Casey Wyatt | Schreiner University

Students: Casey Wyatt, Lacey LeBleu

Texas Public Radio has recently worked with the history department here at Schreiner University on a project known as “This Week in the Civil War,” in which both Dr. Huddleston and Dr. Roethler provide daily accounts of events that took place during the American Civil War. A few students, including the two presenters, were lucky enough to become involved with this remarkable opportunity.

In our exhibit, we look at two pivotal weeks during the Civil War, specifically, September 1, 1862 through September 8, and September 16, 1862 through September 22. The American Civil War was a time of immense polarization within our own borders, so we hope to illustrate a detailed and scholarly account of fourteen particular days that shaped this collision.

Students: Casey Wyatt, Cody Moles, Timothy Martinez, Gio Benitez

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics exemplified the remarkable progress and growth of the Modern Olympic Games since their rebirth in 1896. Aided by technological advances in communication and transportation, the interest, attendance, and extravagance of the Games increased over the decades. However, the essence of the Olympics remains athletic achievement. Two athletes in particular truly made lasting marks in 2008, becoming absolutely quintessential to the achievements of the modern Games. Michael Phelps of the United States won eight gold medals in various swimming events, establishing seven world records and emerging as the face of competitive swimming worldwide. Using medals as the standard, Phelps is the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. However, the 2008 Olympics also saw the rise of the fastest human ever, the Jamaican, Usain Bolt. The 100-meter dash might be argued as the most competitive and exciting event in the Summer Games, yet Bolt completely shattered the world record, and doing so while celebrating during the last ten meters. While he failed to match the total gold medals of Phelps, Bolt’s feat may be regarded as equally monumental or possibly greater. Considering the inherent qualities of each respective sport, the competition both athletes faced, and a statistical analysis of their respective performances, this group of researchers seeks to determine which feat proved the most outstanding.