the questions throughout the book. However, Blessed and Unstoppable is only available for purchase as a physical copy. “On digital devices, it’s too easy to skip past the homework and the action steps laid out in the book,” Alsbrooks said. “I want people to stop and think and then take massive action.” So go now. Purchase the book and get ready for a new change. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Check out Billy Alsbrooks website here, and click this to check out his YouTube channel.

All Aboard for Prague!

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The Career Development Office has been given an opportunity to host a course, and guess what, it’s a study abroad leadership course to Prague, Czech Republic! It’s going to be focused on career development, your own career choices, and how those fit in the global workplace. Everyone who will take part in this amazing opportunity will travel to five industrial sites in Prague where everyone involved will talk with the leadership and human resources teams. Students will also be connecting with Prague college students who will be sharing how they get jobs there. Similarly, A&M students will share how they can get jobs in America. “I am hoping the students that go with us will return back for an internship or a study abroad course over there,” says Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development. She also “hopes it opens up the world a little bit more to students and lets them see how they fit into that global workplace with everything they’re learning right here at A&M-Texarkana.” So if you’re curious and interested in traveling to Prague, Czech Republic make sure to stop by our Career Development Office with any questions you may have.

Training a Better Workforce

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Photo by Allison Hall

Looking for a way to start your career in the industrial workforce? You’re in the right place! On November 27, 2018, Texarkana College (TC) took a large step toward engaging the community in the workforce world of Texarkana. The local community college, using mostly in-house production, built a new industrial workforce building designed to nurture the future careers of high school students, and prospecting and employed industrial workers.

Photo by Allison Hall

They opened the building Tuesday at around noon under the title ‘Betty & Buddy Ledwell Workforce Training Center’ and TC has equipped the facility with loads of technical supplies to help train people who are looking for this type of career. A large portion of the community showed up to witness the unveiling and to show their support.

 

Photo by Allison Hall

This center is hoping to jump on the expected economic growth here in Texarkana. A growing workforce means a growing rate of employment and Texarkana College is predicting to certify more students in this type of program over the next few semesters than ever before. Maybe it’s’ for this reason that the center decided to use local stories to design the building that and Ledwell’s massive record for employment in this town. They have coated atrium entrance in the story of Mr. Buddy Ledwell, a local manufacturer, and the blueprints he created as a young man studying. They want to establish a good sense of work ethic in anyone who enters the doors and have their students leaving having a rich array of skills in their field.

Photo by Allison Hall

According to the above linked TC article, the program currently has more than 670 workforce students: near 100 of them being enrolled in Industrial Maintenance or Construction Technology. They are expecting growth in program participation, especially with the mention of classes being held during the day and evenings to provide a nice window for any situation, whether that person be employed or not.

Photo by Allison Hall

The goal is to promote enthusiasm and prosperity for this type of skill. An already certified welder, for example, might be more likely to gain a job than one who needs training. Our very own Dr. Cutrer is even working diligently to help these students prosper along their academic careers. Texas A&M – Texarkana and Texarkana College are working together to ensure that students who are attaining their two-year degree at TC, and wanting to further their education, can have a smooth transition to a four-year university, like TAMU-T.

Enrollment for spring of 2019 is currently open for Texarkana College and Texas A&M – University. To learn more about these course and programs, visit or call Enrollment Services at TC to set up an appointment. You can also visit the TC website, www.texarkanacollege.edu, to discover more opportunities.