I learned old fashioned table manners mostly at Granny’s table. She would react so quickly to a display of poor manners; you would wonder how you got to the living room, without your dinner, in such a flash.

Granny was serious, we had strict rules to adhere to, or we would be excused from the table. It wasn’t just my family either; almost everyone I knew had the same etiquette instilled from early childhood. I should probably mention that this was in the sixties and seventies, a generation ago.

Children of my generation learned proper table behavior at home and at school. Teachers ate with their classes and students displaying poor manners were sent to eat alone.

While the methods of teaching have changed over the decades, some things have been completely lost. Elementary schools should still teach proper etiquette and junior and high schools should enforce some mealtime rules of etiquette.

People today seem to have forgotten basic table manners. Go to any restaurant at dinner time and you too can be disgusted by the lack of respect some people have.
I do not understand why a person thinks everyone else wants to see their food while they’re chewing it. Listening to someone chew is just as gross. I don’t want to hear it or see it. Granny would have approached the disrespectful diners and explained how she would be ashamed if someone at her table were to eat like that.

Some of Granny’s rules are better left forgotten. Like making sure we separated the gristle from the end of the chicken legs and thighs for Jr., the Siamese cat. Jr. had better table manners than some people I see eating in public places, where other people eat.

Parents should go back to Granny’s way of teaching manners, because whatever method being used now is not working.

My grandchildren may not have great manners elsewhere, but at my table, they are polite, respectful and pleasant. Be it at my house or in a public restaurant, or even at family get-togethers.

Whenever anyone eats with even one other person, he or she should remember being at Granny’s table and behave as if they are. What is the golden rule of table manners?

Never eat in a way that might turn someone else’s stomach.

All of the evidence was seized and the arresting officer alerted the K-9 unit to Jones’ campus address where the drug-sniffing dog indicated at Jones’ door that there was in fact drugs’ in the dorm room.

Officers then obtained a search warrant based on the dog’s reaction and found in Jones’ room one bag of marijuana and a second bag containing 14 individually packaged baggies that contained marijuana. Jones was later charged with a felony possession with intent to distribute marijuana on a college property. Jones’ arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 6.

Information contained in the statement of probable cause signed by Steve McClintick, an officer with the SJPD, indicates that Jones will be expelled from Western. Michael Speros, Assistant Dean of Residential Life, and Duane Bruce, Associate Dean of Student Development, both declined to comment on the status of Jones’enrollment citing regulations from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

According to the student handbook, “It is the responsibility of the Associate Dean of Student Development…to implement through an informal disposition the judicial sanction of immediate temporary dismissal from the university.” That means that Bruce should have dismissed Jones, temporarily, immediately upon learning of the crimes Jones’ was arrested for.

Reports of Jones’ alleged crimes come only a week after Kenisha Jenkins, another Western student, was charged with felony stealing, when she alleged that she had been robbed of three bank bags belonging to her employer, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Police found no evidence of the robbery in surveillance footage of the area. Jenkins was charged with stealing after the money was recovered in her home.

Drug crimes in residence halls have decreased overall since 2005 when five people were arrested, six arrests in 2006, and one in 2007. Although drug crimes on the entire campus spiked in 2006 at 13, then dropped back down to three in 2007.

Burglary remains the number one crime committed on campus and almost doubled from 21 in 2005 to 41 in 2007. Liquor law violations places second on the crime list. In 2005, 17 arrests were made on campus involving alcohol. That number rose to 28 in 2006, then reduced by one in 2007 to 27.

Missouri Western is bracing for possible cuts in state appropriations that could amount to roughly $7.9 million. If the funding is cut by 25 percent, which is a possibility, the amount received from the state in fiscal year 2010 would drop from $25.5 million to $17.6 million.

The $25.5 million would have been the result of an 8.5 percent increase Western was anticipating from the current fiscal year’s appropriation of $23.5 million. The increase was proposed to be 5.5 percent as part of a three year increase totaling 15 percent and the additional three percent was recommended by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education to compensate for the equity factors involved in state funding.

The Missouri General Assembly requested from all state funded agencies and institutions, proposals describing the impact of possible cuts in funding of 15, 20 and 25 percent.

Kathy Love, public information officer with the Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE), feels that cutting higher education funding would have a serious impact.

“It doesn’t help the economy to cut higher education because typically during a recession more people will turn to colleges for retraining or to expand their job skills,” Love said. “If we cut the programs that help put them back to work we’re not going to help the economy at all.”

All Missouri institutions were asked to submit scenarios to the MDHE for consideration. The possibilities presented were expectedly dismal.

“They all painted pretty grim pictures,” Love said.

Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis even faces closing their doors if the deep cuts are imposed.

Dan Nicoson, vice- president for university advancement, is not ready to panic yet.

“People here are committed enough that we’re not going to let this situation become disastrous,” Nicoson said.

The proposed cuts are a result of a $340 million budget deficit for Missouri.

“It’s an indication of the downturn nationally,” Love said.

Robert Vartabedian, Western’s president, agrees with Love.

“As the United States goes, so goes the state of Missouri,” Vartabedian said. “The United States is in the middle of a financial freefall. We hope to be encouraged by a new administration that could help jumpstart things.”

Another possible result of budget cuts would be raising tuition. Western has trails other universities in tuition hikes.

“A 25 percent cut would be a very severe cut in the budget, especially at a school that has done its best to hold the line on tuition rates,” Nicoson said. “We didn’t raise tuition at all when everybody else was. We did that out of trying to meet the needs of our students.”

Deputy Director of the CBHE, Paul Wagner, understands the need for more funding.

“We here at the coordinating board are card carrying members of the real world,” Wagner said. “There are a lot of legitimate needs that are brought forward, so we’re going to push as hard as we can for the additional three percent.”

While the extra funds are needed, they are not guaranteed. Director of external relations, Beth Wheeler, is hopeful, but not spending yet.

“I’m guardedly optimistic,” Wheeler said. “This will get us back where we were in 2002.”

Western’s president, Robert Vartabedian, is also hopeful.

“We’re not counting on extra money, but we’re certainly hoping for extra money,” Vartabedian said. “We have a long list of things already in line to do with that extra money.” One of the things on the list would ease the stress of parking on campus.

“I hate to admit this to students, but I think we definitely have a parking problem and a traffic flow problem,” Vartabedian said.

Even with the additional funding, Western is still next to last in Missouri as far as per full-time equivalent (FTE) student funding.

This is called equity. The average for FTE funding is $6,029, Western falls $519 below the average with $5,510. Missouri Southern State University is the only public institution in Missouri to receive less FTE funding than Western, they are $640 below the average with $5,389.

“We would like to get even more money in terms of equity factors,” Vartabedian said.

Vice President of financial planning, Mel Klinkner, is concerned with the equity issue.

“Like everybody else, our costs are rising, so additional funding is needed just to keep pace with where we are today,” Klinkner said. “Additional resources are needed to accommodate the growing number of students on campus.”

Western has record-breaking enrollment this year, making our equity even less. The high enrollment has created over-crowded classrooms, a problem that, according to Wheeler, needs to be addressed.

“We have a really high student-faculty ration and student-staff ratio,” Wheeler said.

Vartabedian is committed to convincing the state that Western requires more funding. “Impressing on legislators that we’ve had four consecutive years of growth, when we’re behind the curve in the first place, that our needs may be more than they’re aware of will certainly be a goal of mine,” Vartabedian said. He would like to get students involved in convincing legislators.

“Part of my goal will be to make them (students) interested to be a player in this process,” Vartebedian said. “If we could mobilize the forces, they can be a very, very effective tool for us. It’s hard for legislators to turn away from that.”

If you sneezed at the event featuring Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, a dozen well-trained eyes sharply focused on you. Biden was well protected when he delivered his campaign speech to a crowd of approximately 1,200 people on Oct. 9, in the M.O. Looney Complex. Security was in full force as local law enforcement officers teamed up with Secret Service agents to ensure the safety of the senator and everyone in attendance.

Such security is necessary—and standard—at all public events that feature a presidential or vice presidential candidate, especially this election year. This is an historic election with Barack Obama being the first black candidate for the office of U.S. President.

Secret Service officers were visible near Biden and around the complex, while others were invisible as they mixed in with the crowd.

Around 20 SJPD officers, including the Special Response Team (SRT), four commissioned MWSU police officers and 11 Police Academy cadets were on the team along with an undisclosed number of Secret Service agents. Also on the team was a German shepherd that sniffed purses and backpacks as they entered the building. A metal detecting wand was in use at the entrance as well.

Biden’s entourage while in St. Joseph included one unidentified officer from the SJPD and an unidentified local highway patrol officer.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson the SJPD and the secret service worked together for a week before the event.

“The Secret Service gave us ample notice to prepare,” Wilson said.

“They notified us last week and invited us to a planning meeting.”

With the number of officers needed, some worked on their day off. SJPD officer Scott Vanover didn’t mind working.

“It’s my day off,” Vanover said. ” I’m working for overtime.”

The event offered a good opportunity for Police Academy cadets to see national security agents at work. Cadet Chase Pollard believed in the need for security and the need for the event.

“It’s essential for Americans to speak their minds,” Pollard said. “It’s important for both sides to be heard.”

Despite the fact that Biden was late, the entire event occurred with no security incidents. When the crowd was clearing after the conclusion, one of the officers, who would not give his name, said the day “went very well.”

The current system awards increases across the board with cost-of-living adjustments. 

The Faculty Senate Salary Committee has introduced two proposals that could change faculty salary increases.

One proposal that will be studied next year is for a performance-based increase. This proposal intends to give incentive for faculty to perform their best.

James MacGregor, assistant professor of history and faculty senate liaison to the salary committee, is in favor of the change.

“It’s a way of rewarding the faculty who perform really well while at the same time not acting in a detrimental fashion on a faculty member who has had a slow year,” MacGregor said.

Not everyone favors such a change. Mike Cadden, chair of the Department of English, Foreign Language and Journalism, believes Western already has a performance based system in place with the Distinguished Professor Program and the promotion schedule which has generous increases in salary.

The Distinguished Professor Program allows an assistant professor to earn $3,000 more, once they are at rank, if they receive the award. Associate professors can bump their salary by $5,000 and a full professor by $7,000. Full professors may apply for the program every five years.

This is in addition to promotion increases. When promoted to associate professor the increase is $5,000 and $7,000 for promotion to full professor. Cadden believes these are enough of a performance based system.
“I’m less interested in something that’s going to put too many salary decisions in the hands of the chair people. I hope that the chair people are not handed a pile of money and said `Here, distribute this among the faculty however you think is best,” Cadden said.

Another proposal involves increasing the minimum salary at each rank and could be in effect for the next academic year.

The need to meet minimum salaries comes from the Senate approval to raise starting salaries by $10,000 in each rank in order to attract and retain quality faculty. If the administration chooses to follow this recommendation, minimum salaries would increase to $40,000 for an instructor, $46,000 for an assistant professor, $50,000 for an associate professor and $56,000 for a full professor.

Existing faculty would receive a four percent raise to accommodate the cost-of-living, a raise in salary to meet the minimum and equity increases based on years of service.

For example: under the proposal an assistant professor currently making $40,000 after three years of service would see a four percent ($1,600) cost-of-living increase and an additional $4,400 to reach the minimum salary of $46,000, and also a $500 equity adjustment for three years of service.

The equity increase would allow faculty members that have been here awhile to be above the minimum starting salary of new faculty members and increases with number of years of service.

The cost of this proposal to the university, if approved by administration, would be $700,000. James Scanlon, Western’s President, agrees with the need to increase salaries, but cautioned the full amount may not be possible.

“Unfortunately there are limits, with Missouri ranked 47th in the country in per capita funding,” Scanlon said. “These are the fiscal realities we have to work with.”

“The problems we face are not institutional, they are state wide,” Evan Noynaert said at the April 17 Faculty Senate meeting. “Many state schools had big lay offs, we did not.”

The salary for a full professor at Western averages $67,246 with the state average being $74,342. Professors here at Western are fairly close to the state average, but Missouri overall falls below the national average of $84,210. However, Western cannot adopt a salary increase plan from other universities.

“We need a system that works for this faculty,” MacGregor said.

The proposed 5.2 percent budget increase for Western’s next fiscal year will only slightly offset the equity deficiency. The offset, however small, is because Western’s increase is higher than the average state increase of 4.2 percent. State funding for Western was $5,301 per student last year, $641 below the state average of $5,942. Missouri Southern comes in behind Western at $4,887. With 3,999 FTE students, that $641 loss is equal to over $2.5 million.

Bruce Speck, president of Missouri Southern, feels that the only way to change the problem is for state legislature to realize the need for change.

On the other end of the spectrum is Truman, which receives $7,367 per FTE and Lincoln with $7,335.

This equity issue has been a problem for Western since the state changed the funding methods in the early 1980s.
Until the early 1980s, public higher education was funded by using a formula that totaled the number of credit hours generated by each institution and dividing that number by 12 (full time load); the result is called full-time equivalent (FTE) students. The percentage per school from the total number of FTE’s in the state was the percentage of funding received from the total higher education budget, excluding accommodations for universities with graduate programs and expensive medical schools.

Then in the early 1980s the legislature and the department of higher education decided to freeze the amount of funding at the last amount generated by the FTE percentage. That core amount would then only increase by a percentage instead of on an FTE basis. Thus, institutions that added many students would receive less per student, essentially dividing the pie into more and smaller slices.

“In 1980 Missouri Western was 12 years old and we were growing, as was Missouri Southern. Our numbers took off, but our core was set,” said Beth Wheeler, director of external relations at Western.

“We have grown much more consistently. In fact, some of the institutions who were frozen have decreased greatly, but their appropriation has stayed the same.”

That means the institutions that have decreased in numbers are now receiving a much higher per FTE slice of the pie. For example, the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla) had 6,684 FTE students in 1981, and by 2004 that number had decreased to 4, 594. Dr. James Scanlon has been trying to resolve the equity issue since he became president of Western.

“I came here in 2001 and with the help of a lot of people, I’ve been working on that issue once it became clear to me that it was an issue,” Scanlon said.

“Probably the most significant result being wha the governor proposed in his three year plan, because that became an official recognition by the department of higher education, the governor and the general assembly that there was this issue.”

It is because the state recognized the issue that Western’s proposed increase is one percent higher than the state average. That one percent amounts to roughly $210,000. Rick Gilmore, interim vice president for financial planning and administration, is encouraged by Scanlon’s efforts. “Dr. Scanlon has been very diligent in getting equity for Western through all six years he’s been here. I don’t think anybody could have done a better job than Dr. Scanlon,” Gilmore said.

Twenty-five years after the core was frozen, Western has recovered about half of the loss caused by the freeze. “We have made progress since Dr. Scanlon has been here; he’s focused on it and encour aged legislators and we are getting closer. We were at more than $5 million, we’re now at $2.5 million,” Wheeler said.

While construction of the new incubator is underway and a spring groundbreaking is scheduled for the math and science building, fine arts students and faculty want some upgrades, too.

Potter is on the priority list for capital improvement from the state of Missouri; however, it may be there a long while.
“The best we can hope for is four or five years,” said Beth Wheeler, director of external relations at Western. Wheeler feels it could be several years before state funds for the proposed renovations and expansion of Potter Hall are available.
“Capital is not high on the list when operating expenses cannot be met,” Wheeler said.

The cost attached to the Potter Hall proposal is $26 million, money the state is not able or willing to invest in capital improvements right now.

“There has been very little capital money from the state of Missouri in the last decade and very little beyond that,” said Dr. James Scanlon, Western’s president.

The last Western project funded through state capital dollars was the renovations to Murphy Hall and Eder Hall in 2000.
Built in 1969, Potter Hall houses the growing departments of music, art and theatre.

The building is bulging at the seams because enrollment has escalated beyond capacity.

“We’ve got double our choir and band enrollment from those in 1969 and majors have grown by 38 percent,” Wheeler said.
Western has now added a master’s program that will require even more unavailable space.

“We don’t have the space or the technology or the configuration of the building to accommodate those,” Wheeler said.

According to students, faculty and administration, Potter Hall is in need of renovation and expansion, especially because of the new master’s program.

“Until we can get a renovation and expansion, we’re doing a small renovation that will enhance art, theatre/video and music undergrad programs and provide space needed to begin the new master of applied arts degree,” said Dr. Matt Gilmour, chairperson for the department of music.

Students are also excited about the proposed renovations and expansion. “The biggest issue is room, said senior music major Javier Sanz. “Renovations will be completely awesome,” Sanz said.

Teachers, such as associate professor of art Geo Sipp, are looking forward to any renovations possible. “We’re just very eager to get going,” Sipp said. “We need to provide adequate current technologies for grad students and renovations this summer will provide us the opportunity to give our students the best instruction available.”

The renovation would include new classrooms, some with acoustic and soundproofing treatments, new lighting and sound systems, a new stage and new restrooms.

The expansion would include more seating in the performance hall, addition of art and music teaching studios, a large ensemble rehearsal hall, additional music practice rooms and space for exhibition of student artwork.

Some much needed storage space will also be added so the band instruments will have an inside room. The band has stored expensive instruments in a rented trailer for nearly a decade, which means moving the instruments in and out of Potter Hall every day for rehearsal.

More practice rooms would mean the end of rehearsals in stairwells.

While Potter Hall is a priority, Western’s campus would benefit from other capital improvements as well.

“There are an enormous number of things we could improve as capital projects. We would like to see more recreation facilities,” Provost Joseph Bragin said. Bragin would like to see more exercise facilities and facilities for students to hold major events.

“The students need to do something we could call co-curricular,” Bragin said.

While Western waits for capital funds for Potter Hall, there are other projects to appreciate. The Christopher S. Bond Technology Incubator, built with funds from a federal grant, is currently under construction, as anyone driving by can see, and the groundbreaking for Remington Hall is scheduled for this spring.

The roughly $38 million needed for the Agenstein renovation and Remington addition is not from state capital funds. The money is coming from a generous $5 million donation from Wes and Patsy Remington and from the Lewis and Clark Initiative.

“It (the Lewis and Clark Initiative) comes from the sale of selected assets of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA),” Scanlon said.

The recommendation must be approved by the House, the Senate and the Governor to guarantee the 5.2 percent budget increase for fiscal year 2009. 

If signed, the increase will be the second of three appropriations increases; the first 5.5 percent increase was part of the budget for fiscal year 2008, which runs from July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008.

Western will receive nearly $23.52 million in state appropriations, slightly less than originally anticipated.

Dr. James Scanlon, Western’s president, is pleased with the increase compared to other universities.

“We’re getting one percent above what the average increase in funding is for the public four year universities; 4.2 is average, we’re getting 5.2,” Scanlon said.

Even with the increase last year, Missouri ranks 47th in the nation in appropriations per capita for higher education, followed by Colorado, Vermont and New Hampshire.

“The state of Missouri cannot build a strong economy or a strong society going forward funding higher education at the level of 47th in the nation,” Scanlon said. “When you are funded at the level of 47th in the nation, it’s hard to be anything else but very lean. So, when the cuts come, you’re not cutting fat, you’re in the bone.”

Budget cuts are very likely in the future for Western. “It does appear that similar clouds are on the horizon that ultimately dominated the horizon in 2001 and succeeding years,” Scanlon said. In those years, there was a 10 percent budget cut, and then a two percent increase and then it did not change for three years.

The following year (FY2008), the increase was 5.2 percent. Richard Gilmore, associate vice president for financial planning and administration at Western, recalls cutting into the bone. “We took a very large hit in fiscal year 2002 when  they withheld money we were suppose to get then the very next year we took a 10 percent cut,” Gilmore said. “Missouri took one of the biggest hits in the nation.”

Total appropriations in FY 2002 were $21.9 million, and then with the 10 percent cut appropriations dropped by more than $2 million. With the proposed 5.2 percent increase for next year, Western would barely move beyond where it was in FY 2002.

Western survived the cuts by using reserve funds, wisely. “Dr. Janet Murphy left us with good reserves that helped us enormously manage the cuts we received,” Scanlon said.

The reserve fund will be necessary should the budget fall under the axe again. “We maintain a strong reserve so that, it is not an if, it is a when, when the next downturn comes, the university is in a position, we’ll be able to manage the financial situation,” Scanlon said.

In anticipation of potential cuts, Western has built its reserves up to approximately $7.8 million. Provost Joseph Bragin feels reserves are necessary to prepare for another set back. “We are going to have to plan for a bad situation,” Bragin said.
If state appropriations were cut 10 percent as they were in 2002, the loss to Western would equal $2.35 million, a lot of bone. To alleviate the cut, Western could increase tuition. However, because of Senate Bill 389, tuition could not be increased by more than the current Consumer Price Index (CPI), which most of us know as inflation. The current CPI is 4.1 percent; each one percent increase in tuition equals about $120,000. That adds up to about $500,000 to make up for the $2.35 million cut.

State appropriations and tuition comprise 97 percent of Western’s total operating budget of roughly $46 million.

 Those words started a revolution in communication, and Bell could not have imagined where his invention would lead.
The telephone has evolved into portable devices that connect us to the world. Almost every American home has a phone, whether wired or wireless.

 Most colleges, including Western, provide landlines for campus residents.

 Carolyn Froman, telephone services coordinator at Western, explained the locations of phones on campus. “We provide a phone line in approximately 1200 rooms in residence halls,”  Froman said. According to Froman, each line costs $12.25 per month, which is included in the residence halls fees. That adds up to almost $15 thousand every month.

 “Even though most students have cell phones, we will still provide the phone service in every room because of safety reasons. If a student has a dead battery in their cell phone and they need to call emergency services, we want to ensure they can make the call,” Froman said.

 Northwest Missouri State University also provides a phone line in all residence halls.

Steve Chor, with telephone services at Northwest, explained how the payments work.

 “The state of Missouri provides the service and we pay $14 per month per line,” Chor said.

 According to Chor, Northwest surveyed all students that live on campus, and 30 percent responded.

 Of the 30 percent, 80 percent said they do use the phones provided in the rooms; that is a sharp contrast to Western.

Michael Speros, Western’s director of housing and residential life, explained the status of phone usage on campus.

 “In a general sense, there are a lot of students who do not use them,” Speros said.

Hanna Taylor, a senior in nursing, does not use the phone line in her room in Beshears Hall. “I don’t need it, I have a cell phone. I don’t even have a phone plugged in,” Taylor said.

 William Gray introduced pay phones in 1889 in Hartford, Conn. The popularity of cell phones has reduced the number of payphones nationwide.

 According to the American Public Communications Council and AT&T, today there are 2.2 million payphones, down from 2.6 million in 1998.

 Local calls on pay phones also have dropped 30 percent since 1998.

 Phones provided in residence halls and cell phones along with the courtesy phones on every floor of every building have eliminated the need for pay phones on campus.

Currently two pay phones remain on Western’s campus while Northwest has none.

As the telephone industry evolves, perhaps one day we will see the end of landline phones.

Only time will tell.

  “You have to get here early to get a good spot or walk a country mile,” said Kristen McKinney, a junior majoring in communications. She is right. The fact is, there are always available parking spaces on campus; they are just not convenient. The world wants convenience in everything; drive-up banking, drive-up restaurants and drive-through stores. The list is endless. “They need to build more lots or change the restricted parking.” McKinney said.

Restricted spaces are for faculty. Some faculty members feel like the students, that there are not enough restricted spaces. “I have driven around for 30 minutes looking for a space.” Debby Bogle, associate professor of education said. “We used to be able to park in student spaces if restricted parking was full, but not any more.” Bogle feels that assigned spaces for faculty would alleviate the problem.  

 Currently there are approximately 3300 parking spaces on campus according to Jon Kelley, chief of Campus Police. “I’ve been here 18 years and there have been com­plaints about parking for 18 years,” Kelley said. Parking complaints are a perennial problem and there is a solution; Park in a different lot that might not be as convenient and walk. This would be effective for students and faculty.

According to an e-mail from Kelley, there are 4,973 registered vehicles belonging to 4,103 parking customers. The problem is not a lack of parking spaces; it is a lack of willingness to walk a few extra yards.

Kelley also wrote, “The average number of parking citations issued per semester over the last three spring semesters is 4,256 and 4,284 for the fall semesters.” At a minimum of $25 per ticket, that adds up to an average of over $213 thousand per year.   

According to Kelley’s e-mail, “Traffic fines revenue is used mainly to operate all of the activities related to parking services.” This includes expenses for purchasing and maintaining various equipment, personnel required, parking decals and the ticket stock.

    Parking is only a nightmare if students allow it to be. Students have three choices: They can get here early to secure a good space, they can drive around waiting for a space or they can park immediately and walk a few minutes. The economical, not to mention healthy, choice would be to park in a less convenient space and get a few minutes of exercise walking to class. 

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.

Missouri Western will hold the $100 thousand donated by the Goppert Foundation in investments and the interest will pay for the scholarships, so potentially, there will be more funds available each year. This particular scholarship is renewable, which means if a student qualifies for the funds this year, they could continue to receive the funds as long as their GPA remains 2.5 or greater.

According to an MWSU press release, Dick Hutchison, president of La Monte Community Bank said, “The foundation wants to be a good steward and help the young people of the communities where their banks are located.”

Billy Campbell, president of the Lathrop Bank, a Goppert owned bank, said,” The Goppert Foundation is expanding their area of service.” The Goppert Foundation has multiple scholarships across the state, which now includes Missouri Western. “Thomas Goppert is a genuine warm hearted person.” Campbell said.

The financial aid department is responsible for awarding eight scholarships including the new Goppert scholarship. “There are approximately 250 scholarship funds available to Western students. We have 25-30 scholarship committees that determine recipients of funds,” Cindy Spotts-Conrad, senior coordinator for financial aid said. 

Melissa Lawrence, a sophomore in elementary special education feels much like many other students do. “There are too many forms to fill out.” Lawrence said. According to Spotts-Conrad, there is just one online form to complete that applies to all available scholarships.

Other students think they cannot get scholarships because they are receiving student loans. This is a common misconception. Scholarships can help reduce the amount students need to borrow and ultimately, the amount they will have to pay back. 

Scholarships are available to all students. First students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid online, then go to the Missouri Western homepage and click on departments. Next, continue to financial aid, and finally click on scholarships. The deadline for completing the FAFSA and applying for Missouri Western scholarships for the 2008-2009 school year is March 1, 2008.