Despite the democratic process and the right to vote being central to our constitutional rights, many choose not to participate and exercise their rights for a multitude of reasons.

In the presidential election of 2004 the overall number of voters reached 126 million, which amounted to a total of only 58 percent of the voting age population. 

What appears to be dismal voting rates, actually reflects a record high turnout for the second consecutive presidential election, 15 million more voters then the elections of 2000.

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Jill Johnson, Western’s forward for the women’s basketball team, is headed to Atlanta for her nomination of the prestigious Coach Wooden Cup.

The Wooden Cup is given to athletes who have made a great difference throughout the community and who demonstrate outstanding leadership on and off the court.  It is one of the most important and distinctive honors an athlete can achieve.

The Wooden Cup is named in honor of John Wooden, a very successful coach in collegiate basketball history and a positive role model in the history of the NCAA.  Founded by Athletes for a Better World, a non-profit organization, the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is presented to two distinguished athletes from any sport, one collegiate and one professional.

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I hear a lot of people whining and complaining about the ALEKS program being used in algebra, well here’s a tip for you, it works if you work it! The ALEKS program is a web-based , artificial assessment and learning system that provides one-on-one instruction 24/7. It was first introduced by Dr. Victoria Wacek in the fall of 2001 as a supplemental teaching program. In 2003 director R.E. Moore made the decision to initialize the program as a primary tool for teaching algebra, and the results have been incredible. The first semester ALEKS was used it produced a student passing rate of 59%. Of the students who actually came to class and used the ALEKS program. The passing rate has steadily climbed to an awesome 96% in the fall of 2007. That’s a rock and roll performance from the math department as well as the students. Kudos to all involved. 

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The Missouri Western Griffons (8-8) had trouble shooting the ball in their 69-55 loss to the Pittsburg State Gorillas (12-4).

The Griffons managed to shoot only 36 percent from the field. Head Coach Tom Smith believes the Griffons need to be more disciplined during games.

“Our shot selection was poor from beginning to end,” Smith said.

The Griffons got off to a fast start as they jumped out to a 12-6 lead. The Gorillas closed the half out on a 20-11 run to take 26-23 lead into the half.

The Gorillas came out hot in the second half beginning the half on a 11-4 run. Coach Smith believes turnovers played a role in that run.

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In championship fashion, the Griffons (9-6) edged out the Gorillas, and gave the 1,388 fans in attendance at the MWSU Fieldhouse a game to remember.

Coming off of two straight conference wins against Central Missouri and Fort Hays State, the Griffons were able to make it three in a row in the MIAA (4-3) by defeating the Pittsburg State Gorillas 77-75 in a nail-biter that came down to the wire.

Missouri Western went into the half, leading 38-31. The Gorillas kept it close the rest of the game. Even with the Griffons leading by as much as thirteen, the game was a back and forth battle. But in the last minute of the contest, the Griffons would learn how crucial it would really become. 

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The Goppert Foundation of Kansas City recently gave the Missouri Western Foundation $100 thousand to establish a permanent endowed scholarship to give students a new opportunity to help pay tuition.

“While students from Lathrop, Mo. and Norborne, Mo. are preferred, the scholarship is open to all fulltime students taking 12 hours or more and having financial need,” Jerry Pickman, Western’s director of development said. “Their gift will benefit Western students for years to come.” 

Clarence Goppert, a banker, founded the Goppert Foundation in 1960 and his grandson, Thomas Goppert, now runs it.

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Missouri Western  State University named its new Presidential designate on Dec. 17.

Robert A. Vartabedian, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Eastern New Mexico University, was chosen by the Board of Governors. There are 14 challenges and 19 qualifications that  were being searched for by the screening committee and Vartabedian met them all. He will be the fourth president for Missouri Western State University. President James Scanlon will be acting president until June 30.

 Vartabedian is a native Californian who obtained his B.A. in speech communication  at California State University  and his M.A. was from Wichita State University.

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