On January 21 at 10:28 p.m., Western basketball player Ashleigh Curry, was arrested for a misdemeanor of supplying alcohol to a minor. The Western guard had apparently rented out Callison Hall for a back-to-school party, which had been advertised on and off campus via flyers.

Ashleigh Curry, Western Women's Basketball guard

In an earlier article written by the St. Joseph News-Press, reader comments alleged that Curry had given alcohol to minors. Other comments suggested that she was a victim of poor circumstances, that minors drank prior to walking into the Callison Hall. Amid these comments were those who were calling for her removal from the women’s basketball team.

Western Athletic Director Kurt McGuffin said that since Curry hasn’t appeared in court yet and that the charge is a misdemeanor, McGuffin wanted to be fair and consistent with the athletic department’s disciplinary actions. He also said that in situations like these, expulsion form the team is always considered.

“I think any time one of our student athletes makes a wrong decision we’re going to consider that part of it,” McGuffin said.

Curry has previous encounters with the law. In March of 2008, Curry was cited for a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Ten days later she was cited for identity theft.

McGuffin said that when deciding disciplinary action, these past citations were considered. With these actions, McGuffin aims for consistency and follows a three-strike policy, but feels that Curry has not struck out.

“We had to make it known that we weren’t going to put up with that kind of infraction and bad decision,” McGuffin said.

As well as being suspended, Head Coach Lynn Plett and McGuffin have applied other in-house disciplinary actions. Neither Plett nor McGuffin said they could go into detail on these actions and prefer to keep it within the team so they can protect the privacy of Curry.

Last semester, Curry had some eligibility issues with the NCAA concerning her short time with Livin’ the Dream which was believed to had compromised her amateur status. Despite the time that Plett and McGuffin spent working out these issues, neither of them regrets their decision to fight for her play-time for Western.

“[She’s] a very viable individual, I think, and she’s working very hard in her degree,” Plett said.

Curry declined to comment since the situation is not over.

Last week, the St. Joseph Police Department received 15 reports concerning the theft of catalytic converters. Capt. Kevin Castle said that the thefts are mostly targeted toward GM and Pontiac vehicles.

“Usually they’re hitting multiple cars in one lot,” Castle said. “Like high school lots, Heartland’s lots. Lots with large numbers of cars on them.”

A release sent out by Missouri Western Public Relations stated that both Heartland Health and American Family have reported thefts of catalytic converters on their campuses. Kim Penland, operations services tech for American Family, said she realized that her converter was missing when she left for work one afternoon.

“When I turned the car on it was very noticeable,” Penland said.

Penland said that a woman two rows in front of her had her converter stolen also.

“It’s very aggravating, and no one likes a thief,” Penland said. “It’s upsetting, and it’s expensive. I feel sorry for the girl in front of me because hers was going to be higher.”

Penland said that the cost to replace the converter on her 2005 Chevy van was roughly $100. Ken Lehna, assistant service manager at Randy Reed, said that these parts sometimes cost $300 to $900, including labor.

A catalytic converter filters harmful carbons out of a vehicle’s exhaust to prevent pollution. Since it ties directly into the exhaust system, cutting the converter out disconnects the engine exhaust system from the muffler, causing a louder exhaust.

“It’s been happening when I was working in Kansas City about a year-year and a half ago,” Lehna said, “There’s just money to be made.”

This isn’t the first time SJPD has seen an increase in these types of crimes.

“It’s not uncommon to see these,” Castle said. “You’ll see little spikes in them, especially when you see increases in prices go up.”

As far as prevention, there is no way to secure a car’s converter, especially since most of these crimes are committed with saws. Castle encouraged people to take notice of anyone tampering with a vehicle in a parking lot. He said that people have reported seeing others tampering with vehicles after the victim reported the theft.

“Try and park your car in a place where there will be a high pedestrian count,” Castle said. “It doesn’t take them a long time, it can be done in under a minute, but it’s going to make some noise and someone has to be laying under your car to do it.”

“I’m really about accountability. I’m really about teachable moments and educational moments,” she said. “So if we say that there are no drugs or alcohol on campus, why are we turning our heads if there is?”

The release of the 2010 Annual Clery Crime Report revealed increases in arrests and referrals for several crimes. Drug law violation referrals increased by 337 percent while arrests increased by 57 percent in the residence halls. Drug arrests on campus increased by 90 percent.

“Drugs and alcohol are probably not a good choice,” Peralez said, “but for many of you, you’re probably going to try it.”

Peralez would rather call those people in and discuss the opportunities that the students are jeopardizing.

“For some it’s scary enough that they stop and you don’t see them again,” she said. “For others, they keep pushing the envelope and finally you’re suspended.”

For the first time last year, Peralez said that all of the Residence Hall Directors had their Master’s degrees. She believes that the increase is due to the maturity level of the RHDs and their willingness to work with students and discover drug problems.

Police Chief Jon Kelley also attributes the increase in referrals to the awareness and education of students by Residential Life and Student Affairs. Despite several increases, Kelley believes that the report still shows that Western’s campus is safe.

“I see no murders and no manslaughters,” Kelley said. “I’m happy about that.”

Kelley said that most of the drug related arrests are for drug paraphernalia or marijuana.

“You’ve got to remember, we live on a college campus,” he said, “and when you live on a college campus those things are going to happen.”

Putting things into perspective, Kelley said that out of the roughly 1000 residential students, Western police only arrested 19 for drug law violations. From 2009 to 2010, the number of liquor law violations went from 20 to 28, or a 40 percent increase.

“I don’t think drug arrests are any more serious than alcohol arrests,” Kelley said. “If you look across the country, alcohol kills more people every year than drugs — alcohol related incidents.”

Mel Klinkner, vice president for financial planning and administration, believes that the report reflects that Western is a safe campus.

“I think we have heightened the awareness of it,” Klinkner said. “I think it’s always difficult to determine what causes the change from year to year. Sometimes you can point to it.”

The largest increase in the report was the increase in referrals, which Klinkner attributes to the education of Student Affairs and Residential Life.

“To me it’s more of students taking ownership in it,” Klinkner said.

Another staggering number is the increase in sexual offenses. In 2010 the number of forcible sexual offenses increased by two, which was zero in 2009.

“There’s a couple of sexual offenses,” Kelley said, “and of course we always want to work on those and refer those people to the areas they need to be referred to for their benefit.”

While the number of forcible sexual offenses has increased, Kelley said that neither of these were offenses by strangers to the victims. Kelley believes that the reason this number is low is because of the proactive enforcement of the other violations.

“We take the drug offenses and alcohol offenses seriously,” Kelley said. “But the majority of crimes that are committed today, those types or crimes, are committed by people who are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.”

The report is required by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which requires any college or university that participates in federal financial aid programs to issue the report. This is so everyone on and around the campus can be aware of any violent crimes that have happened in the past years.

Freshman Samantha White says she hasn’t had any issues with crimes since she has been attending Missouri Western.

“I think the campus is pretty safe,” White said. “I have never had any problems and I have never felt unsafe.”

According to the report, Western’s campus has been increasing in campus safety. Missouri Western’s Chief of Police Jonathan Kelley agrees with the report.

“I think Western is a very safe campus and I believe that is evidenced by our most recent Clery statistics,” Kelley said.

The report is divided into two sections. One is crimes reported to Missouri Western Police Department by type, such as burglary, assault, and sex offenses. The second section is arrests and referrals due to liquor, drug, or weapons law violations. The report records the statistics for the last three years.

The report stated that in 2009, a total of seven crimes were reported to the Missouri Western Police Department. All seven reported crimes were burglary, and five were reported to have happened in the residence halls. This is compared to 18 crimes reported in 2008 and 41 reported in 2007.

Of the 18 crimes in 2008, 15 were burglary and nine happened in the residence halls. One was aggravated assault on campus, one was a non-forcible sex offense in the residence halls, and one was motor vehicle theft on public property that is on or adjoins Western’s campus, such as the conservation department.

Crime rates have gone down on Western’s campus dramatically in only two years. Arrests and referrals due to liquor, drug, or weapons law violations have not. According to the report, these have actually increased since 2007.

A total of 83 arrests and referrals happened in 2009, compared with 86 in 2008 and 75 in 2007. This could simply be due the increased number of students enrolled at Missouri Western.

Many arrests and referrals happened in the residence halls. 43 out of 53 liquor law violations in 2009 happened in the residences halls, and 18 out of 27 drug law violations in 2009 happened in the residence halls.

The best way to avoid being the victim of a crime is to be aware of campus safety. The Missouri Western Police Department website has a guide to campus safety. Kelley says that the police department provides daily crime logs as well as the yearly crime report, and helps raise safety awareness.

Graphic | Andy Inman

The Missouri Court of Appeals function is to hear appeals from previously held trials in the given district area. The appealing party usually feels that there were errors in their trail that could be grounds for a retrial.

Three Missouri judges; Chief Judge Lisa White Hardwick, Buchanan County Judge Keith Marquart and Judge Gary Witt will preside of the appeal hearings. They will hear the arguments for appeal in five cases.

Hardwick is in her first year as the Western Districts Chief Judge. She has practiced law in the Kansas City area for over 15 years and has been a member of the appeals court for a total of nine years.

Hardwick feels that it is important for the Missouri Court of Appeals to convene outside of their normal Kansas City court so that more of the public is exposed to how appeals process of the legal system works.

“This gives individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see. We hope those attending will gain a better understanding of the of the courts function,” Hardwick said.

David Tushaus, associate professor of legal studies, likes the benefits of the Missouri Court of Appeals coming to Missouri Western. Tushaus feels that it is especially valuable to criminal justice and legal studies majors.

“It’s important for students to get out and see how one aspect of the legal system works,” Tushaus said.

Tushaus stated that other benefits to having the court come to Missouri Western is that students don’t have to travel to attend and that it does not cost the university anything to bring the court here.

Missouri Western sophomore, Jacob Scott, legal studies major, says he plans on attending the hearings. Scott stated that being a declared legal studies major makes it mandatory for him to attend.

When asked how he felt about the Missouri Court of Appeals coming to Missouri Western, Scott said, “It’s a good opportunity for students to get out there and see how the criminal justice system works first hand. I am glad to have it come to Missouri Western.”

In between cases, students will have the opportunity to ask the three-judge panel any questions they may have, as long as it does not directly relate to a case. Students are encouraged to attend, even if it is not required of them.

The court will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13 in Potter Hall Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

The Clery Report is a yearly report disclosing crime statistics and information about college and universities for the prior three years. The report came out of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, named after a 19-year-old student from Pennsylvania who was raped and murdered in a campus residence hall in 1986. Since 1990, all colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs are required to issue the report.

According to this year’s Clery Report, Western had a total of 109 crimes from 2006-2008, plus 103 arrests and 171 referrals for liquor law, drug law and weapons law violations. Of those crimes, the most frequent was burglary, a total of 94. Other crimes committed include seven motor vehicle thefts, four aggravated assaults, one robbery and two non-forcible sexual offenses.

From the perspective of University Police Chief Jon Kelley, the statistics of the Clery Report show that Western is a relatively safe campus devoid of the more serious crimes larger campuses deal with.

“Personally, I think Missouri Western is a very safe campus,” Kelley said. “We do get some reports of less serious crimes against persons and…property crimes, but fortunately we have not had many reports of the most serious crimes.”

According to the Department of Education crime report web site, located at http://www.ope.ed.gov/security/index.aspx, Northwest Missouri State University has had 134 crimes, 47 arrests and 310 disciplinary actions over the past three years, while the University of Missouri has had 115 crimes, 669 arrests and 1,557 disciplinary actions.

Sean O’Reilly, acting director of residential life, credits university police for the relatively low crime statistics on campus, including the residence halls.

“They’re a visible presence on campus,” O’Reilly said. “Over the last three to four years, they’ve worked very hard to make sure crimes are documented in the halls.”

Furthermore, O’Reilly notes that the University Police Department has a close working relationship with the St. Joseph Police Department, an assessment Kelley agrees with.

“Currently we share a radio system with the [St. Joseph and Buchanan County] Police Departments,” Kelly said. “…we [also] partner with the St. Joseph Police Department on other programs throughout the year.”

There’s no question that the crimes on campus, although low by comparison, are nevertheless an issue that is taken very seriously. University Police have posted Clery Act Timely Warning policies in compliance with the Clery Act all around campus, informing students of recently frequent crimes, including burglary and especially theft, which Kelley cites as the most frequently reported crime on campus.

Further putting the crime statistics in perspective, O’Reilly tells a story about a colleague at Indiana University and the types of crimes she had to deal with.

“[In a] 1,500 persona complex, she would deal with, on a given weekend, 25 to 30 alcohol incidents in her area alone,” O’Reilly said. “On a given weekend here, we don’t have all those things happening.”

To keep those types of crimes from happening, the student body needs to take certain precautions to protect themselves. Don’t carry large amounts of money on your person, don’t leave expensive items like iPods and laptops out in the open, make sure doors and windows are locked at all times and take the time to read the Timely Warning policies posted all around campus. Crime might not be as common or dangerous at Western in comparison to Northwest, but that’s no reason to create more statistics.

For more information, go to http://www.missouriwestern.edu/safetyreport/ for Missouri Western State University’s Clery report.

Gordon Bazemore, a leading authority on the concept of restorative justice in America’s criminal justice system was the featured speaker. Bazemore gave his presentation called “Restorative Justice; An Alternative Response to Crime.”

Bazemore is a professor and chair of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He is also the director of the Community Justice Institute at Florida Atlantic University. Bazemore has spoken and written extensively about the concept of restorative justice, which emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime.

With an audience of about 100 students, staff and community members in attendance, Bazemore spoke about Restorative Justice and who crime affects. According to Bazemore, when people are asked about justice, the thing that comes to mind is punishment. Most want to know that the person who committed a criminal act will get some sort of punishment for what they did.

“We as Americans have become addicted to punishment,” Bazemore said.

The process of Restorative Justice is about rehabilitating a criminal. The program gives criminals a chance to meet the people that were affected by the crime whether it is a family or a business owner or several members of the community.

“Restorative Justice is not for sissies,” Bazemore said.

Jamie Roe, community engagement coordinator of Buchanan County, also spoke. The topics she spoke about also included Restorative Justice. She specifically spoke about how the juvenile office has designed a program around Restorative Justice. The office uses a program where the children are allowed to meet the people affected by the crime that was committed. This board is made up of specially trained volunteers that meet with the affected parties, the child and their family. The case is turned over to the volunteers and they handle the case from start to finish. The community takes care of the cases so, most of the time, it will never see the court system. Sometimes, the parents of the child come back to serve as volunteers on the board because they have seen both sides.

Junior student Taira Marriott enjoyed listening to Bazemore speak.

“Bazemore was a good speaker,” Marriott said. “He did a good job of explaining the roots of Restorative Justice.”

For those students who decided the “Eggs and Issues” was just a little too early, the presentation will be rebroadcast. It will be on channel 39 from Nov. 22-Dec. 3, Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon and Sundays at 4 p.m. It will also be broadcast on channel 97 in Atchison, Kansas.

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.

The UPD gave a digital video recording of the incident to the office of Student Development for review.
After turning over copies of the incident report to the Griffon News, Jonathan Kelley, Director of Campus Safety, refused to make further comment on the incident or why there was a week delay between the incident and the initial UPD incident report.

Dr. Judy Grimes, Dean of Student Services, commented on the sensitivity of the situation. “The safety and well-being of students on campus is my highest priority,” Grimes said.

 “We take any incident reports very seriously and follow our code of conduct policies carefully. We always work in consultation with the Housing Staff, associate dean of Student Development, who is our judicial officer, University Police and others who may be involved. We are unable under FERPA to comment on any judicial cases.”

According to a statement made by the alleged victim, on Wednesday, April 2, two male students, pushed their way into a her room and made several lewd comments to her. When told to leave, the two men tore several pictures off of the door of the female student and returned to their room. The woman then went to the men’s room to retrieve her belongings. In the hallway the two male students alleg­edly grabbed her and one of them pinned her arms behind her head. The victim said they “touched her on her vaginal area.”

After getting away from the two assailants, the victim was followed back to her room, where she told them that she had to change her clothes. The men, according to her statement, came into her room and shut out the lights and told her to “go ahead.”

Another female student then got involved and helped clear the male students out of the room. The woman who claimed she was fondled then reported the incident to R.A. Housing staff spoke with the victim and a No Contact order was put into effect against the male students. The victim did not want to press charges.
An April 14 UPD report indicated a copy of the video footage was requested by Student Development for judicial action.

The university has the ability to enact a punishment for the students involved ranging from a warning to expulsion for violations of the universities rules and regulation. Two violations of those rules involve; assaulting or threatening to assault any person, to engage in any unwelcome physical contact with any person, to make unwelcome advances, or to engage in conduct, which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person. Also to engage in lewd, indecent or obscene conduct or expression or to repeat, propose or request such conduct or expression, after being asked to stop.

The dean of Student Development may old an informal disposition. After that, if needed, a formal disciplinary hearing may be held.

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:

-Ongoing safety threats in which an armed or dangerous criminal is on campus
 
-Major facility emergencies or evacuations such as fires or gas leaks

-Severe weather or illness

-Timely notification of crime
On account of the limitations of text messaging, these messages will be brief and contain only vital information.
It requires no fees—only the regular charges made by each individual’s mobile phone provider for text messaging.
“We are hopeful that all campus community members will take advantage of the texting/e-mailing notification option,” Kelley said.

Dean of Student Services, Judith Grimes, said it is very critical to let students and faculty know that the service is there for them.

“The challenge with Griffon Alert is to get people to sign up for it,” Grimes said.

She encourages any students to make suggestions to help publicize this.

Students and employees are free to sign up at any time.

Those interested may visit www.missouriwestern.edu/griffonalert and follow the instructions for creating an account.
Each individual’s Western e-mail user name and password should be used.

After registering, a verification text message will be sent to each phone.

Signing up for e-mail alerts is an option, and one may choose to only sign up for an e-mail alert. Users are allowed to list up to two cell phone numbers and two e-mail addresses on their Griffon Alert account. The discussion about having something like this on campus started quite a few years ago, according to Grimes.

“It’s a huge monetary investment,” Grimes said.

“It shows the commitment of the institution.” In the future, some added element to the Griffon Alert emergency notification system may consist of indoor emergency beacons with audio and visual alarms, LCD text displays and text-to-voice enunciators.

There will also be various options for students with disabilities such as blindness or hearing loss.

For example, there may be flashing lights to alert students unable to hear a fire alarm.

The text/e-mail aspect of Griffon Alert is a big deal, but, “it’s just part of the bigger puzzle,” Grimes said.

He has also been charged with discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle and two counts of armed criminal action, all felonies.

An arrest warrant was issued for King soon after the incident. Missouri Western and St. Joseph police officers searched the residence halls but did not find him. He turned himself that Friday evening.

King was a first semester freshman and a resident living on campus in the LLC residence hall.

King, a native of Kansas City, along with several other suspects, is accused of killing 19-year-old Michael Abron at 46th St. and Paseo Boulevard.

According to police reports, on Friday March 14, Abron was attending a family gathering at a local BBQ restaurant when the rival gang members entered the establishment. Abron and several of his relatives left the restaurant to avoid a confrontation with the other gang members. 

The victim stopped at a red light when two cars pulled along side of his car and started firing, killing Abron. King, a suspected gang member, is one of the alleged shooters during the incident. 

His status as a student is indeterminate. In an e-mail message sent out to the campus community, Western administration said that they could not comment about this situation because of FERPA laws. It goes on to say that if disciplinary action is required, a student can be  removed from the residence halls and expelled from school. A “Find a Student” search on Western’s web site did not list him as a student.

Jonathan Kelley, chief of campus police, says that theft is by far the most common crime reported on campus. Another common crime is liquor law violation. “I do feel that Missouri Western is a safe campus overall,”Kelley said. Students can look at the statistics of various crimes on the Western website under Campus Safety Report. All colleges and universities publish a safety report, officially known as the Clery report.

The Clery report is published annually as a compiled list of the reported crimes on campus. The crimes are categorized and then published as statistics dating back three years.

There were a total of 48 crimes reported at Western in 2006. That number is up from 28 in 2005 but down significantly from 79 in 2004. Crimes reported include: burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, rape, motor vehicle theft and arson.
Clery reports break down the crimes according to type and location: on-campus (all buildings, land, and roads owned by Missouri Western), residential facilities, non-campus property (streets and roads that define property of Missouri Western), and public property (land and buildings on Missouri Western property that are owned by other state agencies). 
Of the 48 crimes reported 19 occurred in the residence halls, 28 occurred elsewhere on campus and one (a count of motor vehicle theft) happened on public property.

When a student is caught for alcohol, drug or weapons violations, penalties are either arrests or referrals for disciplinary action. There were a total of 45 arrests made on campus in 2006 and 113 referrals, which is an increase from 2005, when 26 arrests made and there were 110 referrals. In 2004 there were only 10 arrests but 133 referrals.

The Clery report is named after Jeanne Cleary, a 19-year-old student at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who was assaulted and murdered in her dorm in 1986. After her death, her parents lobbied lawmakers for legislation that would require Pennsylvania colleges and universities to publish their crime statistics. In 1998, the program was expanded nationwide and renamed in honor of Jeanne Clery.

When Missouri Western is compared to neighboring schools, it appears that crime is lower on this campus than on either Northwest or Truman. In 2006, when Missouri Western had 48 reported crimes, Northwest had a total of 58 and Truman had a total of 61.

The MWSU Police Department employs seven full-time police officers, two corporals and a police chief. The Department also uses student interns to assist during the regular semesters.

Students feel like the campus is a safe place to be. “My dad’s a cop and I know that they do the best job possible,” said freshman Dakota Carroll. “On campus I feel as safe as I do anywhere else. To me, it seems that the odds of anything tragic happening are extremely slim.”

But as the Clery report shows, bad things do happen. Kelley reminds students of the blue light emergency phones located across campus and around the residence halls and of the three parking lot emergency phones: at the east end of Lot H, the east end of Lot K, and the east end of Lot J. All phones ring directly to the MWSU police department, no dialing required.
Recently, the campus police have been given approval to bear arms. There are no new hiring policies as all officers are currently post-certified law enforcement officers, who now only need training with their specific weapon. Kelley said that the officers are all pleased to have additional resources to help protect the students.

Western is also scheduled to begin installing a three-part emergency notification system, which will include a PA system in the clock tower, a speaker system  in the residence halls and other campus buildings, a text message alert system and emergency telephones that use each classroom’s ethernet connection. “I’ve always felt safe on campus, but I’m glad that the campus is going the extra mile for our protection,” said sophomore Julia McBeth.

On Sept. 18 Andrew County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Stevenson filed charges against Kenneth Darrell Black Jr., a 20-year-old business major, along with accom­plice Benjamin D. Stevens.

The two men allegedly constructed a rap video where they expressed wishes to kill and/or rape specific officers from the Savannah and Country Club Village police forces. The young men allegedly went on to make threats of lewd conduct toward a judge in the video.

“It just went to far,” said Stevenson in an interview with Inqirerer.net. “It’s better to be safe than to have another Columbine on your hands.
The Felony charges that Black and Stevens faces are as follows:

• Two counts of Tampering with a Judicial Officer ­—Class C felonies

• One count of conspicacy to commit forcible rape —unclassified felony

• One count of making a terroristic threat ­— Class C felony

• One count of conspicacy to to commit second degree assault —Class D felony

The Savannah police department went so far as to charge Black with a misdemeanor offense of disturbing the peace.

Making threats of violence against the police and judicial system are not new events. Black and Stevens apparently crossed the line when they named spe­cific officers and had video footage of them while they were on the job.

The general consensus from people that know Black personally claim that he is a good natured kid.

Haley Bunker, Black’s supervisor at PacSun has worked with him for over six months.

“Ken is the comedian of the bunch,” Bunker said. “He is doing a great job of keeping his spirits up during all of this.”

It’s not hard to find supporters of this Missouri Western Dean’s list student.

“He (Black) is a very well mannered young man…. and his family members are good people,” MWSU Gold Coat supporters Charlie and Clara Brown said. The Browns have been neighbors to the Blacks longer than they can remember.

Josh Wilson has known Black since their sophomore year at Savannah High School.
“Ken is a good friend,” Wilson said.

But apparantly Wilson didn’t get a chance to see the video online.

“I don’t get on there much,” Wilson said about the video sharing site.

Black was released two days after his arrest on $100,000 bond. In comparison the suspect in the University of Delaware shooting was set for bond at $75,000.

There doesn’t seem to be equal judgement applied to the bonds in these two cases.

Black gave no comment when asked if he had any message to his fellow students.

The video was labeled “Kop Killa” and has been removed from Internet.

Missouri Western is the only public university in the state that employs commissioned officers that do not carry guns.

Beth Wheeler, Director of External Relations, spearheaded the task force that collected the information from outside
entities such as the Loan Executive Management Assistance Program (LEMAP) of the International Association of College
Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), who visited campus and made recommendations to improve the safety of campus.

“It started because Public Safety wanted to provide a safer atmosphere on campus,” Wheeler said.

In the fall of 2005 the Department of Public Safety submitted a grant requesting funding to get an external review of their
policies, procedures and tactics with the purpose to make the campus safer. After the grant was approved, the Public Safety Task
force was constructed, consisting of Wheeler; and students such as SGA President Natalie Bailey; SGA VP Luke Herrington; NAACP President Jasmine Pasley; with faculty members Kip Wilson, Criminal Justice; Michael Speros, Director of Residential Life; and Trevor Brown, Public Safety officer.

Along with the recommendation that Public Safety carry weapons, the people from LEMAP also suggested that officers receive additional training in cross-cultural communications, beyond the minimum required to become a commissioned
police officer. The additional training is aimed to mend the apparent rift between the DPS and minorities
on campus.

“A lot of the issues that the minority community and DPS are having are usually more communication problems. Sometimes
it’s an issue of stereo typing and the stigma that is carried with being a minority on this campus,” Jasmine Pasley, president
of Missouri Western’s NAACP chapter, said. “It’s still a hot topic, but I think that they’re having a better understanding,
and maybe something can be rectified with communication.”

Not only will arming the public safety provide them with tools needed to respond to a threat, it will cut back on DPS’s reliance
onthe St. Joseph Police Department during critical situations.

 “I hope it means we can stand alone and be a community without having to call in our neighbors all the time to come in and assist us,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler went on to explain that students are not the threat. The threat comes from people outside of campus that see the community as easy prey.

“Many of the encounters with weapons and (fighting) is not with western students, it’s with others that come on to campus who think it’s a nice place to cruise, or to offer you items for sale,” Wheeler said.

The Public Safety Task Force will be holding open meetings throughout the week for students and faculty to learn more about their findings and voice an opinion. The meetings are as follows:

• Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 a.m. –Open Staff/ Administrations Forum Spratt 110

• Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. –Open Faculty Forum Spratt 110

• Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. –Open Student/Residence Council Forum in Commons

• Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. –Open Staff/Administrator Forum in Spratt 110

• Thursday, Oct. 4 at noon –Open Student Forum in Eder 208

• Thursday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. –Open Faculty/Faculty Senate Forum in Blum 220

• Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. –Staff Association Meeting in Spratt 208

Pro: 

It’s time to conquer fear and face reality, arm the officers
Charlene Divino

The argument against arming campus security can only be attributed to fear. There is no rational or factual argument against it.
 
I don’t believe in buying into media fed mass hysteria. An environment of fear isn’t beneficial to anybody. Unfortunately, the world is unpredictable and you can’t anticipate where danger is lurking. The only solution is the happy medium, a realistic perception of the world around you.
 
It’s naive to assume nothing could ever occur on Missouri Western campus. It’s this kind of false sense of security that leaves us most vulnerable. People don’t think to themselves their campus is next. It isn’t the nature of tragedy.

In arming our security, we must face an uncomfortable truth. We are not invincible, and our lives are not exempt from the possibility of danger.. If I found myself threatened by a person with a weapon, it would be a joke to send security to save me with pepper spray.

I’d also like to clarify a popular misconception; Missouri Western doesn’t have “rent-a-cops” or mall level security.

The Western department of public safety is a recognized law enforcement agency that employs police officers commissioned through the Missouri department of public safety. These are certified police officers that can legally carry guns every moment of the day, except while at work defending students.

Of all the Missouri universities with commissioned police officers, we are the only school that chooses not to arm our most immediate asset. The result has been 204 calls from Missouri Western DPS to Saint Joseph Police Department for back up in situations they are trained to handle.  We have police officers on campus, but all we allow them to do is give tickets.

Maybe the reputation security has earned for overreacting is a product of their vulnerability.

With the responsibility to assess a situation and determine the possibility of violence upon arriving, their hand is forced. They must err on the side of caution, and call for backup rather then risk a situation escalating beyond their control.

As officers with the right and ability to bear arms, we are denying them the necessary tools to perform their jobs.

As the students, we should put the full force of our support in arming our campus. This is for our own benefit. We aren’t contemplating arming student interns to use other students for target practice. We are safeguarding our campus by taking necessary measures.

It’s easy for us as students to declare that guns are an unnecessary presence. But we are not responsible for the safety of the student body, or required to be in the line of fire while protecting them. Like it or not, as a college MWSU is obligated to take every precaution in defending us. As students’ would we really accept anything less?

Con: 

Guns on campus while thought provoking, unnecessary
Addison Ford

I think that Missouri Western is a safe campus, and I don’t think many people would disagree with that. 

This is thanks in part to Western’s effective Department of Public Safety, and our officers are good at what they do.

However, with the Virginia Tech tragedy during spring semester, some crazy stuff is going down at Public Safety, they now need to be armed. As in, all commissioned Public Safety officers wish to carry guns.

And the scary thing is, it just might happen.

In March of 2006, Western hired a team from LEMAP (Loaned Executive Management Assistance Program) to try and improve Western public safety and their effectiveness at handling incidents that occur on campus. Some will argue that since the formation of this committee predated the Virginia Tech shooting by more than a year that this would have happened anyway. But now, those for guns on campus have much more fear to play off of to convince people who may have been against it before April of this year.

Of the many recommendations that both the LEMAP team and Western’s own Task Force have made, this is by far the craziest, and most unnecessary, of them all.

At Destination Western Freshman Orientation sessions this summer, where I served as an Orientation Leader, public safety even went so far as to add that officers at Western “Aren’t armed. Yet.” during their presentations.

Excuse me? If I had been a freshman at one of those sessions, I would have been horrified. Actually, as a sophomore, I was horrified. Call me an insane liberal, but I don’t think that just because our public safety officers are “real” police officers, they automatically get access to a bright and shiny .45.

 I just hope that I’m not the only student that feels this way. Western officers have NEVER been armed. And you know what? None of them have ever been shot, either. Also, we’ve never had any assault-rifle toting madman go around and blow people away, either. I’m not saying that the possibility isn’t there, but we’ve got plenty of gun-toting St. Joseph PD to take care of that.

To me, higher education is a peaceful atmosphere that is really its own community. If that is true, Western is a safe one, and I think that bad things could happen if Public Safety had guns.

This week, there are open forums for students to voice their opinions about this thought-provoking issue. No matter which way you feel, you should attend one of the forums and let your voice be heard. Even if you believe they should be loaded up with ammunition, go and discuss it with others that feel the same way. This is a topic that affects students directly, so students should affect this decision directly, and it is admirable that student’s opinions were even considered by holding these forums. 

Black Student Union fight
Pat McGuire

“We just want to make sure that events are safe and enjoyable for the students,” Heider said. “No one did anything wrong, we just need to make sure we do things a little better.”
  
The actual events that happened in the gymnasium of the Looney Complex that evening depend on whom you ask. President and founder of the Black Student Union, Moses D. Fields, Jr., found himself in the midst of the controversy and claimed that it was not a fight, there were no punches thrown.

“There was an altercation in the gym. it was a yelling match. It was not a fist fight,” said Fields. “Before anybody threw a punch the students broke it up. It was the first time in a long time that we have had a late night event that did not have a fist fight.”

According to the incident report filed by Cpl. Trevor Brown, the altercation included close to 50 people fighting, using hands and fists as weapons.

“We observed a large crowd, approximately 50 subjects, gathered at the west side (of the gym.) The large crowd contained several subjects fighting,” Brown said.

Fields’ point of view was that the majority of the students in the “fight” were actually keeping the few individuals from fighting.

“Four individuals out of 400 were a bad seed,” Fields said. “I feel like that’s a good number. Everything that we try to bestow, as well as the other minority organizations, is that we have to be accountable for ourselves, you have to account for each other and keep each other in line, and that’s exactly what the crowd did.”

Jon Kelley, Director of Public Safety, said that due to the darkness of the building he could not personally tell if there were punches thrown or not. He was present when the altercation was resolved.

“The St. Joseph Police Department officers were closest to the incident in the gymnasium and warned the large group to break up the fight and to disperse, more than once, or they would use pepper spray to disperse the crowd,” Kelley said. “The crowd failed to disperse and pepper spray was deployed by the SJPD officers, above the crowd, as a means of dispersing the crowd and minimizing the potential for further confrontation or injury.”

The questions, what ifs and hypothetical situations are mounting. Concerns over safety policies and security procedures for college campuses are being called into question across the nation.

Missouri Western’s Dan Nicoson, vice president of university advancement, is confident that if a situation similar to Virginia Tech’s with an armed gunman on campus happened here at Western, it would be well handled.

“We maintain a professional police force 24/7; they are going to do what crime scene expectations are and what our emergency safety plan calls for,” Nicoson said.

Aside from just safety, many questions have been asked about the communication system used to alert the students at Virginia Tech. Many commentators and students feel that e-mail alone is not an accurate way to inform students of possible life-threatening situations.

Jonathon Kelley, director of public safety, said that there are many ways to communicate with students whether it is through e-mail or radio for the commuter students.

“Our initial steps would be to get e-mail out,” Kelley said. “It is the quickest way to get information out to a large group of people at one time. Also, the public safety vehicles have public address capabilities on three of the squad cars, so in a isolated area, that would be one of the tools we could use in our department.”

Kelley predicts that systems will be set up so that campuses can plug into student’s cell phones and send text messages or voice messages to large groups of students.

Nicoson said that campuses will continue to assess communication options.

Another question would be if Virginia Tech’s situation would have been different if better communication systems were in place.

“It might have improved, but wouldn’t have solved the issue,” said Robert Mazur, a Western senior.

Right now the campus has procedures in place for alerting students about dangers on campus include e-mail, a phone tree and public address systems on three public safety vehicles.

If a danger were to happen on campus, Nicoson stated what he believed would be the chain of events.

“Jon Kelley would call his supervisor, Ron Olinger, of financial planning and administration,” Nicoson said. “Ron would then determine if the president [James Scanlon] needs to be notified and probably either me or Kristi Hill because of the communication needs. And I am sure he would notify the Provost [Joseph Bragin].”

As for overall security, Nicoson and Kelley agreed that nothing is totally preventable, and what happened at Virginia Tech could happen anywhere.

Kelley made suggestions about what students can do for self-protection.

“Be aware of your surroundings, be aware of people and what is going on,” Kelley said.

He also stated that if something were to happen, students should get in a room, lock it and remain quiet until law enforcement is in the building.

Kelley said that public safety’s response would depend on the situation at hand.

When dealing with a student who is questionable and a possible threat to others on campus, Kelley said that various offices work together to solve the problem.

“The Public Safety Center, the Counseling Center and the Dean of Students office work closely together to address issues of behavior and inappropriate behavior at times,” Kelley said.

Mazur said he is confident as to the safety on Western’s campus.

“I think it’s [Western] fairly safe,” Mazur said. “Public Safety is active on campus.”

Buried bodies, skeletons, bloodstain patterns and autopsy evidence can all be found on Missouri Western’s campus over spring break.

The Criminal Justice Department is offering a three-credit hour class on reconstructing crime scenes. Jan Johnson of the Southern Institute of Forensic Science in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi instructs the course.

Johnson, who is retired from the FBI, has worked with forensic science for over 35 years and is considered one of the top professionals in her field.

Kip Wilson, associate professor of criminal justice, has been a part of this class in each of the five years it has been offered at Western.

“It’s a very unique class that offers a handson approach,” Wilson said. “The instructors of this class are not your typical professors.”

Johnson will be using experts with multiple years of field experience to help her teach this class.

The course is designed to help connect all of the forensic pieces of a crime scene, piece-bypiece.

It also assists in the documentation of physical evidence.

Mock scenes for this course are designed to help participants recognize the importance of scene documentation and to obtain information for crime scene reconstruction.

Through their traveling seminars, the SIFS has taught many individuals that now work for respected agencies, including the U.S. Army, FBI, NYPD and the Texas Rangers.

The crime scene class is not just for college students. This year’s enrollment includes a St. Joseph Police officer and a Texas Ranger.

The SIFS is known and respected throughout the world of Criminal Justice.

Last year, a graduate student from England traveled to Missouri Western to participate in this unique learning opportunity.

Classes will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the test will be held on Saturday.

The cost of the class is $695 per participant.

According to the Missouri Sex Offender Registry Web site, the new registry was designed in accordance with state regulations to protect the public from possible future offenses and to identify those who have a history of sexual misconduct.

One thing the registry now offers is a listing of home and work addresses of offenders.

Missouri’s updated sex offender registry will also offer aliases, an updated photo and a description of their offenses, including victim, age and entered plea.

“A parent could type in the specific address of a park where they like to take their children to play or even their home address and see any offender within a 1,000-foot radius,” said Blunt’s spokeswoman Jessica Robinson.

Though the registry is available to the public, institutions don’t necessarily check for prior offenders. University of Missouri does not restrict those with felony records from attending as students.

“The conviction of a crime does not bar a student from the opportunity to receive a quality education here at Mizzou,” MU spokesman Christian Basi said. “If a person convicted of a felony has served their time in either the federal or state system and meets the requirements for MU, then there is no reason they should not attend.”

Those wishing to attend MU as students undergo no background check for previous offenses, Basi said.

One MU student is registered as a sex offender in Boone County. This student was convicted in 2001 of indecent liberties with one or more females under the age of 18 in Kansas.

The student said that he was not aware of the changes to the registry and had no comment.

Though prospective students do not undergo background checks, the checks are performed on new staff and faculty, according to the criminal background check procedures from the MU extension human resource center.

The offense is taken into consideration based on the nature of the crime.

MU extension deals with hiring many professors, including international professors.

The Recruitment and Selection Guidelines and Procedures released by the Vice Provost’s office, which details the hiring process of MU, does not make a reference to criminal background checks.

The federal government has organized a national sex offender database online for the past 11 years, but most states have created their own registry sites on the Web organized by  county in order to easily update and access information.

Some sex offenders are not required to post personal information on the site because their crime exceeds the time period required for the registry.

“If someone was convicted of a crime 11 years or more ago, then they are exempt from registering on the site,” Robinson said.

The Sex Offender Registry can be accessed online on the Missouri State Highway Patrol Web site.

The officers, who numbered no less than 10 total, including a K9 unit, had a search warrant for the vehicle parked at the north end of lot K2.

“All I can really say is we are conducting an investigation and carrying out a search warrant on this vehicle for illegal items,” Brian McKlintick, St. Joseph police officer said on the scene. “For drugs and drug-related items.”

A public safety incident report made no mention of finding any drugs; however, the officers did find a loaded .45 caliber handgun, which is a violation of the Missouri Western State University Student Handbook.

The Lexus GS130 did not have a Missouri Western parking permit. Missouri Western Public Safety arrested a man for disorderly conduct after providing false information in conjunction with the vehicle, according to a public safety incident report.

At that time it was discovered that there were 15 unpaid parking citations associated with the Lexus. It was unknown at press time whether the man was charged.

According to the Student Handbook, instructions of any Public Safety staff should be followed immediately and without argument.

“Apparently there was a discussion over a parking violation, which led to a confrontation with a public safety officer, which resulted in an arrest for disorderly conduct,” said Dan Nicoson, vice-president for University Advancement. “In the process of that arrest, information became available that led to further investigation.”

At approximately 4 p.m., as many as seven officers meticulously searched the trunk, engine, undercarriage and inside of the vehicle. An officer then brought in a K9 dog to go through the trunk and around the outside of the car before allowing it to enter the interior.

However, according to witnesses, the police activity began hours before the search.

“About 12:30 p.m., I saw a couple of police cars (near the Lexus),” Western sophomore Sandra Auxier said. “They were talking to a man in his 20s.”

Auxier said she was surprised to find that the police activity had escalated by 4 p.m.

“I thought (the situation) would be all cleared up by now,” she said.

The officers concluded their search and restoration of the car at approximately 4:30 p.m..