In order to better notify the campus community in the event of a crisis, Western recently implemented a new emergency notification system called Griffon Alert, which is comprised of a text mes­saging feature. Chief of Police Jon Kelley said The Governors task force on campus safety suggested the creation of a fail safe system to alert the entire campus population in the event of an emergency, and that is what Western did.

Several systems were looked at and the university ultimately chose this one.

“This system will allow for a more timely notice to the campus community in the event of an emergency that might impact the community,” Kelley said.

Griffon Alert is designed to send urgent messages to the cell phones and e-mail addresses of students, faculty and staff members who wish to sign up for the service.

Situations in which a message will be sent include: (Full story)

The day is about to come when a different professor shows up at the front of the class to officiate over the instructor’s evaluation. “Students don’t take faculty evaluations seriously,”Western junior Stephanie Willett said. “Either they are mad at an instructor and wish to take out their frustrations in the evaluation or they are happy with the instructors and can’t wait to give them high marks.”

These evaluations are taken during the last two weeks of each semester. By this time a student should have a good understanding of their instructors and how well they teach. Keep in mind however that this time when the bubbles are filled out it is for the MWSU Web site. Considering Senate Bill 389 signed by Gov. Matt Blunt the next evaluations may be the first to be published on the Web site for any student to check out before enrolling in fall ’09 classes. (Full story)

The state gives Missouri Western $641 per student less than the state average, costing the university over $2 million a year.

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. (Full story)

The Western Activities Council has verified “It’s goin’ down” like “in the club” at the Civic Arena for Missouri Western’s annual Spring Concert.

The WAC sponsored event is scheduled for April 10 and will feature rap performers Rick Ross and Yung Joc.
The announcement came officially March 26 through the public relations department a week after WAC presented the performance line-up at an SGA meeting. (Full story)

For those who do not know, the furniture that was once in the Blum Union was moved to the food court on March 7, the Friday before spring break.

This decision was deliberated for several months because of the noise level and behavior that was on going in the union.
Duane Bruce, associate for student development, said the decision was made in response to several occurrences of disruptive behavior in the Blum Student Union.

Bruce explained what would replace the old furniture in the Blum.

“Because it is our intention to make the lounge a place for students to meet and study, we are adding high top tables and chairs to facilitate a better learning and meeting environment,” Bruce said.

Students and staff have very different opinions about the new changes. (Full story)

Students will soon be able to view faculty evaluations of any Missouri college or university on each campus’ Web site.

The Missouri General Assembly passed Senate Bill 389 with an effective date of August ‘07, which requires all institutions of higher education to include faculty names, credentials and student ratings on their Web sites.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed the bill in May of last year and is quoted on his office’s home page saying, “I applaud Senate members for taking this bold step to … introduce accountability measures … ”

“I don’t know if you have any more accountability,” said associate professor Kenneth Dagel. “We are still responsible to administration to achieve certain (student evaluation) numbers and if they do not believe we are doing a good job we probably won’t be here. That’s our accountability.” (Full story)

Walking through Potter Hall has become a dangerous sport. There are lockers as obstacles and practicing musicians as hurdles in the stairwells.

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. (Full story)