Amarillo locals were introduced to Frazzleberry, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, on Jan. 5. Since the shop’s opening, Frazzleberry seems to have gained popularity quickly in the Amarillo area as a variety of groups congregate their to share a good time and frozen yogurt.

Frazzleberry has base �avors such as vanilla, tart and strawberry. All of which are non-fat or low-fat. There is a no sugar added and non-fat option for diabetics. Also sorbet is o�ered for customers who are lactose-intolerant. Flavors are changed out everyday, and the toppings available range from fruit to cereal to candy. There are always new options for customers to try.

Frazzleberry also provides a fun atmosphere with free wi-�, a writing board and o�ers a 10% discount to customers if they check in on Facebook everyday.

“It feels like its a place that the kids can come and hang out, have some legit dessert and they are able to interact with Frazzleberry by being able to check in on Facebook”, said Ryan Grabill, a youth minister at Trinity Fellowship.

Owner Macey Salono designed the building from top to bottom, creating a hip and modern vibe that everyone can enjoy. From neon specs in the �oor to a color-changing glass top sitting area, Salono did not leave out any details. She explained she had a concept in mind for Frazzleberry to give the individual more control.

the PrairieTuesday, February 1, 2011

Volume 93 Issue XIV

FRANKIE SANCHEZPhotographer

What’s in Yo cup?Frazzleberry attracts business

KATELYN GARRITYAssistant Editor

FrazzleberryContinued on p. 2

FRANKIE SANCHEZ Customers at Frazzleberry can chose from a variety of �avors and toppings.

FRANKIE SANCHEZ Frazzleberry’s costumers wait in line to get in the yogurt store.

WT faces cutsBudget shortfall looming

WTAMU faces a budget shortfall as the state of Texas de-mands cuts from higher education.

President O’Brien said WT has committed to give 7.5 percent of the budget for �iscal year 2011 back to the state to try and offset the de�icit facing Texas.

“The state essentially is shifting the cost [of college] to the stu-dents and parents and away from the tax payers,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien said that students and universities should expect these cuts to continue.

“For the foreseeable future higher education is not going to get anymore than what it got in this current biennium,” O’Brien said.

The University is looking at a variety of ways to cut costs to make up for this budget shortfall. For example, these cuts have led to a freeze on all unnecessary hiring of new professors and other faculty. The University has even gone so far as to change the type of disin-fectant it uses in hopes of cutting $40,000 from the budget. Tuition however is not on the list of things looking to be increased.

“At this point, we are not looking at an increase in designated tu-ition,” O’Brien said.

The Texas A&M system has put a two year moratorium on raising tuition. However, O´Brien said that when this moratorium expires it may be necessary to raise tuition.

“The University is looking at all sorts of different ways to save,” O’Brien said.

This will include a variety of fee increases such as the Student Service Fee, the Medical Service Fee and the Technology Fee. Other fee increases are also being considered to help offset the budget shortfall. The overall estimate is that there will be a 3.6 percent fee increase.

O’Brien emphasized that despite the fact that cuts have to be made, WT still ranks as one of the most cost effective institutions in the state.

“In terms of institutions in the state, we’re below the median in what we charge for tuition,” O’Brien said. “We’re 23 of 34.”

BudgetContinued on p. 3

“The state essentially is shifting the cost [of college] to the students and parents and away from the tax

payers.” - President O’Brien

CongratsThe WTAMU Forensics team won First Place Sweeps on Jan. 30 and �rst place overall sweepstakes at the Back to Beach tournament at Long Beach, California.

Check winter weather up-dates at our webpage

www.theprairienews.com

with links to the National Weather Service.

2 the Prairie

The Prairie Editorial Sta� 2010-2011

Editor- Maria MolinaAssistant Editor- Katelyn GarrityManaging Editor- Randi Hudson

The Prairie is a student-operated publication at West Texas A&M University. It functions to inform, educate, and entertain readers accurately and responsibly. It does not necessarily re�ect the opinions of the administration, faculty or students. The editorials that appear on these pages represent the opinion of the Prairie editorial board. The views expressed by other columinsts are the writers’ opinions and do not necessarily re�ect the board’s views. Advertising rates are available upon request at (806) 651- 2410 or at theprairiemail@yahoo.com. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by the Amarillo Globe-News.

Web Editor - Georgia RomigFaculty Adviser- Butler Cain

Mammoth scientific discovery could change cloningResearch into frozen DNA could resurrect ex tinct speciesMARIA MOLINAEditor

FrazzleberryContinued from p. 1

“Just being healthy and self-serve and the concept of you create what you want rather than going somewhere else where the workers put on the amount of toppings they are supposed to,” Salono said. “Its weigh and pay so you put on however much you want.”

Frazzleberry has become a hang out spot for everyone from local teens to sports teams and church youth groups.

“Owners Steve and Macey are just so glad to be able to meet people and

provide a cool place for the community.” Josh Marrow, a customer, said.

Located at Bell and Hillside, Frazzleberry is sure to please anyone who walks through the door. From the simple weigh-and-pay concept, a seemingly endless variety of �lavors and toppings, to the fun and colorful environment, it is worth it to check out Frazzleberry.

For more information on Frazzleberry: frazzleberry.com or 806.418.2410

Japanese researchers hope to clone a wooly mammoth within the next four or �ive years. This is not the �irst time that organism cloning has occured. In 1996, Dolly the sheep was the �irst mammal to be cloned. Before that, Chinese researchers were able to successfully clone a �ish and a tadpole. However, none of these species are extinct animals.

In 2008, researchers developed a new technique for nuclei-extraction that has allowed the removal of undamaged DNA from a mouse that was frozen for 16 years. Scientists plan to use the same technique to clone the mammoth.

“[The process] takes the tissue oocyte from an elephant, removes the nucleus, and replace it with the nucleus from a mammoth cell,” Dr. Rocky Ward, assistant professor of biology at

WTAMU, said.Researchers are hopeful that the

procedure will work despite the 30 percent success rate of frozen cloning.

“We´ve done research, we´ve taken egg cells from cattle and replaced in human eggs,” Ward said. “It has grown to the blastula stage [Stage of development of an embryo resulting from the cleavage of a fertilized egg], but they don´t let it go by.”

Other scientists like Dr. Carolyn Bauma, assistant professor of biology at WTAMU, doubt that the wooly mammoth cloning will be successful.

“Taking the nucleus from mammoth, how do you know there is no DNA damaged?” she questioned. “Cold is a good preservative, but genes that direct proper embryo formation to mature fetus, need to be present and undamaged.”

She also said that all the stages of development need to be precise and that it is unknown if the environment in

the womb of the elephant is the same as that of the mammoth.

“If changes occur, the embryo will not survive,” Bauma said.

The research team that cloned Dolly the sheep reported that it took 277 eggs to produce 29 sheep embryos. Out of the 29, only three survived until birth. Of these three, only Dolly lived.

“A sheep took 200 and something times,” Bauma said. “We are trying to do [cloning] with an animal that has been dead many centuries ago.”

However, Bauma and Ward agree on the controversial and ethical complexity of cloning as well as on the future bene�its that it can bring.

“[Cloning] is an area with a lot of implication for medicine, reproductive biology and conservation,” Ward said.

He also said that some of the bene�its that cloning can have on medicine are the production of new tissue and cardiac cells, as well as repairing damage to the heart tissue.

“It´s experimental, but there is no reason for it to not work,” Ward said.

Dr. Bauma said that another possible use of cloning is the conservation of endangered species.

“[Cloning] can help promote the preservation of wildlife in the planet,” she said. “They do have a native environment to live in,” she said.

FRANKIE SANCHEZ Customers can choose from more than 30 toppings.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Scietists hope to use DNA from frozen mammoths to clone them.

3the PrairieNew

s

Thank & Supportthe AdvertisersWho MakeYourWTAMUDirectoryPossible

wtamudirectory.com

BudgetContinued from p. 1

Dan Garcia, vice president for enrollment management, noted that WT is still the best alternative for an education.

“Even though we cost more than a community college, we cost less than other four year universities,” Garcia said. “We give more financial aid than other two year schools.”

Student jobs and class sizes were both issues brought up during the Town Hall Budget Meeting on Jan. 26. O’Brien admitted that there will likely be an increase in

class sizes. Student jobs, however, have a brighter future.

“I don’t see that this will impact student jobs on campus,” O’Brien said.

The problem WT will face with an increase in class sizes is the limited number of rooms on campus that can hold a large number of students. O’Brien said the Institution is currently considering revamping areas of the Classroom Center to make larger classrooms.

Scholarships and financial aid are safe from all the budget cuts.

“We’re not reducing scholarship funding,” O’Brien said. “In fact each year we increase scholarship funding.”

Currently, 20 percent of designated tuition goes into scholarship funds. The University is also

campaigning to get more money from private donors to help increase the funds available for financial aid and scholarships.

Garcia and O’Brien agree that the best thing that could happen for the University is an increase in enrollment.

“With every new student that enrolls we receive additional resources,” Garcia said. “If the state continues to take from higher education we’ll at least be able to maintain the same level prior to the cut [if enrollment increases].”

According to O’Brien

a 1 percent increase in enrollment is the equivalent of $190,000 in tuition revenue.

Garcia said his main concern is that these cuts will make more students feel unable to achieve higher education.

“I’m concerned because over time the costs have gone up measurably,” Garcia said. “It can make some families believe it is out of reach. But financial aid has gone up every year.”

Garcia emphasized that programs like Buff Promise are available to help students. He also said that all students should be sure to fill out the FASFA. According to a report released by finaid.org, many students think that they don’t qualify for aid when in fact they do qualify to have a portion of their costs covered.

DAVID MERAZStaff Writer

Circle K aids othersWTAMU Circle K is part of the Texas-Oklahoma

Circle K International division, which includes six other chapters from the Oklahoma/Panhandle area. Their main sponsor is the Amarillo Kiwanis, but they also work closely with the Canyon Kiwanis.

Serving as the clubs president this year is Kimberly Summers, a graduate student. During their �irst meet-ing the organization discussed many upcoming service events and began the process of electing of�icers for the upcoming year.

“The thing about Circle K is that there are lots of projects going on all the time,” Tim Vela, student body president, said. “Working with CareNet Center, The Food Bank, and many more, but the main project is with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and raising money for that organization.”

After the �irst meeting on Wednesday, members went out into Canyon and placed pink plastic �lamingos in

peoples’ lawns. The event is called, “Flocking” and is one of the many ways that Circle K is raising money to donate to UNICEF.

“A note is left with the �lamingos,” Leah Moore, fresh-man political science major, said. “We go and pick up the �lamingos if the owners of the house make a donation to UNICEF.”

Another service event that Circle K participated in volunteering as ushers at night events at the Amarillo Civic Center.

“Honestly, the best part about CKI for me is that it is an opportunity to do service on my own time, with people I like,” Katie Gustainis, senior speech communi-cation major, said. “It is �lexible with my schedule and really rewarding, plus, anybody can join, I love it.”

Other service projects that Circle K will be doing this month include helping at Connor House, Faith City Mis-sion, volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House and raising money for UNICEF. Their weekly meetings are every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday at noon in the Honors Space located in the Kilgore Research Center.

KATELYN GARRITYPresident O’Brien addresses a question from the crowd.

KATELYN GARRITYPresident O’Brien points out �gures regarding the budget.

the Prairie4Spo

rts

EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Lady Buff great to be inducted into PSHOFFour time All-American is youngest Buff to have jersey retired

During her time as a Lady Buff basket-ball player, Emily (Brister) Cooper was one of the best players in the Lone Star Confer-ence. She earned countless honors includ-ing being the only player in WT basketball history to be named a four-time Division II All-American.

On Feb. 13, another title will be associated with Cooper’s name: Hall of Famer. Coo-per will be among three inductees into this year’s class for the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame.

A graduate of Amarillo High School, Coo-per played for the Lady Buffs from 2005-2009 where she set and broke countless records and won numerous awards. Among those records are scoring 2,645 points,

averaging 22.1 points per game, having 406 steals, and making 234 3-point goals. She also leads in free throws made with 763 and attempted with 917, along with three-pointers attempted at 604 and field goals attempted with a total of 1,815. Her career was cut short due to a knee injury which she suffered against Midwestern State in Wich-ita Falls, but she holds the record in nine categories in Lady Buff basketball history.

Cooper is married to former Buff basket-ball player Tyler Cooper, the son of current head basketball coach Rick Cooper. Last season she became the fifth player in Lady Buff history to have her jersey retired in the First United Bank Center. Cooper is also the youngest player to see her jersey hung in the FUBC.

EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

COURTESY PHOTO

#20 Bu�s get out-muscled by Midwestern

There is a reason why Midwestern State’s men’s basketball team hasn’t lost in 39 games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls. On Jan. 29 the #20 ranked WTAMU men’s basketball team found out that reason the hard way.

Despite a furious �ight back in the second half, it wasn’t enough as the Buffs fell 69-54 to the Mustangs.

WT came out early and kept pace with the high-�lying Mustangs. At the 18:37 mark the game was tied at 4-4. Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got for the Buffs in the contest.

MSU took a 6-4 lead at the 18:13 mark of the �irst half. Just under four minutes later it was a 19-9 lead for the Mustangs. The lead grew to as many as 14 points before the Buffs were �inally able to cut the lead back down to single digits at 29-22 with 5:29 remaining before halftime. Going into the locker room at the break the Buffs were down 41-28.

When the teams came out for the second half, it looked as though WT might mount a comeback thanks to a couple of early points. But, things quickly went downhill as the Mustangs kicked proceedings into high gear.

With 14:50 left in regulation MSU held a 54-32 lead. At the 5:13 mark the Buffs had fought back to get the game back to 61-50. In the end though, Midwestern was just simply too much on the night as they came away with the 69-54 victory.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Buffs was senior LaDarius Hall with a game-high 22 points followed by fellow senior Donnie Kidd with eight points.

WT’s overall record now stands at 16-3 overall with a 3-3 record in LSC play. Midwestern improves to 16-4 overall and 4-2 in LSC play. The Buffs will now prepare for the long journey down to Kingsville to take on Texas A&M Kingsville on Feb. 2. Tip-off from the Steinke Center is set for 8 p.m.

Witchita Falls wins 40th straight game at D.L. Ligon Coliseum

WT’s overall record now stands at 16-3 overall with a

3-3 record in LSC play.

Emily Brister Cooper

the Prairie 5

First place in the LSC South Division was on the line Jan. 26, at the First United Bank Center, in Canyon when the WTAMU Lady Buffs took on the #23 ranked Tarleton State TexAnns.

Unfortunately for the Lady Buffs, TSU made sure the night belonged to them as they claimed a 64-43 victory. It’s the �irst time since Feb. 14, 2002 that a Tarleton squad has beaten the Lady Buffs in Canyon. It’s also the �irst victory for theTexAnns over the Lady Buffs since Jan. 28, 2006.

Tarleton scored just 10 seconds into the contest thanks to a quick foul called against junior Jamie Simmons. WT tied the game at 8-8 at the 16:24 mark of the �irst half. Just two minutes later, the Lady Buffs raced out to a 13-8 lead. TSU slowly took its time in reclaiming the

lead from WT. At the 10:53 mark it was 14-13 TexAnns.

WT retook the lead at the 8:39 mark but they were never in complete control from that moment on for the rest of the �irst half.

Tarleton went into the locker room clinging to a slim 25-24 lead.

In the second half, at the 13:14 mark, TSU held a 37-28 lead and it only grew from there. Tarleton led by as many as 23 points in the second half as WT simply couldn’t �ind its offensive rhythm. The TexAnns eventually came away with a 64-43 victory over the Lady Buffs.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Lady Buffs was freshman Ariel Robertson with 10 points followed by senior Megan McLain and junior Jamie Simmons with eight points each.

The Lady Buffs overall record now stands at 11-7 with a 4-1 record in conference play.

Lady Bu�s go ice cold against #23 TexAnnsEVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Courtesy Eternal Flame

One of the biggest trends that’s been associated with WTAMU Lady Buff basketball over the past few years is the way the team responds after being dealt a defeat. Many experts expected this trend to continue when the Lady Buffs visited Midwestern State on Jan. 29 at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.

MSU made sure that the experts were proven wrong as they came away with a surprising 62-57 victory over the Lady Buffs. The win breaks a 13-game losing streak for the Lady Mustangs against the Lady Buffs.

In the �irst half, WT came out swinging and raced out to an early 11-4 lead at the 16:03 mark of the �irst half. However, MSU fought their way back and cut the lead to one point at the 9:31 mark of the �irst half. Try as they might, the Lady Buffs just couldn’t pull away from the Lady Mustangs in the �irst half. MSU took their �irst lead of the contest at the 1:42 mark before

halftime at 19-17. Going into the locker room for halftime, the Lady Buffs found themselves trailing 24-20.

The second half didn’t start out well for the Lady Buffs. At the 14:57 mark WT found themselves trailing 36-25. WT fought all the way back and got within two points at 43-41 with 8:06 left in regulation. However, this night belonged to the Lady Mustangs as they held off the Lady Buffs and came away with a 62-57 victory.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Lady Buffs was junior Jamie Simmons with 16 points followed by freshman Ariel Robertson with 12 points. Junior Aly Sherman scored 10 points on the night.

The Lady Buffs overall record now stands at 11-8 with a 4-2 record in LSC play. Midwestern improves to 6-12 overall and 2-4 in conference play. WT prepares for a contest with the Texas A&M Kingsville Hoggies on the road Feb. 2. Tip-off from the Steinke Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Lady Buffs lose at MidwesternSimmons scores 16 in loss against MustangsEVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Ashley Leven shoots a basket.

Coaches’ Corner

“We lost our preseason conference play of the year early in the season,” Gerlich said. “We’ve played a really, really tough schedule, probably the toughest in the nation, but I think we’ve done really well and each game we get a litttle bit better. That’s what it’s all about .”

“We’re just not that type of team that’s good enough to beat anybody without very good preparation and very hard work,” Cooper said.

COLTON HARADAKWTS NEWS DIRECTOR

KRISTA GERLICH, WTAMU Women’s Basketball Coach

Rick Cooper, WTAMU Men’s Basketball Coach

the Prairie6Opinion Farmers are getting upset with horse owners not being able to afford the

maintenance and feeding of their horses, in which they just “turn ‘em loose” to survive on their own.

The equine industry has slowly spread its market decline down into the southern states this past year. Sale horses are being sold at a minimal low, kill buyers are offering a small wage for poorly conditioned horses, and lastly the sale barns aren’t making a surviving business pro�it. A highly reputable sale barn in the area of Clovis, NM is not offering as many sales as in the past due to the decline of the horse market.

“At our type of sale, 85 percent of the horses are going for a lot cheaper. I see a lot of little, thin unwanted colts that are bringing 20 to 50 dollars,” Steve Friskup, manager of Clovis Livestock Auction, said. “Little yearling colts with no papers used to bring 150 dollars or even 200 dollars. Now they’re bringing 20-50 dollars.”

Jim Freeman, a sale barn owner from Sulphur, OK, said he has seen a signi�icant increase in thin, underfed horses, Freeman allows horse slaughterhouse kill buyers to attend his sales, to help out the declining horse market.

“Horses sold for slaughter used to bring 60 to 70 cents a pound,” he said. “Now, a lot of them are down to 18 to 20 cents a pound.”

Freeman said that the market decline is related to horse slaughter in Mexico. “People are raising heck about how horses are being slaughtered in Mexico,”

he said. “Well, we brought that on ourselves. We took it out of the United States, where we can’t regulate it.”

In Canyon, hay prices have remained the same as the past year. Alfalfa small square bales are still at a high of $8-10 a bale for about a sixty-�ive to seventy-pound bale. Other grazing hay such as Coastal Grass and Beardless Wheat hay are stuck in the range of $6-9 a bale for small square bales. Apparently the forage and hay market is not nearly in as bad condition, but grain prices, however, have dropped tremendously. The reason is that horse owners can’t afford to feed their own horse, so they stop buying feed to refrain from feeding their stock.

H o r s e m a r k e t d e c l i n e s s i g n f i c a n t l ySAMI RABASStaff Writer

Astrology lovers around the world were shocked when it was reported in early January that the dates for the zodiac signs had “changed”. The Minnesota Star Tribune published an article stating that axial precession, a gravitational “wobble” in the Earth’s rotation, caused the zodiac signs to shift by a month.

The shocking news triggered a nationwide frenzy. Marriages dissolved because the change in the Earth’s tilt no longer made them compatible. Therapists saw a boom in business due to the identity crises. And who is this Ophiucus character and why is he the long lost son of astrology?

Astrologers were quick to assuage the fears of the public by explaining that the gravitational pull only affects Vedic astrology , astrology based on the actual location of the zodiac constellations in relation to the sun. Although Western astrology is named after the constellations, it follows seasons. The shift in the Earth’s rotation would not affect Western astrology.

“The point is, the constellations do not give you your personality,” astrologer Susan Miller said. “The planets always gave you your personality.”

Confused? So was reporter Robert McCartney when he interviewed Miller for the Press Democrat, a publication based out of Santa Rosa, CA. McCartney asked Miller how a Scorpio born in one year would have the same personality traits as another Scorpio born two decades later, considering that the planets would not be in the same position.

What did Miller have to say? “We haven’t �igured that out yet.”Oh, good. So lets say one of the planets in our solar system suddenly blew

up. Would lively Leos become shy and reserved? Will serious Scorpios start streaking downtown? Parke Kunkle, an astronomy instructor of Minneapolis, thinks otherwise.

“The obstetrician standing next to you when you were born had a much greater gravitational impact on you than Mars did,” he said. “If it’s a real phenomenon, it’s measurable. And [astrology has] never been measured.”

According to the Press Democrat, a scienti�ic study conducted in 2006 looked at more than 15,000 people and concluded that no support could be found for links between personality traits and astrological signs.Despite the �indings, it still hasn’t slowed astrology’s popularity. Almost one in three people believe in astrology, according to a recent Harris poll, and everyone is entitled to believe what they want. I mean, Pluto is still a planet, right?

KRYSTINA MARTINEZStaff Writer

Signs are a’changing

A week without Facebook is much easier said than done. The thing about Facebook is that I can go without it as long as my friends do not mention or discuss the daily updates they read. But once they start, it is only a matter of clicks before I log on too. I did not though, for a week.

Facebook is a social network with over 600 million active users around the globe. It is available in different languages so making contact with someone in the opposite side of the globe is much easier than before. Facebook is free to users, however the user must be at least 13 years of age or older to have an account.

I felt like I was out of the loop from WTAMU and from my friends the �irst morning I was without Facebook. It �irst became evident that I was in trouble during an Eternal Flame meeting on Monday. The �irst topic on the agenda that day was concerning the Facebook contest we had recently started. I survived the meeting though, assigning other members to check the status of the contest online and updating the Eternal Flame page.

Later that day I received some gossip via text message from a friend in Waco. She was telling me about something that happened to one of our friends from back home. I laughed at the message and asked my friend how she found out. She replied with a message reading, “Facebook,” of course. Was my friend being a “creeper” or was she just passing on valid information that was posted on Facebook for others to see?

This brings me to a point I have asked my friends and myself. What is the point of having hundreds or thousands of friends on Facebook? I bet if each of us went through our “Friends List” we would most likely stumble upon people we have never met, have not talked to in ages or people that have not used their account in years. I did.

During the winter break I went through my “Friends List” and realized that I did not communicate in any way shape or form with many of them. So, I did something horrible, I deleted them. I did not delete them from my life, just from Facebook. Is that bad? I do not think so. Some of them were “friends” from high school that we probably didn’t say one word to each other then, so why would we say anything years later on a social network site?

The remaining part of the week without Facebook went a little smoother, except when I was with friends who were on the site or whenever I was not busy and I had the urge to log on and check out what my friends were doing.

Overall I believe that as a mass communicator, well in the process of becoming a mass communicator, Facebook is something that I hear about every single day whether I am with friends or in class. Most of my mass communication classes usually mention Facebook during the period. It is because Facebook has become part of our culture, it is who we are, at least right now. What a better and easier way to communicate news, stories, updates, photos, videos and links than with Facebook.

Week without FacebookDAVID MERAZStaff Writer

7the PrairieEntertainment

The Prairie wants to know how long it takes you to �inish the Squares puzzle.

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8 the Prairie

The days of traditional movie rentals are over. After a decades-long struggle to get to the top, Net�lix has emerged as the champion of the rental industry, its mailing model putting brick-and-mortar stores such as Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and others

out of business.“The other aspect of [Net�lix’s]

costumer service is the ability to rent and return whenever with no penalty,” Dr. Leigh Browning, communication faculty at WT, said. “The massive inventory of online companies is a deal breaker for retail rental houses.”

However, experts are predicting that even the rental king will have to change its business model. Thanks to services such as iTunes, XBox Live and Hulu, streaming and downloaded content is becoming more popular than broadcast or DVD´s.

“Much like the music CD, there is no reason to own DVD´s. You can go get content and “pull it up” whenever you wish. No need to dust off the DVD shelf,” Browning said. “This is likely the last physical format of movies, TV, and music. Blu-Ray will hold on for a while, but still, it will go away soon.”

According to Variety Magazine, DVD sales in Japan have been dropping for �ive years in a row. In the past,

companies looked mostly at box of�ice and DVD sales to gauge their success. According to AdAge, now companies are considering downloads, even targeting users on YouTube and Hulu speci�ically.

Experts predict that Hollywood’s business model is in the midst of a big change.

“It will be the way we consume our media content. Appointment TV is fading quickly. We rarely watch shows in a �irst run schedule. We know we can go get the content when we want it and watch it on whatever screen we choose,” Browning said. “This democratized business model will be hard to undo.”

This has led to media conglomerates teaming up with leaders in technology to better target their changing audience. Apple, Google and Microsoft have all begun working on “web TV,” though there may be legal pitfalls in the future.

“The mine�ield of media convergence

will also be dependent on net neutrality and how Congress votes on this,” Browning said. “If the playing �ield is “even,” these platforms will compete for the same consumers. If not, we will all have to bow to the highest bidder.”

According to cNet, this move may make or break the relatively young company.

However, some are arguing this step is a “gateway drug” for internet TV. TechCrunch, for example, lauds Net�lix as a savior of the movie industry and argues that this move may be the �inal push Internet or Web or whatever we end up calling TV needs.

“Net�lix did what Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine, has said about the new media world,” Browning said, referring to Anderson’s book on New Media, The Long Tail. “Make what people want, get it out to where people can get it, when they want it, as many times as they want it, whatever time they want it, and on whatever platform they wish.”

DVD obsolete, digital media rises

GEORGIA ROMIGWeb Editor

Concert to support Autoimmune Disease

The Hard Back Cafe boasted a full house as Darren Flowers and Joel Vaughn performed on Jan. 28. The crowd had to over�low into Hastings to watch the two bands perform for the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (A.A.R.D.A). The audience was offered free samples of coffee while they enjoyed the concert.

Ricky Mariscal, a senior mass communication major, helped organize the show for the A.A.R.D.A.

“January is ‘Coffee Month’ and Hastings wanted to have a celeb barista show with a few local artists, so this is what we put together.” Mariscal said.

Flowers chose to perform on behalf of the charity due to the recent emails he has received about the cause. His aunt was also recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Each band played an hour worth of songs and shared stories about life experiences that have

in�luenced their lyrics or why they chose the songs for this particular event. Flowers was accompanied by Jody Atchley, Stephanie Brackett and Skip Chissom on bass guitar.

The artists mingled with the audience after the

show and spoke with a few audience members affected by autoimmune disorders.

“I thought the turn out was good,” Flowers said. “It was about what I expected, and if anything, we at least raised awareness for the cause.”

FRANKIE SANCHEZPhotographer

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FRANKIE SANCHEZFRANKIE SANCHEZFrom lef to right: Skip Chissom , Stephanie Bracket , Jody Atchley and Darren Flowers.The audience gathered in the Hard Back Cafe for a beni�t show for the A.A.R.D.A.