According to former Senator Nick Brewer his reason for leaving was school-related, not the lack of confidence in the Senate.

“Partially, one reason I left the Senate was my schedule, and I wouldn’t be able to make most of the meetings,” Brewer said.

Other reasons for Senator’s leaving were not due to a lack of confidence in the senate, but rather for their own benefit.

According to SGA President Alison Norris, only 2 students left the senate who were studying abroad, and those graduating. As stated by Norris she believes it’s time to recruit new Senators.

“We are going to run ads, and asking the current Senators to spread word to others,” Norris said. “The Student Senate has a retreat coming up, and we will hopefully see a few people come out with interest in becoming a Senator.”

The membership rate at the moment for the Student Senate stands at 16, according to SGA Vice President Jacob Scott.

“We just need two-third vote to pass legislations, which we have been able to do.”

Although it’s a positive sign that the Senate is able to pass legislation, having a few new members wouldn’t hurt.

“We are going to recruit, even if we don’t have a full Senate, and we are still able to pass legislation for the Spring Semester,” Norris said.

However, as stated on the Student Governments website a full senate has 20 Senators, but that isn’t stopping the current one in place.

“With the 10 Senators that we have, we only need 6 at the Senate meetings to conduct our business,” Norris said.

According to current Student Senator Brian Shewell, he will wait to see what the plan for gaining membership will be at the first meeting when they return from Winter break.

“By the first meeting we should have an idea on how we plan to get students engaged, and want to participate in the Student Senate,” Shewell said. “I will be spreading word to other students, and let them know how they can bring their own ideas fourth.”

It seems that SGA executives are already getting to work to find ways to get people involved in the student senate. “Our plan is to recruit two men and two women as Senators,” Scott said. “If students are serious about becoming a Senator, then the 3-day retreat would be the best way to gain instant access to the Senate. If students attend the 2 night, 3 day retreat that would count for 3 meetings.”

According to Senate membership requirements, a student must attend 3 meetings to become a senator.

According to Norris, the decline in membership has been an issue the last couple years. “We have a lot of non-traditional students at Western, and students with schedules that don’t fit with our meetings,” Norris said. “We must now show the students how important the Senate is, and how hard we work for the student body.”

“We want to re-educate students on all the parameters on what Dr. King stood for and what social justice work he did during his life,” Keisha Caldwell, CME program assistant, said.

On Friday, Jan. 20, the CME will host a Candlelight Vigil at 5:30 at the Griffon Plaza, which is located right outside of the Blum Union.  The CME will then host a day of service on Saturday, Jan. 21, which begins at 10 a.m. For the day of service, the CME plans to meet first in Blum lobby, and then break off into groups to serve and provide assistance to community centers such as St. Joe Haven, Habitat for Humanity, the Open Door Food Kitchen and the YWCA. The service day will continue until 2 p.m.

On Sunday, the CME is partnering with local church “Word of Faith” to host a Gospel Celebration, held in Kemper Hall, beginning at 3 p.m. The last event will be the Martin Luther King awards banquet and cultural exhibition, which will be in the Fulkerson Center, beginning at 6 p.m. Though the banquet and the service day are annual events, the CME decided to hold the events over the weekend, instead of during the week, in hope to achieve more student participation.

“The banquet and service day we have done for years,” Caldwell said. “But, we decided to have our events postponed, until students came back because we had low attendance in previous years of having events on Martin Luther King Day.”

CME Intern Leah Hayes feels that all students should take this opportunity to celebrate Martin Luther King, rather then just take the day off.

“As far as a college standpoint, we are all here for a reason,” Hayes said. “We are in college to educate ourselves. We all should learn what Martin Luther King was all about. Let’s not be ignorant and think Martin Luther King day is a day off. Martin Luther King stood for social justice. It’s a day on, not a day off.”

During the banquet, the CME will be giving out a “Drum Majors for Justice” award to certain nominees that demonstrate excellent service and social justice to the St. Joseph community. The CME is also remembering Martin Luther King by co-hosting the candlelight event with the fraternity that he was a member of, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Alpha Phi Alpha member Mark Bush feels that co-sponsoring the event is a great way to remind the Alphas of what being apart of a fraternity is all about.

“Brother King was not afraid of change but rather an agent of change,” Bush said. “He is the ideal Alpha man, which is why we honor him in remembrance of what he did because if we forget where we came from, we will never make it to where we are going.”

All events are free for Missouri Western students. The Gospel Celebration is free for everybody. The banquet, however, is $10 for non-students.

Can you sing? Dance? Maybe juggle chainsaws? Well, if you have any type of talent, or think you possess some talent that will leave people in a state of awe and wonder, and then maybe you should consider showcasing your talents.

The Western Activities Council held auditions for their annual talent show Nov. 7 and 8. WAC vice president Lauren Dillon, who helps orchestrate the talent show, says she wants to see all various types of talent for the annual talent show.

“We want to see everything we possibly can,” Dillon said. “Everything from dancing, rappers, singers, to spoken word artists. We hope to see a little of everything.”

Dillon also talks about why students should come out to the talent show.

“It is a chance for students to get involved on campus, so that they’re not just sitting in their dorm rooms playing videos games or surfing the internet,” Dillon said. “On top of that, people are awarded prizes for showing their talent.”

The talent show usually has about ten to twelve varying types of acts. Sophomore George Williams, who auditioned for the talent show, describes why it is a good opportunity to show the people what he can do.

“I haven’t done this before, but I think it will be a really good chance for people to see someone like myself showing what I can do,” Williams said. “It is great exposure. You’ll have a chance to show a lot of people your ‘hidden talents’. It’s good for everyone.”

Attendance for the talent show has always been pretty good, says WAC president Robin Ussher.

“The show usually brings a big crowd,” Ussher said. “We expect to be at full capacity. We’ll probably have about 300-350 people.”

The WAC Talent Show will be taking place Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m. inside of the Potter Theater.

“Tell everyone you know; we want to see as many people as we can,” Ussher said. “We’ll have different types of acts to appeal to everybody.”

Two sorority members teeter-tottering for the cause.

Something similar happened on the Missouri Western campus Oct. 27. Alpha Gamma Delta held their 15th annual 24-hour Teeter Totter-A-Thon.

Western’s Alpha Gamma Delta chapter was founded in 1995, and the sorority started the teeter-totter fundraiser in 1997 as a way to raise money for the foundation.

Western student Danielle Bryan is the sorority’s Philanthropy Coordinator.

“The fundraiser helps raise money for diabetes research and increase awareness,” Bryan said. “The fundraiser also helps provide grants that help Alpha Gamma Delta women that are in need.”

The Alpha Gamma Delta chapter hosts two fundraisers each school year, one for each semester. The annual spring fundraiser is known as Mr. MWSU.

Mr. MWSU is a pageant that allows male students to showcase their school spirit. The pageant is divided into five categories: formal, costume, swimwear, talent and school spirit. Last year the pageant raised around $1,700 for the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation.

“The pageant is silly and serious at the same time,” Bryan said. “It is a chance for guys to show their spirit and pride in Missouri Western.”

The international headquarters for the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority gives a special recognition for any chapter that raises over $2,000 throughout a full academic school year.

“We are named what is called a Jewel Chapter, which is given to chapters that donate a significant amount of money to the Foundation,” Bryan said.

Charitible work is a big part of the Alpha Gamma Delta lifestyle.

“We’re really big on philanthropy. We like helping others; that is what we’re all about,” Bryan said.

Part of Alpha Gamma Delta’s formal recruitment this fall was Philanthropy Day. The AGDs made squirrel icepacks, which were given to children that were receiving insulin shots at a local pediatric unit. The squirrel is the mascot for the sorority.

The sorority looks to recruit girls with friendly and giving attitudes, like freshman recruit Christine Ray.

“I joined Alpha Gam because they seemed so accepting of everyone: definitely a drama free group of girls,” Ray said. “It is a good opportunity for me while I’m in college, and I like the philanthropy aspect of it all.”

The International Lecture Series will be covering three countries this year: Afghanistan, Kosovo and India. There will be food samplings the day before the lectures, so anyone interested in experiencing the cuisine of these countries is encouraged to attend.

When asked about the concept of the lecture series, former International Student Coordinator Huey Shi Chew said “The idea of this whole series is to get people to see what life is like over in these other countries. We want students to understand the differences in people’s lives over in these countries versus our own.”

Students will be surprised how different life is in other countries.

One of the most interesting facts about the International Lecture Series is that international students are actually the ones conducting these lectures. For the Afghanistan lecture, international student Ahmad Shah Salimee talked about his home country.

“It is nice to be able to share how life is over in my home country of Afghanistan,” Salimee said. “This is a chance for people to see Afghanistan beyond the political side of things and see how we really truly live.”

International students will be presenting in the lectures for Kosovo and India. Most students are oblivious to how people reside in these other nations.

“I honestly didn’t know any of the stuff that was brought up,” freshman Evan Hill said. “It was interesting to hear what was said. I’ll be coming to the next lecture as well.”

Approximately 40 people were in attendance. Student Affairs is hoping that more people come to upcoming lectures and that the word is spread on what will be shared during the series.

“I hope more people come the next time one of these lectures is going on,” Salimee said. “It is very educational for anyone that decides to sit and take in what other countries are all about.”

The lecture on Kosovo will be held Oct. 19, and India will be discussed on Nov. 16.

For further information, contact Global Engagement at 816-271-4150 or visit Student Affairs in Blum 210.

The new and current SGA executive vice president for WAC Brittany Taylor hit the ground running, dealing with scheduling a replacement for Keri Hilson when the performer backed out of her scheduled performance at Civic Arena here in St. Joseph.

According to Don Willis, assistant dean of student services, when Hilson backed out, offers were made to several artists, which were not accepted for a variety of reasons.

WAC Spring Concert headliner J. Cole. Submitted photo

When Hilson backed out, Taylor said the major concern WAC had was keeping the commitment to the students of providing them with a spring concert, so they went back to the drawing board. Using the list of available artists within Western’s price range several offers were made according to Taylor including J. Cole and Jeremih.

Taylor said that she and the members of her eboard went through so many artists she couldn’t remember the names, but was really glad J. Cole and Jeremih were both available.
With regard to having to reschedule a concert that had already been planned Taylor praised her eboard for the help they gave in finding a replacement.

“I have a fantastic eboard, they helped out, and they helped me to get ideas of who a different artist could be,” Taylor said. “Kathy Kelly helped us out a great deal, I really wasn’t too stressed about it, because I had such great help from Kathy and my eboard.

After J. Cole and Jeremih were announced as the replacements Taylor said the reaction has been great.

“A lot of students even said that they pretty happy he was coming over Keri Hilson,” Taylor said.
J. Cole and Jeremih were named as the replacement act for the spring concert within a week of Hilson cancelling showing exactly how quick WAC acted to schedule a replacement.

Leah Hayes is the programming assistant for the Center for Multicultural Education and helped organize this event in Blum Union for participants willing to share their thoughts and feelings.Center for Multicultural Education

“Everyone gets a square to write on about what peace and unity is and what MLK really means to them,” Hayes said.

Students add personal touches to the quilt being made by those participating in the WAC event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Jerrod Huber | Lifestyles Editor

Sophomore Jump Coordinator, Christina Jennings, was there in honor of MLK and expressed her feelings about the mood everyone was in.

“I noticed how everyone was coming together and sharing stories with each other and making new friends,” Jennings said.

“Random thoughts from people I never met before were very interesting.”

It was a celebration of history and the achievements of MLK. For some it was not about a day off, but a day to give back to all the accomplishments and things MLK did for society.

Jacob Scott is a student senator who attended the event and was serious about showing respect and appreciation for MLK.

“I care about Dr. King’s contributions to society and strive to be that kind of example,” Scott said.

When the quilt is finished it will be displayed in Blum Union for all to see the hard work each and every person put in to it. Scott said the quilt is a great example from Western students about what freedom, justice and values mean to them.

WAC and CME are sponsoring a march on Jan. 23, in honor of MLK Day. It will start at 3 p.m., at the corner of Noyes and Messanie streets and end at the Bartlett Center on 18th St.

The march is intended to get the community to come together in awareness of the peace MLK fought so hard for. The location the march takes place has witnessed several violent crimes recently and was chosen for this reason. Hayes said with shootings in the area, they thought it would be a good place to bring the spirit of MLK

“We are trying to go to the places where we need the most peace and unity and give back to the community,” Hayes said.

After the march ends, there will be a community gathering at the Bartlett Center with pizza and entertainment for everyone.

Last year about 50 people showed up for the march, but they are hoping to have more this year. WAC and CME are arranging for a bus to take people from Western to the Noyes and Messanie location.

Western has had a Republican organization for a long time, so when asked what took so long for the organization to form, members cited several reasons for the delay.

Jessica McMinn, the secretary for the democrat organization, voiced her opinion on what she thought took so long for the organization to form.

“We have had issues getting started because of some bogus reasons like Newt Gingrich speaking on campus,” McMinn said. “Campus authorities were going to deny us to be a club because they didn’t want us to protest his speech.”

Amanda Johnson, vice president of the democrat organization, also felt that convocation speaker Newt Gingrich coming to Missouri Western had something to do with the delay in receiving a charter.

“Our application was denied in the beginning by SGA because of the possibility of protest at the Newt Gingrich speech,” Johnson said. “We were not planning on protesting.”

If in fact the college democrat’s application was denied by the SGA for the fear of protest, then the SGA wasn’t denying the organization the right to form, but their right to the First Amendment to the constitution of the United States.

Matt Hunt, president of the democrat organization, wants students to become involved in the organization even if they are not a democrat.

“We would like to invite all the students of Missouri Western State University to join our organization and to get involved,” Hunt said. “If you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent with concerns about the direction the country is headed then come to one of our meetings.”

The democrat organization has a lot of ways for students to become involved. Each month they plan to have an alternating theme. Poverty will be their theme for the month of December.

The organization has lots of events planned that they are excited about. One event McMinn said she was excited about was the sock drive.

“We are going to run a fundraiser collecting socks and underwear for underprivileged children and our running slogan for that is ‘Put a Sock on Poverty,” McMinn said.

Another event planned for the month of December includes the showing of Michael Moore’s film “Capitalism, A Love Story.” The film will air Dec. 13 in Spratt 205 at 7:00 p.m.

The organization also meets every other Monday at 7:00p.m. in Spratt 205. The meetings are open to the public and membership is not required. Membership is free but if you want to become a “good standing” member or run for office, you must pay a yearly $20.00 fee. The fee does include a group t-shirt. More information on the student democrat organization can be found at http://www.mwsudems.yolasite.com/.

The basic requirements of the project are that it be well-designed, both aesthetically and functionally, be able to buoy the students’ weight in the pond and be re-useable. Students were allowed to build the boat out of anything but wood using as much found and recycled materials as possible.

A student in professor Lawley’s 3-Dimensional Design class tests out her homemade boat in one of the ponds on Western’s campus. The students were challenged to create a boat that would make it all the way across the pond. Photo | Kyle Inman

Sophomore Emily Huffman and the members of her group made a boat in the form of a shark.

“We made the shark of a barrel with noodles on the side.” Huffman said. “It has a shark face and tail and is named ‘Jabber Jaw.’ Our paddle is made out of PVC and we got the barrel from Dan’s New and Used.”

Sophomore Katelyn Piper said that this is basically the same concept as the personal flotation devices except on a larger scale.

“I learned to be cautious of structure,” Piper said. “It has to be able to hold up in water. Even though we used duct tape, we can’t just throw it together; we need to make it look nice.”

“Making the boat actually makes you want to get into it,” Piper said. “It is very fun. The idea of testing out our boats puts a fun spin on it because you get to see your results.”

The class tested out their boats in the pond on Oct. 8. All of the boats floated and made it across the pond except for one boat. The boat floated, but got stuck when the pilot got in. Professor Lawley quickly got the boat and pulled it to shore.

Dick Campbell, a spectator, said that he loved the exhibition.

“I think Professor Lawley is teaching the kids that school can be fun,” Campbell said. “They have plenty of time to work and it is important for these young students to have some fun along the way.”

“They really used their imagination and were very creative,” Campbell said. “It was excellent to watch.”

Professor Lawley said that the project was a great success.

“The students worked very well as a team,” Lawley said. “The designs were great and I think they did a great job. Most importantly, they all had fun.”

Vice President of Student Affairs Esther Perález was on hand to clarify details surrounding the retirement of Non-Traditional Student Advisor Ellen Kisker and what, if any, changes would be made to the association and their center.

Perález said Kisker made the decision to retire after being asked to take over the position of Director of Student Life. Perález felt Kisker would be perfect for the position which would have allowed her to remain an advisor for the non-trads in addition to overseeing other student organizations.

In response to questions on the status of the association and center, Perález and Student Governor Peter Gregory referred to an email sent to students last week. The email described efforts to reorganize non-traditional services in an effort to make non-trads a more visibly active part of campus life.

Gregory stated that the association would be placed more directly under Student Affairs and that SGA had a responsibility to the non-trads.

“SGA has a responsibility to understand the situation and to understand how a non-traditional student feels about a particular issue,” Gregory said. “It is very important for that to take place so that the non-traditional students don’t lose the effectiveness of the services that they have been receiving.”

Perález added that the Dean’s Council had confirmed their commitment to the association and steps toward restructuring the center into more of an academic area had already begun. Non-Traditional Student and Student Senator Danny Drope confirmed the process by saying computers had been added to the center to promote studying.

“Instead of having it loud like it has been, it’s more like a study help center now,” Drope said. “We’ve got a separate section just for people to use the computers and study.”

The Senate also voted to move forward discussions on a proposed fee to students for use of the Esry Health Center.

Currently students only pay for services received from the health center but recently health center officials approached SGA about charging all students a flat fee. The proposed fee would be charged much like current SGA, yearbook and MAX Experience fees.

According to Gregory, health center officials feel their current budget is not allowing them to fully meet students’ health needs. The proposed fee would likely significantly increase the budget and possibly provide for the employment of a full-time staff. Currently the center’s staff is available for limited hours Monday through Thursday.

Senators and SGA Officers debated on the fairness of the fee based on student usage. Some members felt it would not be fair to students who have health insurance and do not visit the health center. Others felt that the fee may actually save students that use the center money and that the possibility of improved services may result in more students visiting the center.

SGA members stated that other local universities charge similar fees and had begun the process of researching those fees.
Senator Steven Wichern said he hopes that the senate will base their decisions on the fee on what the student body says instead of personal beliefs.

“I’m going to leave it to the students and hear what they think and base what I vote on what I hear from the students,” Wichern said.

SGA members also briefly discussed the possibility of offering prizes for voting on measures such as the proposed fee. The idea to award students for voting was partially in response to low voter numbers for last year’s technology and recycling program vote.

Chair of the Board of Governors Kylee Strough and Western President Robert Vartabedian, decided to meet with the NTSA President Berry Hersh and Vice President Amanda Daly after hearing about the planned demonstration.

Hersh said the demonstration was planned to get the attention of the Board of Governors and inform them of the fears Hersh and other non-traditional students have for the future of the NTSA after Esther Perález, vice president of student affairs, reorganized the leadership of the Non-Traditional Student Services Center.

“I guess it worked,” Hersh said. “We just wanted to show our support for Ellen [Kisker] and let them know we’re concerned about the future.”

Among these concerns were worries about how much time Taye Triggs, Kisker’s replacement following her retirement, would have to dedicate to the non-traditional students. Hersh was told that Triggs would only be able to work with the non-traditional students maybe once every two weeks.

“You can only say there’s a plan in place for so long,” Hersh said. “Because we know how busy Dr. Perález is, we know how busy Taye Triggs is…I’m afraid when Ellen leaves tomorrow, there’s going to be enormous holes.”

Among other concerns was the financial situation that the re-alignment of student affairs could leave some non-traditional students in. Last year, Kisker was able to raise $150,000 in scholarships for non-traditional students.

“Those are the things people are worried about losing when [Kisker] is gone,” Daly said. “Ellen has talked so many people out of quitting school. We need that guidance there, we need that person there that will say ‘You can do this.’”

Hersh said that the realignment of student affairs was to help integrate student organizations together, but that he felt attention was being shifted from non-traditional students to the Greek organizations.

“It’s difficult to hear that they want us integrated, especially me, that they want to integrate non-trads into campus life, when I’m running for homecoming king,” Hersh said. “How much more involved do you want me to be?”

Strough felt that Trigg’s new position was being created to make some of the same improvements to the Greek organizations that Kisker was able to make with the Non-Traditional Student Services Center. Currently, non-traditional students out-number the amount of Greek students, roughly 280 to 1200, according to Hersh.

Strough said that the next step is to establish communications between Paralez and the non-traditional student center so they can convey their concerns directly to the student affairs office.

Vartabedian said that if the situation doesn’t work out, the university is “willing to return to the status-quo.”

“A lot of what we do in academia is trial and error,” Vartabedian said. “If we sensed at all that non-trads were suffering as a result to this more integrated treatment of all students…we certainly would change things.”

According to the report, the primary weakness was that Western’s fraternities and sororities do not act as a Greek Community. Reasons behind this problem are that many chapters do not work towards their values and visions and that there is not a common goal that all the chapters share. Academics, alumni and advisor involvement are decreasing as well.

Don Willis, the assistant dean of student services, understands that this issue needs to be addressed.

“We need to have a much stronger coordinated effort amongst the Greeks. The emphasis needs to be on Western Greeks as opposed to the individual chapters.”

In order for this to be accomplished, Student Services created the Greek Life Plan. There are eight goal areas in the Greek Life Plan, which include leadership, scholarship, service, and more. Each goal area is then broken down further into individual objectives.

Committees have been formed to go over and finalize the plan. It is hoped to be implemented by Nov. 1, and by doing so the ties between the Greeks will strengthen; enabling them to work together.

Breanne Boyer, a junior in Sigma Sigma Sigma, has realized this weakness and is working to overcome it with her sorority.

“We are trying to join together more as a Greek community. There used to be feuds between the different sororities, but now we are all friends and go to the same events,” Boyer said.

Among the eight goal areas is the lack of Greek Housing at Missouri Western. Willis says Greek Housing is something Western is looking into, not something that will happen overnight.

“[Greek Housing] is a realistic goal in probably five to six years,” Willis said.

First, Western would like to establish certain areas in the current dorms that are Greek living areas. After this first step, Western can then look into permanent housing for each fraternity and sorority. Housing is a huge financial investment and something that needs numbers to support it. Willis believes that if Greeks can work together as a Western Community, the numbers will rise and will then be able to support housing on campus.

Megan Goodwin, a junior, believes Greek housing would make life easier and a better experience for the Greeks.

“Housing makes the experience so much more,” Goodwin said.” Here we have to reserve the building and bring our things with us. Housing would definitely raise our numbers and improve the sisterhood.”

The Greek Report has made Western administrators think twice about the Greek community on campus. Willis hopes that the Greek community will become an opportunity for students to
grow and develop in positive ways. He does know that focusing on the Western’s Greek community, as a whole is what will enable the program to move forward successfully.
For more information on the exact goals of the Greek Life plan, visit www.missouriwestern.edu/cse/greeklife.asp

The doors opened at 9 a.m. for volunteer registration. Work began around 10 a.m. Each mural was assigned a lead artist and depending on the size of the mural, had anywhere from five to 15 volunteers. The lead artists came to the school Friday evening and sketched the outlines of the murals onto the walls. Saturday morning the volunteers filled in the drawings with paint.

On the main floor of the building five murals were constructed. In the basement, two larger murals were completed and two more are to be completed in the cafeteria.

Student volunteers paint murals in the halls of Mark Twain Elementary School for a SGA sponsored event. Photo | Kelly Findley

“I can’t wait until they go down to breakfast Monday morning,” Kent said. “They’ll turn the corner and they’ll all be going, ‘ahh!’”

SGA had some help from other Missouri Western organizations like Alpha Omega, Phi Sigma Kappa and the Griffon Arts Society. SGA President Josh Todd began his day at 8 a.m. organizing and registering the artists and volunteers.

“It’s really exciting. More exciting than exhausting,” Josh Todd said. “I just helped with the supervising, organizing and cleaning up. The artists organized their own volunteers.”

While not every lead artist was an art student, freshman Jeremy Todd, younger brother of SGA President Josh Todd, is a graphic arts major. Jeremy Todd said he had a maximum of five volunteers helping him and the mural still took lots of time.

“It took about two hours to actually draw the outline,” Jeremy Todd said. “Then took the entire day, so about seven hours, to fill it in.”

Work on the second half of the project begins Saturday, April 17 at 9 a.m. Volunteers are encouraged to come back to help. Any volunteers were unable to come the first weekend are more than welcome to come for the second half. Mark Twain Elementary is located at 705 S. 31st Street.

The two senior nursing majors, Mary Reid and Jennifer Lindberg presented their research, “Senior Nursing Students Initiate Smoke-Free Campus Policy with Evidence Based Data.” The Symposium, “Excellence through Evidence and Empathy” was held at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas.

Their research was conducted through a 16 question survey handed out to students during classes last semester. A total of 2,750 surveys were sent out and 1,715, or 62 percent, were sent back. The surveys were used to get opinions and perspectives about smoking and how dangerous it is. Reid would like to see the campus go smoke free.

“I would love our campus to go smoke free,” Reid said. “We should not have to suffer from someone else’s choice.”
Lindberg is also on board to see campus go smoke free.

“It’s a very good thing to do,” Lindberg said. “Smoking not only affects the smoker, but other individuals as well.”

According to the information gathered from research, a small percentage of students reported smoking daily. A majority of students are concerned about secondhand smoke and its health concerns.

“A large percent of people around campus don’t smoke,” Lindberg said. “There is a desire for a smoke free campus.”

The conference was an opportunity for Reid and Lindberg to present their research in front of other nurses and doctors. There were several steps that had to be done prior to presenting the research. The students had to submit an abstract, which is a write up regarding everything that was found out. The abstract was submitted to the university and Reid and Lindberg were invited to attend the Symposium in Kansas City. Presenting this work was an extra step that was taken on by the students.

Both Reid and Lindberg thought it was a great experience to be able to present their research. Lindberg said there were not really any other students there besides themselves. The nurses that were viewing their poster were impressed by the amount of work.

“It is a very rewarding experience,” Lindberg said.

Reid also thought this was a great opportunity and experience.

“It is a good experience to go to a university with doctors and nurses looking at our poster,” Reid said.

Reid was able to learn time management skills, because putting everything together took a lot of time outside of school. Reid was also able to learn about organization and leadership in general.

Submitted Photo

Callaway and Kohler beat their opponents Luke Herrington and Emily Feger in the SGA elections held Nov. 14-15 by 83 votes. They will replace the current SGA President Natalie Bailey and current SGA Vice-President Herrington. This was the first fall election at Missouri Western.  The last election was held in spring 2006 where the student body voted on constitutional changes that included changing voting dates.  Bailey and Herrington served the only three-semester term at Missouri Western.  This year’s ballot did not include any Constitutional changes. 

Herrington and Feger filed a formal grievance claiming violations in the Callaway/Kohler campaign, but the Election Commission found no violations of the election rules.  Herrington currently has an appeal pending with the Student Court.
“I’m ready to take office and get this Election Commission stuff behind us,” Callaway said.  Callaway and Kohler began their transition to office Monday Dec. 3.

Students also elected Western Activites Council President Janel Banks and Vice President Branford Lomax Nov. 14-15.  This will be Banks’ second term as WAC president.  She ran unopposed this election.  Twenty-six senators were also elected at the same time.

Residence Council’s 2008 President Kayla Wymore and Vice President Samy Northcutt were elected the following day on a separate ballot.

Callaway said he believed campaigns were the key to getting votes.

“It’s obvious we hit the campaign trail harder than the opposition did,” Callaway said.

His campaign “Working With, Not Against,” focused on students and their needs. The Callaway/Kohler campaign wanted to work on reducing the cost of textbooks and allocating money to better food options through work with dining services.  Callaway and Kohler also hope to implement SIP: Student Involvement Program.

This proposed program would increase student involvement on campus while giving away incentives to students.
“We’re hoping to get people out to more events through SIP,” Callaway said.

Some of the propositional incentives for SIP include drawings for things as small as flex dollars and gift cards to local businesses to giving away shopping sprees and even the possibility of a lease on a new car.  Students would be able to enter at all events attended throughout the semester. Drawing for top prizes would be at Spring Concert where students must be present to win.

SIP was an idea crafted by Callaway and supporters before elections began, but Callaway found an even more important reason for SIP while talking to students during his campaign.

“There are so many people that had never heard of SGA before and I had to explain to them what it was,” Callaway said.
Junior Dustin Strickler campaigned for Callaway and Kohler and made the same discovery.

“The first question I would ask someone is if they knew about the SGA elections and three-fourths said ‘no’,” Strickler said. “The second question was if they knew what SGA was and still I’d get the same response.”

Callaway has been the Missouri Western’s student governor for the past four semesters and has served in SGA for two separate administrations.

“I plan on breaking the stigma and making sure people know we do is vital,” Callaway said. He said he hopes his platform and SIP will minimize any past downs and increase the ups.

“Hopefully we’ll implement something future administrations will want to continue also,” Callaway said.

Strickler said he knew Callaway would be a great front-runner and he wanted to support him from the beginning.

“It’s always great to see someone with a smile on their face no matter the situation,” Strickler said.  “He has great relations with administration, he’s a well-rounded guy and he’s always looking fresh in his three-piece suit and power tie.”

Callaway’s term as Student Governor ends this semester.  In January the position will be vacant until Gov. Matt Blunt chooses a replacement from three candidates. Currently there is only one interested candidate.
 

13-year-old Dekoda Neill was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was born.  Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Mercy Hospital in Missouri recommended this lung transplant which would save his life.

An estimated $65,000 is currently being raised by St. Joseph volunteers to make sure Dekoda can follow through with this operation.

The transplant arrangements have been made by the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) which is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy parents.

Phi Delta Theta, among others in the Greek community, will be holding a raffle in which students could win one of five 32 inch LCD flat screen TV’s.
Each ticket is only $1 and all money raised will go towards Dekoda’s double-lung transplant.

Tickets can be purchased from any Phi Delta member and most other members of the Greek community in Popplewell Hall, Murphy Hall and the Blum Student Union, where several tables are set up.

Zach Slater, public relations chair and treasurer of Phi Delta Theta, said the idea to raise money for Neill emerged this summer when Timothy Lawrence, an alumnus of Missouri Western who raises money for various causes in St. Joe, informed him and other Phi Delta members of the boy’s dilemma.
“He told us about this and we decided to help him out,” Slater said.

Lawrence contacted this fraternity first, considering he was a former Phi Delta Theta member.

“I started out on this journey with getting doors slammed in my face, people not taking calls, people breaking promises and simply people not hearing me,” Lawrence said. “I decided to go back to what I know and I figured the best bet is to go back to my roots – I got the people that I knew had motivation under them and I came back as an Alum to my fraternity and asked my brothers to help me.”

He appreciates the work that all the Greek organizations are doing.

“It goes to show that the Greek Community is amazing regardless of what others say about them,” Lawrence said. “If it wasn’t for The Greek System at MWSU this project of attempting to raise $65,000 for his transplant and expenses would never have gotten off the ground. I thank them all for that and so does Dekoda’s family.”
Lawrence said tickets will presumably be sold after Christmas and into February.

Slater said anyone can participate and they can even contact members of Greek organizations to help sell tickets on their own, outside of school.
“So far we’ve had a lot of support from the whole community – people want to donate,” Slater said.

Lawrence said two possible scenarios have been proposed for announcing the winners of the raffle – a charity dinner, or an MWSU basketball game.
“I am hoping for announcing the winners at a crowded field house at one of the basketball games on a Saturday night in the first of February or the end of January,” Lawrence said.”

There were a series of six-one act plays each night directed by 15 student directors and about 23 student actors. There were nine different plays shown from the book during the three nights. Attendance topped out at 121 with 17 vacant seats during the three nights. The admission fee was $4 a night. The acts played out were English Made Simple, Philip Glass Buys A Loaf of Bread, Mere Mortals, The Philadelphia, Variations of the Death of Trotsky, Sure Thing, Universal Language, A Singular Kind of Guy and Words, Words, Words.

Assistant professor of theatre and video, Jeremy Warner, enjoyed the book that was published in 1994. He chose the book in June and the cast has been rehearsing for four weeks.

“I picked it because it’s a series of one acts and it’s extremely funny,” Warner said. “Each act is different.”

Senior Director, Anthony Evans, has been involved with various other plays including Beauty and the Beast. He has been stage manager and assistant director in his academic career. This is his first time as director.

“This was my first time being able to direct as a student,” Evans said. “It lets me experience what directors go through – the good and the bad. A lot of people think you just show up and tell other people want to do but there’s a lot more than that.”

Senior Actress, Tara Duckworth, is a Political Science major who has a part in two of the acts. She plays woman one in Philip Glass Buys A Loaf of Bread and Betty in Sure Thing. The play Sure Thing is about a guy and a girl who meet for the first time in a coffee shop. Every time they mess up, a bell rings and they are able to start over.

“I love this play,” Duckworth said. “Conceptually it’s really adorable. Some people would say their relationship is fake because they get to change their answers. But I think what they share is genuine and it just takes some time to reach that.”

For now, maybe.

One of Western’s fraternities on campus, Alpha Sigma Phi, has announced it’s inactive status, which will begin next semester.
Student Engagement Director Don Willis said the fraternity is not in trouble, but they just don’t have the time to keep going.
“I know that they didn’t take in any new members this year,” Willis said.

The issue is not that they are on probation or causing problems – they just have the highest standards of all the fraternities and sororities on campus, and they have not been able to recruit any members who meet these standards completely.

This fraternity has the highest GPA requirement of all fraternities on campus, which is a 2.5 to pledge, while the group has to keep a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Even freshman are required to have at least a 2.8 GPA, and must be willing to commit themselves and constantly maintain good grades.
It is a common belief that if students do not have that basic foundation, they won’t be able to take responsibility for anything else.
Students wanting to become involved with this fraternity are also required to be part of at least two other organizations on campus.
Membership has been getting lower each semester as the standards are raised each year.

President Sean Pruitt, who is the scholarship chair and in charge of recruitment, said there are plenty of people interested in joining their fraternity.

However, either their GPA is not high enough, or they are just not ready for the responsibilities of being an Alpha Sigma Phi member.
He does not want to lower their standards just to get more members.

“We [Alpha Sigma Phi] really value what we stand for,” Pruitt said. “We were active, we did everything we could to break the mold and the stereotype.”

He would rather the fraternity become inactive while things are going well for them, and while they are living up to every one of their expectations, than watch everything they have worked for go downhill.

He also believes Missouri Western has a hard time getting members involved the right way.

There was the minor possibility that the fraternity could stay open next semester, but it was unanimously decided among members that it would not be a very good idea.

With nine members, it would be hard to get recruitment.

Also, two members will be graduating, and two are moving out of town for internship opportunities.

Pruitt believes everyone in the group is basically satisfied with the decision.

“Everyone has kind of come to terms with this,” Pruitt said.

A couple members were hesitant to begin with, but after several long, serious discussions about shutting the fraternity down for a while, the decision was made with everyone’s approval.

Luke Herrington, treasurer, was a little hesitant about shutting the fraternity down at first.

“It seemed to be the easy way out,” Herrington said.

He eventually realized, however, that this would be the best decision for the group.

Trevor Kincaid, another Alpha Sigma Phi member, shared Herrington’s initial thoughts, but also changed his mind in the end and believed it wouldn’t be the best idea to keep going at this point in time.

“With all the responsibilities, it would just be really hard,” Kincaid said.

Alpha Sigma Phi could still be reactivated again someday.

Ironically, the official symbol of the fraternity is the Phoenix, the mythological bird that rises from its ashes.

Herrington believes this is fitting for what they are currently going through.

“Like the Phoenix, we can always rise back up,” Herrington said.

Pruitt also said he would like to come back in five years and see that the fraternity is up and running again, still meeting all the expectations and continuing in the direction they left off.

There will be a number of recreational activities like a Bowling Night at the Belt Bowl on Wednesday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

There will also be more serious events like the Habitat for Humanity project from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday and giving back to the senior citizens at Saxons Community Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The cafeteria menu will also be altered everyday of the week in celebration of BSU week and will include many different types of meals such as seasoned Fried chicken, BBQ brisket, Jambalaya, Apple Crisp, and several other entrees.

BSU president, Moses Fields, is hoping to have big turnouts and a good number of students at all the events with a few important ones in mind.
“We will be having a presidential candidate informational on the morals and values of the candidates so people can make an intelligent decision when they vote,” Fields said.

The informational will be on Tuesday in the Blum Student Union Lobby from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Kandace Robinson, treasurer of the BSU, is hoping to be able to get more people involved and aware of the things that are going on in the BSU as well as on campus.

“We want to inform people about the BSU and get them to be active around the campus,” Robinson said.

Another event that will be benefiting the community is the Halloween Social in Leah Spratt Hall rooms 214-216 on Friday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Students attending this will need to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items. Students wearing costumes should bring two food items and those without a costume will need to bring three items.

Fields would like to gather as many food items as possible in order to give to a greater cause.

“The food items we get there will be donated to the Homeless Awareness Week which is the following week,” Fields said.

After the Habitat for Humanity Project on Thursday, the Mr. and Miss BSU informational will be held in the Blum Union Lobby at 6 p.m. Fields believes this pageant will help to shape the future of the BSU.

“This will be a pageant that will select the voice and the face of the Black Student Union within the next semester,” Fields said.

The following week on Thursday, Nov. 8, there will be an alumni panel of former Missouri Western students to talk to current students about life after college.

“This will be a chance for students to ask questions to alumni about why they picked Western and things that prepared them for life after college,” Fields said.

There will also be several other activities over the course of this week including After School Recess on Monday, Spirit Day at the football game on Saturday, Movie Night on Sunday and a Collar and Heels Party the following week on Friday Nov. 9th.

Black Student Union Week Activities

Wednesday
 • Bowling Night at the Belt Bowl
    10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Thursday
 • Habitat for Humanity Project
    2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday
 • Giving back to senior citizens:
    Saxons Community Center
   1 to 3 p.m.

The cafeteria menu will also be altered every day for
the week celebration. The menu will include.

• Fried chicken
• BBQ Brisket
• Jambalaya
• Apple Crisp

Upcoming SGA elections are being approached by two candidates with very different agendas: Luke Herrington, current vice president of SGA, and Harold Callaway III, current student governor.

Callaway, who is still searching for a running mate, has detailed plans for SGA’s budget.

“One of the major things I want to look at is cost-benefit analysis run down on all the budget items that are being spent currently by SGA, just to make sure students are receiving the benefit of their money,” Callaway said.

Herrington however, is more concerned with the social element of SGA.

“One thing we would really like to focus on, I know, is to bring the fun back to SGA,” Herrington said.

According to Herrington, there has been a great deal of conflict between SGA and the administration. Herrington and his running mate, Emily Feger, hope to place the emphasis back on the student aspect of student government.

“We have a lot of stuff that we’re working on that we haven’t really told people, because we don’t want it to get back to those elements in the administration,” Herrington said. “I just know that we’re not being allowed to govern. We’ve been doing it for years, so we know how to. “We don’t need oversight.”

Callaway is approaching the administration issue from a completely different perspective.

“The level that I’ve been able to get at being on the board of governors, with the deans, with the directors, here on campus, also the vice presidents and new president elect that we’re currently searching for on the board of governors, so I think with those relationships that are already established, it’ll help things be able to move along more quickly,” Callaway said.
According to Callaway, the administration is practical.

“Dr. Bragin is a very analytical thinker, very detailed, so you do have to have all of your information, all your facts whenever you want him to sign off on something,” Callaway said.

Whoever assumes the responsibilities of SGA president will have a great deal of financial freedom, and the pressure which will come with it.

According to Natalie Bailey, current president of SGA, the new SGA budget has not yet been finally approved. Therefore the current administration has been able to do very little with the money.

“I definitely think whoever wins the presidency will have a huge budget for the spring,” Bailey said.
 
If Callaway becomes president, this excess money will be carefully budgeted, as it is a high priority for Bragin.

“Say you’ve got $60,000 in the executive board budget; you need to have each of those items specified on what it’s going to be spent,” Callaway said. “If you’re spending $3,000 on t-shirts, you need to have $3,000 for SGA week. You need to have how much each shirt’s going to cost and the vender that it’s coming from. You have to do that with each item that’s on the budget.”

This careful planning is, according to Callaway, a necessary evil.
While Callaway comes to the table with fresh ideas, Herrington said that his primary strength is experience.

“I’ve been in senate since I was a freshman,” Herrington said. “I was a member of the residence counsel for a while. I know the constitution like the back of my hand, partially because I wrote the majority of it, which was a long process.”

All 31 women of the Kappa Beta chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta will share the task of teeter-tottering for 24 hours continuously.
In exchange for their commitment to this cause, the ladies are collecting donations.

The donations will go directly to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation which provides for educational programs, diabetes research and sisters-in-need programs.

The mission statement of the organization is:
“The Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation impacts and enriches our communities by providing essential support for education, philanthropy and leadership.”

The message that the women of Alpha Gamma Delta hope to convey to the MWSU community can best be expressed by the theme of the event, according to Lexie Humphry, Alpha Gamma Delta philanthropy coordinator.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Each member was encouraged to raise a minimum of $50 in order to make the event’s goal of $2000 possible.

Meeting this goal will make them eligible for renewed membership in the Jewel Society, an honor designated to those who fundraise over $2000 in contributions to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation annually.

In 2006 Alpha Gamma Delta was one of 61 collegiate chapters recognized by the Jewel Society.

Individuals who donate money will be entered in a door prize drawing where they may potentially win gift certificates from various St. Joseph businesses.

Those interested in donating will have the opportunity to do so directly at the Teeter-totter-a-thon by simply stopping by. All members of Alpha Gamma Delta will continue to accept donations until Nov.4.

The Teeter-totter-a-thon will be held on the west side of Blum Student Union at Missouri Western at 10 a.m. Oct. 18.

Any individuals interested in coming out to support Alpha Gamma Delta are encouraged to do so.

The drawing will be held on the day of the Teeter-totter-thon, and winners will be notified later.

The center for multicultural engagement’s annual event has been reinvented with a renewed
emphasis on quality over quantity.

According to CME director Taye Triggs, this year’s theme is inspired by Martin Luther King
Junior’s quote, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.”

In previous years, the CME extended their volunteer assistance to any community services
that had an interest.

Unfortunately, the logistics of transporting bus loads of volunteers to multiple locations proved to be too much. Transportation was inefficient and service experiences varied between locations resulting in numbers of volunteers decreasing steadily over the years.

Event coordinators felt that concentrating the efforts of volunteers to only four different options would enhance the experience for volunteers and those that they served.

This year’s projects include working on two Habitat for Humanity Houses, collecting for Food Drives at three local grocers, assisting Mid City Excellence with a garage sale, and a Fall Health Carnival for youths at Pleasant Heights, a low income housing development.

This year working in conjunction with Homecoming will hopefully encourage volunteers to participate. Organizations that submit a list of volunteers that will be checked off the lists when they sign in on at the Big Event. Organizations that achieve complete participation will be credited fifty points.

“I hope that not only does CME reach it’s goal of 150 students, but more importantly, the students receive a meaningful experience from doing this community service project,” Ivory Duncan, CME intern, said.

Students with an interest in serving are to meet in the Blum Union Lobby Saturday at 8 a.m., Oct. 6.

There will be transportation, food and shirts available to all volunteers.

The first presentation, given by President Scanlon, was on “Points of Pride,” a sampling of faculty, staff and student achievements. Examples include achievements in biological research, art awards, nursing in Honduras, national nontraditional student and adviser awards and peace studies in Northern Ireland.

The financial report, presented by Ron Olinger, Vice President for financial planning and administration, showed the overall financial picture to be positive.

Juda Hall renovations were completed and occupancy numbers are up around 20 percent.

A proposal was passed by the board to create and fund a special account for presidential search expenses in the amount of $125,000.

After the meeting Michael Speros, director of residential life, consented to an interview. He said MWSU had 897 in the dorms last year, has 1064 students this year and there is an increase in both first year and returning student categories.

“We have 92 percent occupancy based on the number of super singles we have available,” Olinger said. “We are really pleased.”

Two new graduate programs have been proposed at Missouri Western, a master of applied science in assessment (with options in learning improvement and writing) and a master of applied arts in integrated media (with an option in applied integrated media and an option in convergent media).

“These programs have made progress through the approval process and are now at the Department of Higher Education,” Jeanne Daffron, assistant vice president for academic and student affairs, said.

The board approved the recommended health, dental, vision, life and long term disability insurance coverage for faculty and staff.

Our student governor, Harold Callaway III, gave a report to the board on SGA activities. He will be completing his term in December, and is starting the search for suitable replacement candidates.

“There is a lengthy selection process here on campus where we find three candidates, go through an interview process following Missouri statutes, then go to the director of boards and commissions in Jefferson City,” Callaway said. “The director gives the names to the Governor (of Missouri). The Governor chooses one name to go through Senate confirmation.”

He is also sending out surveys on the newspaper readership program which supplies our newspapers on campus.

This program costs around $30,000 annually.

The next meeting of the Board of Governors will be Oct 25 at 5:30 p.m., followed by an annual dinner honoring staff.

Pierre-Edouard Deldique, a journalist for Radio France International, —France’s worldwide equivalent of National Public Radio— specializes in global affairs and worked at the United Nations Headquarters.

He has written several books on the subject including “Should We Abolish the UN?” and “Endgame at the UN.”

Dr. Susan Hennessy, foreign language coordinator in the department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism, arranged for Deldique’s visit to Missouri Western through the Alliance Française. 
“I selected him because his topic had a nice broad appeal for Missouri Western and St Joseph,” Hennessy said.

Although the flyers around campus read, “Is the United Nations America’s Enemy” Deldique was quick to point out the apparent truth.

The UN is obviously not America’s Enemy,” Deldique said.

He said that the primary responsibility of the organization —which was an American creation— is peace and to provide security for all nations.

Many factors, such as the Cold War, various wars in the Middle East, the various struggles for independence, including the establishment of Israel changed the UN’s  attitude to an environment where many member states have put American policy on trial.

 “I thought it was an interesting talk, especially about the history of the United Nations. Some of his comments about American attitudes and policy were very thoughtful,” said  Dr. Phil Mullins, professor in the department of history, philosophy, and government.

Deldique conceded that the relationship since the start of the current Bush administration has been controversial.

 “I am personally of the opinion that the word ‘adversary’ would be more appropriate even if I don’t believe for one minute that the UN is an adversary of the United States. But I speak as a journalist, not as a member of the United Nations,” said Deldique.

The Frenchman went on to explain how the US’s conservative-run government over the past few years.

“This anti-Americanism, moreover, has been aggravated by the arrival these past few years in the White House of George W. Bush and the neoconservatives, who, with the war in Iraq serving as background, have expressed the desire to do away with the UN,” Deldique said in a Alliance Francaise press release.

Other factors influencing the world opinion include America’s refusal to sign the Kyoto accords, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, some of our choices for representative to the UN and our refusal to hear world opinion on the weapons of mass destruction has harmed our relationship with the UN.

The current administration decided in 2003 to ignore both the opinion of the nations of the United Nations and the assertions that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq made by many members.

However, the United Nations did support the US in Korea, the first Gulf War and authorized the fight against terrorism.

Sherrell Reed, a student at Missouri Western, found the speech gave to be educational.
“I thought it was very informative and enlightening,” Reed said. “ It sparked my interest and I am going to read up on the UN.” 

She was also found it striking that the United Nations does not have an intelligence department.

SGA’s new advisor and Interim Assistant Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs,  Cindy Heider, said she came across the absence of administrative approval while familiarizing herself with the processes of the organization prior to the SGA constitutional convention scheduled for Sept. 16.

“Some resolutions were still in a kind of a limbo, and we needed to make sure they were getting formally approved or that they were being revised,” Heider said. “But I couldn’t find anywhere that the most recent constitution had actually been approved at the administrative level.”

She then approached Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Joseph Bragin with the issue.  Heider said Bragin wanted to make sure the constitution had the authority and the approval so that it could operate and there wouldn’t be any question on what is and is not allowed.
 
SGA Vice President Luke Herrington believes the constitution was adequately approved because the current Dean of Student Development at the time, Paul Shang, had to have signed it because elements in the new constitution such as the existance of the Student Court were printed in the Student Handbook, which is published by the dean’s office. Herrington believes that since the student body approved the constitution more than a year and a half ago and no one has raised objections, then the administration must know and should recognize without question that these changes have been in place. Herrington assumes the constitution was lost on its way to the Vice President because of transitions made between former Vice President David Arnold, Interim Vice President Jeanie Daffron and eventually Bragin.

Herrington also believes that regardless of where the constitution was lost, it would have been made valid by the dean of student development’s signature alone. Every previous constitution was approved after a student body vote, a signature by the SGA president and a signature from the dean of student development.  None of the previous constitutions has required signatures from the provost and president.  In addition, there is nothing in The Handbook or the Missouri Western Policy Guide that mandates the additional two signatures.  Still, Heider and Bragin both argue that the constitution is illegitimate because it is lacking two additional signatures from the provost and university president.

“I think a lot of this is tied up with the SGA fee that’s been instituted, and the SGA really has to be sensitive to the fact that since they have the ability to recommend allocations of money and things like that that there is going to be more scrutiny over what they do and how they do it,” Heider said.

The SGA fee was implemented in fall 2003 and gave SGA the opportunity to spend over $400,000 on the students. Herrington feels the students should have the right to spend their money as they wish.
 
“They are trying to treat us like one of their departments…which has to do whatever they say,” Herrington said. “They are not letting us properly represent the students, which is what we are supposed to do. We are not supposed to be a tool of the administration.”
With the fear of the constitution truly being illegitimate, senators contested that their positions would all be invalid as well.

Under the previous constitution, the Articles of Association, SGA would be reduced to 20 senators, the Student Court would not exist, and the terms of office of the executive members would have expired this past spring after an election held in April.

Since an election was not held in April, under the Articles of Association, the only legitimate member of SGA would be Student Governor Harold Callaway because his office is appointed by the state of Missouri.

Heider confirmed that SGA is a recognized organization on our campus and that they have a constitution.

“We continue to have a smooth operation,” Heider said. “We didn’t want this to be disruptive in any way at all. We are just asking them to update their constitution and have it have re-approved.”

Though some changes were proposed at the constitutional convention Sunday, SGA plans to continue with the convention forum in October.

“The convention is a regular effort by the student body to update their constitution,” Heider said. “And I think they can reaffirm the parts they believe are still current and update the parts that they would prefer to have changed and then we can move that forward.”

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.”

 In any number of academic reports one can read, there is evidence that American college students are falling in areas of high culture. But if the leadership, both student and faculty, are an example of those they lead, then Missouri Western is in very promising hands. They are a people who are equally talented, classically trained, and set with an eye out towards an ever changing and developing future.

Gregory is directing “The Vanities” which will run from Feb 26 – March 2. It will be preceded by All in the Timing by David Ives on Nov 8 – 10. Coming right up on Oct 3 – 7 is “Angel on My Shoulder” directed by Candice Schrader, senior at Western, and assistant directed by Jennifer George, also a senior. All shows start at 8 p.m. except for the shows on Sunday that go on at 2 p.m.

“I liked “Vanities” from when I have seen it before” Gregory said. “We have not done it here for…gosh, 25 or 30 years. It is a good story and even though it is from the late sixties, early seventies, I think people can still relate to how the girls change and how you don’t always end up how you thought you would.”

Jennifer George, senior at Western and assistant director of the upcoming “Angel on My Shoulder,” has already begun rehearsals on her play as she rides in on the wave of child birth. “I had my baby just 15 days ago,” George said. “I have been bringing her to rehearsals with me. It has worked out so far. She seems to be a fan of the theatre”.

With the play already in rehearsal, the cast is bonding—getting to be closer than they might have suspected.

“Just recently we had to do the blocking for the scene where the Angel and the girl meet for the first time,” George said. “And he kisses her ankle and he kisses her leg and the actors were just a little uncomfortable. Since it was the first time doing this, we kind of went easy on them. But obviously they will have to get more comfortable with it.” 

Jeremy Warner will be directing “All in the Timing” by David Ives. It is a part of the class Theater 338, Directing the Actor. The play is a series of 15 one acts covering a multitude of topics directed by 15 different students. It will be a showcase of rising new talent. What could be more fun than fresh ideas?

Warner also is excited about a new class to Western next semester for those interested in film. The Missouri Western film festival will be April 21-25 which will be in connection to a class of its same name.

“We have an upcoming class called Film Festival.” Warner said. “Students will be learning all about how film festivals work, how to plan them—every single aspect as well as picking out the films to be shown. One night will be dedicated solely to works done by Missouri Western students. So it should be pretty exciting. We are hoping to get a lot of really exciting cool people involved.”

So think about it, do you really want to be low on high culture? If not, are you cool? Are you exciting? Then this is a good year to start getting involved with Missouri Westerns theatre and film program.

“Right now, politically and socially there is a lot of questioning who and what we are,” Warner said. “Now it is time for us to realize we have our own voices, and it could be film or theatre or art or video games or whatever. We have our own voices and now is the time to use them. If you don’t like what’s out there, then make your own voice.”

But there is a new name on campus, and the Western Activities Council is the new moniker for CAB.

Emily Feger, who is a WAC board member, said that CAB is an overused word.

“WAC reflects our change to our university and student campus life,” Feger said. “We are trying to up things because nobody comes to our events. With WAC, more students will pay attention to it.”

The panel of the organization got together and made a decision to come up with a new name. Many names were discussed, but they didn’t quite fit the campus demographics. WAC was chosen out of all the other names because it was more personalized.

Once a decision was reached, the organization panel brought the suggested change to SGA, which approved it. Then it was up to the student body. Students were able to vote online for the approval of the name change, and it was passed.

So, CAB is now officially WAC, and not all students like the new name.

Sophomore Baron Bradshaw said that the name is WACK, and that they should have kept CAB because that’s what everyone knows.

“I think they should have stayed with CAB because that’s what everyone knows,” Bradshaw said. “The next three classes are still going to think of it as CAB. WAC is going to be the butt of all jokes.”

Junior Kristin McKinney is another student who thinks that changing the name is not going to bring about more students, but only limit them.

“If they want a better turnout with their activities, do something that every student could relate to,” McKinney said. “They need to reach out to a broader audience.”

But it’s a little too late for the students who don’t like the name. Feger is confident that the new name was the right thing to do.

“CAB is really old; everybody in the country uses it,” Feger said.

Lou Gehrig was the first baseman for the New York Yankees and was one of the most outstanding baseball players from the twentieth century. He was known as the Iron Horse and over a fifteen-year span (1925-1939) he played in 2,130 consecutive games. This ongoing streak was broken after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. This disease took over his life two years later.

The men of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Western, along with other chapters among the nation, planned an organization to raise money to find a cure for ALS.

“Lou Gehrig was a Phi Delt, so all the Phi Delts around the nation try to have one or two fundraisers a year to collect money to find a cure for ALS,” said Zach Slater, public relations chair for Phi Delta Theta. “It’s our national philanthropy. All of the money we raise will go to the ALS association.”

The Western chapter planned an ALS walk that took place at 9 a.m. on April 21. They met at 8:30 a.m. to set up tables at the beginning, halfway and end point. They started at the Ashland United Methodist Church and ended up at Central High School.

These ALS walks have been a part of the Western chapter since 2002. They try to increase the donation value each year. The last ALS walk was held in the fall of 2005 and $2,000 was raised.

“This year our goal was $1,500,” said David Wyble, Vice President of Phi Delta Theta.

However, Chris Brown, philanthropy chair, said they were $500 short at $1,000.

“I was a little surprised that more people from the city St. Joseph didn’t come out,” Brown said. A March of Dimes event was on the same day, he said, which may have been a factor.

There were about 50 people in total who walked in support of ALS. Everyone was invited to participate in the Phi Delta Theta ALS walk. Of the 50 people who showed up to walk, 25 were fraternity members and the others were parents, girlfriends and some sorority girls.

“There were several people who were out of town and not able to make it to the walk, so there is still money to be donated,” Slater said.

This fundraiser inspired people to get out there and help fight for a cure.

“I went to a leadership conference last summer, and there were two young boys probably about 10 or 11 with a mother that had ALS,” Wyble said. “They went around to different conferences talking about the best kinds of fundraisers people could put on to help those with ALS. I was very inspired by those boys. I thought if they could get out and voice their story, then I should do everything I can to help, too.”

Western’s Student Senate released student ID card discounts, approved $1,500 in funding for new bulletin boards, decided to sponsor a blood drive and approved the Campus Activity Board changing its name to Western’s Activity Council.

Faculty and students can now receive discounts at several St. Joseph area businesses just by showing their Western ID cards. These businesses are in the above inset box. A number of other schools in the state, including Maryville and Kansas City, are participating in this program. If a Western student travels to one of these cities, they can receive the same discounts that particular school receives. For the list of the discount amounts please visit www.studentsavingsclub.com.

Senate approved a $1,500 cap for funding of new bulletin boards. At the time of the meeting, the senators thought they were buying 10 bulletin boards at $120 a piece from the company Brown Mannschreck. Kathy Kelly of the student development office, who ordered the bulletin boards, says it may end up costing more.

“There is a little bit of a hang up right now,” Kelly said. “What they approved was not the prices I got. The nicer bulletin boards will cost a little more.”

Western is still expected to receive nine to 10 bulletin boards. The boards are expected to be shipped in the next two to six weeks. The executive board has picked what were the most popular sites for posters and is planning to place the boards there.

Moving on to other business, the SGA is sponsoring a community blood drive on April 25 from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Blum Union Lounge.

SGA President Natalie Bailey takes these decisions seriously. “We are in the process of promoting it right now,” Bailey said. “SGA has not sponsored a blood drive in three or four years.”

One other issue approved was CAB becoming WAC. CAB changed its name to WAC, Western’s Activity Council, to breathe new life into the name of the organization.

“When we went to NACA, we saw other schools weren’t called CAB,” CAB President Janell Banks said. “The name was getting old. We wanted to personalize the name.”

SGA also recognized two groups as official Western organizations. MWSU Student Council of the International Reading Assocation became an official organization. It promotes literacy to individuals from elementary to high school. They meet the first Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. in Murphy 112. Zeta Phi Beta was recognized as an official Western organization, too.

As another order of business, Tim Schaffer was removed as a member of the Financial Oversight Committee.

On Monday, in the Blum Union Lobby, the ladies passed out information about breast cancer and how to appropriately self check for breast cancer. They also handed out granola bars and heath quotes.

Atia Styles, member of Zeta Phi Beta Spring ’05, said that breast cancer and health awareness was her favorite part of zeta week.

“My favorite parts of our Zeta Finer Womanhood Week were when my sorors and I handed out granola bars and information about breast cancer awareness,” Styles said.

Banks also enjoyed Monday; she said it was a fun day.

“Monday was a fun day because it was so spontaneous no one expected to have granola bars coming out at them,” Banks said.

Tuesday was study night along with an informational meeting later that night, where women who are interested in the organization could learn more about Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and other Divine Nine Organizations.

Wednesday night the ladies had a movie night in Spratt 214, showing “The Women of Brewster’s Place.”

Then on Thursday in the Blum Union the ladies held a forum titled “What Can Zeta do for you?” in the Blum Union Lobby, where they discussed retention rates, the issues in the Blum Union, financial aid, parties and much more.

Janell Banks, also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Spring ’05, said that this forum was put together for a purpose: to serve students at Missouri Western State University.

“The purpose of the program was to find what Zeta can do to help students graduate and become active leaders on campus,” Banks said.

Styles said that she wished the turnout would have been better and how she really enjoyed it.

“I also really enjoyed our “What can Zeta do for you?” forum, but I really wished our turnout would have been better. But it was a very informative program,” Styles said.

Friday was the ladies community service project where they got together to decorate boxes for the Greek book drive, and they also collected books to send to Afghanistan.

Saturday was to be announced, but the women of Zeta Phi Beta did send out good luck letters to students for finals, as well as honored women on campus for acts of Finer Womanhood.

To bring Zeta week to an end, the ladies all went out to church Sunday morning for worship service at Holsey Methodist Church.

“I am really looking forward to going to Holsey Church on Sunday morning,” Styles said.

Styles will be graduating on May 12, and she said that she will miss every one of her sorors because they have invested so many memories.

“I am so going to miss my oh so sweet sorors of Z Phi B,” she said. “They really mean a lot to me, and I’m going to feel lost without them. We have so many memories. I will miss them a lot. I am really glad that we finally received our chapter, Tau Sigma. Kori, Janell and I have been waiting for this for well over three years, and it’s finally nice to get what we’ve all been working so hard to achieve – not just us three but all of those lovely Zeta’s who came before us.”

Overall the ladies of Z phi B felt the turnout of Zeta week went fairly well and were happy students participated.

“The turnout was okay,” Banks said. “We know that sometimes students are not that active, but we our happy to see anyone come out and participate.”

Harris, president of Western’s Non-Traditional Student Association received the award at a conference at Oklahoma State. Harris was one of four nominees for the award.

“I was shocked by the award,” Harris said.

At the same conference, adviser Ellen Kisker received the award of Non-Traditional Adviser of the Year.

Luke Herrington, vice-president of the SGA, believes Harris won the award due to his enthusiasm in the subjects with which he is involved.

“Ed is very passionate about what he believes in,” Herrington said.

Harris believes that it’s all about getting involved in your school. Many people are afraid to branch out and get involved. He wants to help Non-Traditional students to branch out and get more involved.

“It’s all about getting involved in your school,” Harris said. “I feel we should go above and beyond.”

At the March 26 meeting, Harris and other SGA members had a problem with the handicap parking for sporting events at Missouri Western. At the NCAA Tournament, the parking committee moved handicap parking to a different area, so VIP people could have closer parking. SGA members are planning on meeting with people about this issue.

“We are going to try and meet with the chair of the parking committee,” Herrington said.

Setting up a recycling program was also discussed at the SGA meeting. SGA would like to get a recycling program started. Right now, library employee Annette Wright goes around and picks up paper to be recycled. Natalie Bailey, President of the SGA, would like to have a service to do that here at Missouri Western. The senate granted $500 dollars to the recycling program.

“We want to make it an official program for Western,” Bailey said.

SGA members also discussed changing the name of the Campus Activities Board to Western Activities Council. CAB members feel the name change will bring more excitement to the organization.

They also believe the name change will help with recruitment to the organization. Janell Banks, the CAB President, said the change will take place next semester. Bailey believes the change of name will bode well for CAB.

“CAB felt the name was giving an image that they are not,” Bailey said.

The SGA also discussed the agenda for Residence Council week, and they proposed renovations for the cafeteria.

The Non-Traditional Student Center can be found in Eder 200A and is open daily from 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. for students taking both morning and evening classes.

“Come in before class; get a cup of coffee,” said Ellen Kisker, director of the Non-Traditional Student Services. “It’s a place where you can shift gears from work or being home with the kids to student,” Kisker said of the 5,100 students at Missouri Western, 1,100 of which are non-traditional students.

However, Kisker encourages all students to use the lounge in the center.

According to the Non-Traditional Student Services Web page, a non-traditional student can be defined as anyone who is 25 years or older, going to college for the first time and/or
coming back after an absence and does not conform to the definition of a traditional student.

Kisker came to Western in 1986 as instructor, and in 1987 she became the coordinator of the Women’s Educational Resource Center. “I started having more and more guys come in and ask questions,” Kisker said.

In 1990 the center was renamed the Non-Traditional Student Services to open resources to both female and male students.

The center is an information center for all non-traditional students and also helps first-time students.

“I try to get them started,” Kisker said. “I help them with admissions and their FAFSA.”

Kisker said that she discusses finding a major with them and answers questions they may have about returning to college. Sometimes her job is helping new students with the college terminology of what is a credit hour, she said.

Kisker said that the non-traditional student has to juggle a huge balancing act. Many students have to decide how to balance home and school.

“How will my family survive with me being in school?” Kisker quoted many students asking her.

The center is a place where students can find not only information on how to become enrolled in school, but also it is a support system for those students who are trying to balance home, work and school through the Non-Traditional Student Association Club. Kisker said that in a typical semester 60-70 students will join the club. The fees for the club are $5 per semester.

Members in the club can run for offices, as well as are eligible to vote for those running for offices inside the club.

“There are a lot of benefits to belonging to the club,” said Michelle Cox, who is currently the vice-president of the Non-Traditional Student Association Club and will be running for president for the upcoming 2007-2008 semester.

“When you say you belong to the club, it looks good for scholarship and job applications, and you can vote for leaders.”

The Non-Traditional Student Association frequently has coffee and conversation in the lounge and plans to hold the next coffee from 9 a.m. to noon on March 28.

“It’s a great time for us to see each other,” Cox said.

For students considering college at a later time in life, there will be a seminar on March 29 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Eder, room 208.

Students can come and discuss enrolling, getting financial aid, finding resources on campus, finding a major and other things that might be of question. Students can also receive a short tour of campus. To sign up for this program, students should contact Kisker at 271-4280.

There will be a non-traditional student’s banquet, which will be held April 30, to recognize the graduates as well as the accomplishments of those outstanding students throughout the year. Admission is free for students who are paid members of the NTSA Club and have been active in the club throughout the year.

All non-traditional students are invited to attend the banquet at a minimal charge whether they are paid members or not.

The minority organization TEC helped bring men and women together to express their new-found faith and love for the Lord. The desire in their hearts was to put together a celebration that created an environment of praising which lifted spirits high in song. TEC geared towards students and community brought together scripture readings, poets, vocalists, praise dancers, ministry and a church choir to express their strong love for the Lord.

“I think the event was a success,” TEC President Mallory Paines said. “It could have been better, but I took on the project with not much extra help. I used the sources available to me.”

The members of TEC realized that this event not only glorified the Lord but was brought together to save lost souls and to give praise unto the Lord. This event also represented and celebrated the strength and values toward African American culture. It gave students and the community that attended the event a sense of hope and provision.

TEC member, sophomore Armande Willis said that this event was very effective because it lifted his spirit.

“This event lifted my spirit; I’m just really thankful for getting this far in life, and the Lord providing me with everything I need,” Willis said. “Some people may take the small things in life for granted, and it could be a big deal to others so that’s why it’s important to seek God and build a relationship with him.”

The program started with a warm welcome from Paines, who was very pleased with the amount of people that showed up.

Following right behind Paines was a scripture reading from sophomore Precious Jones and senior Mignon Wilkins who was also the host performed the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Wilkins mentioned that she thought the event went really well.

“My goal was to praise God and that’s what I did.” Wilkins said.

Wilkins had tears to prove it; she was touched by the Holy Spirit. This event was very powerful and tears spreaded throughout the entire event. It touched hearts in a mighty way.

Yanique Javois, junior said that the event was inspiring.

“Its been a while since I attended church and established a relationship with God, so it was very moving and inspirational to be there and since I did go to church prior to the event; it just added to the experience.” Javois said.

Going into the master ceremony was a host of praised dancers along with solo vocalist and “Unlimited Praize” choir, which all performances seemed to have had woo owed the crowd and keep them excited about the program.

Olin Kinsey, junior said that this event served a purpose.

“It was uplifting. The purpose is all that matters; the purpose of the event was outreaching- very convenient and a quick service in the evening even though it was not church; it served its purpose,” Kinsey said.

Even though many students felt strongly about the event they were wondering why not have the event more often than once a year.

TEC vice president Tiquila Parnell, said that there are numerous of reasons why the have it once a year.

“The reason for doing it once a year is that it’s our tradition to have the Gospel Extravaganza as our start to TEC week,” Parnell said “Also with everyone’s busy schedule plays a role of why it is hard to plan, not enough people so time is limited. It is sometimes hard to get churches participation because they often travel to other churches to visit and their pastor may be speaking some where so their time is limited.”

“If that is something people would like to see more often in TEC, they can certainly come to a meeting and tell us and we could see what we can do or maybe they could just come and help.” Parnell said.

TEC meetings are every Thursday in the Blum Union- 2nd floor-Junior College Room at 5p.m.

Student Organization for Disability Awareness is an upcoming student organization with intentions to improve Western’s understanding of the needs of people with disabilities. The organization plans to work to achieve awareness on campus by hosting special events and providing students support and information. SODA will try hard to be an academic resource as well as an emotional and social support group for students with disabilities and their fellow classmates.

“We hope to give students with disabilities a voice and really let administration know what they can do to help,” said Michael Ritter, disability services coordinator and faculty advisor for SODA.

Membership will be open to all registered students at Western. SODA is currently trying to recruit enough members to be established.

“It has been my job to put up flyers around campus, and I have thought about making some kind of card to hand out to students,” student Elizabeth Friedly said.

SODA won’t be an established organization until they have five members, and if they get five members, they will be able to fill out an application and wait to be approved by the Student Government Association.

“People have suggested moving our meeting times to the afternoon because right now we hold meetings at 9:30 a.m., and that’s not such a convenient time,” Ritter said. “We are working on moving the meetings to Tuesday afternoons, maybe around 2:00 p.m. and hoping this will bring in more bodies.”

The group will offer students with disabilities peer support, take on student leadership outreach and educational opportunities, increase the understanding of disability as part of diversity and provide non-disabled students with education about disability knowledge.

“I think it’s great to have a program like this,” said John Nyman, an education major with an emphasis in special education. “I am going into Special Education, so I feel it is important for the organization to get going so others can have the chance to learn about the special needs of those people with disabilities.”

They will be committed to educating the campus as well as the community to the needs of people with disabilities.

SODA plans to cover the entire range of disabilities and try to search for ways to get rid of physical, educational and recreational obstacles.

“We want people to see us in a different perspective,” Friedly said. “Basically, realize not everything is so simple.”

SODA wishes to improve the quality and access of educational accommodations provided to students with disabilities, by providing more accessible parking and making small
accommodations in the classroom, for example.

“We hope we can focus on issues on campus and suggest better accessibility,” Friedly said. “Everyone so far has been so nice and helpful, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

We expect to advance the attitudes, consideration, respect and awareness of the general public toward people with all disabilities, by demonstrating their abilities, talents, skills and capabilities.

“We really want people to understand that having a disability is simply a characteristic and it is not the only characteristic that person has,” Ritter said.

SODA will act in educating the campus community about disabled students and the different challenges they face each day. With high hopes SODA will increase self-esteem and strive for perfection in their own manner within their disability.

“Overall, I think this will be such a great organization because I know from personal experiences – family and friends alike – they had a tough time getting a good education due to their special needs,” Nyman said. “I really hope to see this program take off.”

SODA plans to be a self-supported organization and charge $5 fees per semester.