The formal is free and for students who want to take a night off from school or studying to attend a fun night of dancing. The night will be filled with food, music, making memories and fun. Students will also get the chance step out of their normal attire and show up in an elegant dress or suit at this event.

This year’s theme for the formal is Black and White Affair and the formal is expected to have around 100 to 300 students attending.

The dance will be held in Blum 218 and 219 starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 2 a.m. Finger foods, dessert and a DJ will be provided all night.

Amber Frank, western student,  feels that the WAC formal will not only be exciting but stress-free as well.

“I think it will be a lot like a high school prom and I expect to have a lot of fun dancing with my friends,” Frank said.

Dancing is not the only thing that the event will consist of. A photo booth will be available for students who wish to take silly pictures with friends and dates.

Since the semester is coming to an end, this formal event will allow students to relax, laugh, enjoy a night with friends and also meet new people and make new memories.

Isaiah Collier, assistant  dean of Student Development,  feels students who come out to this event will have fun.

“Students will get the chance to meet new people they wouldn’t normally meet in their residential halls,” Collier said. “It also gives them the opportunity to get out of their rooms and have a great time dancing.”

Ashlyn Powers, western student, believes the formal will be a nice event to enjoy with friends.

“I think the dance will be fun and it will also give students the chance to dress up and have a great time,” Powers said.

Missouri Western students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to purchase student art work on April 26 and 27.

The Griffon Art Alliance is a student group on campus who comes together and shares their talents with fellow students at Missouri Western and their community.

The Griffon Art Alliance art sale is a free event that is held to support fellow student artists enrolled in art classes. The event will take place in the Potterhall hallway next to room 101 starting from 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. both days.

Missouri Western art students who want or have made something in an art class have the opportunity to sell any of their art pieces at the Griffon Art Alliance event.  Artworks that will be displayed include pottery, paintings, drawings, graphics, print making and more.

Each student prices their own artwork individually. Prices will possibly range from a minimum of 3 dollars to a maximum of around 100 dollars.

Only 10 percent of the art proceeds will go to the Amy Singletons Scholarship Fund. Amy Singleton was the secretary of the Art Department who passed away a few years ago and a scholarship was started in her remembrance. The Scholarship is for art majors on campus and all portions of sales at the Griffon Art Alliance event will be put into that fund.

Ceramics instructor and Assistant Professor of Art, David Harris believes the Griffon Art Alliance event sale will have a great turnout this semester.

“The art sales we have at end of fall and spring semesters always goes well and I hope this one goes wonderfully,” Harris said.

Ceramic student, Patrick Larsen feels students should come to the Griffon Art Alliance sale and support the art students as much as they can.

“They should come to support fellow students and acknowledge all of the hard work that the artists on campus put into their artwork,” Larsen said.

Jane Travis, art student plans on selling around 100 pieces of her ceramic artwork and feels that students who come to the art sale will be huge support.

“Seeing fellow students come support the artists who work hard and sell their artwork would be really nice and they can also buy some really nice artwork at a reasonable price,” Travis said.

Phi Delta Theta will end the school year with a 5K run on Western’s campus. The proceeds will benefit the victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease and their local Phi Delta chapter. Atkinson said the event is very beneficial for students and members of the community to attend.

The event will take place on April 27, 2013 at 11:00a.m., and the group advises those who plan to participate to check in from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. before the event begins. The run will begin at the Missouri Western State University in the Looney Complex.

The prices for registration are $16 for college and high school students, and for others, the price is $26 to be able to participate in the event.

“This is really something we wanted to bring forth to ALS for the victims, families and the community to show how much Missouri Western wants to give back to the community,” Atkinson said.

The members of Phi Delta Theta expect a turn out of around 150 people from Missouri Western students as well as members of the St. Joseph Community. Jacob Dowell, member of Phi Delta Theta, said the event profits would go 50 percent for Lateral Sclerosis Association to benefit the victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He said the chapter will cover t-shirts and all other costs.

The other 50 percent of the gross proceeds will go to our local Phi Delta Theta chapter, which will be used for their philanthropy and fundraising events in the future. He believes the event will bring in more students since it’s on campus this year.

“5Ks are a pretty big thing around here,” Dowell said. “We’ve had a lot of people come up and talk to us about getting involved on campus for this walk.”

Ethan Kelly, president of Phi Delta Theta, said it’s very important to get people from the community out and involved in events like this one. He said Greek organizations can always throw an event together and bring other Greek organizations together, but to get a whole community involved in something like this is a big step for them.

“I’m hoping to get a lot of people on campus to come,” Kelley said. “We are trying to get other organizations involved and having it on campus is a central location for this event.”

If a business would rather donate products or gift cards, the group would appreciate it. There will be a raffle for donated products and top runners will receive prizes. If there are any questions, the group has asked others to contact Jonathan Hund, treasurer of Phi Delta Theta at (816)341-3430 or jhund@missouriwestern.edu.

The conference is being held in the Fulkerson Center. It is sponsored by the Regional Law Enforcement Academy, Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, Social Work, Department of Nursing and Northwest Missouri Child Advocacy Center.

Breakout sessions will be held in classrooms both days. Everyone must preregister. The forms are available online at wi.missouriwestern.edu/conference.

Kip Wilson, associate professor of CJLS,  says that this is their first attempt to put together so many organizations into one learning conference.

“Sandy Hook was a terrible shock, but people forget that weekly approximately that many children get killed,” Wilson stated. “Often by parents who are their caretakers.”

Dr. Gretchen Quenstedt-Moe, assistant professor of Nursing, stresses the value of this conference. Other similar ones charge $300.00. The registration fee for this conference is $80.00.  If you are a field instructor or MWSU adjunct instructor, it is $20.00. Students may attend for free. She stresses that everyone must preregister because there is a limit to class size for each session.

“We are thrilled to death to have this opportunity, especially for our pediatric nurses. They will have a better understanding of how the system works,” Quenset-Moe, said. “It’s about taking responsibility in the community.”

It will be particularly interesting to people involved in law enforcement, social services, healthcare and education. Wilson says it is an opportunity for students and professionals to listen to a wide range of speakers who work to prevent child abuse every day and to focus on the tragedy of abuse.

“We have offered a yearly conference to give back or say ‘Thank You’ to the community for everything they do for our students,” Pam Clary, instructor  of PSS,  said. “This is the first time we are joining many disciplines to host a conference.”

Learning the signs of an abuser is one aspect that can be gained from the conference. One of the 10 presentations on Wednesday will be by Catherine Vannier, Family Violence Resource Prosecutor with the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services. It will cover the signs and symptoms of coercive control and present a link between child abuse, domestic violence and animal abuse. Wilson says an informational video showing signs of abuse can also be viewed at http://atsweb.uthscsa.edu/webdev/Mckee/Anderst/MIC.html.

“The conference will raise the level of awareness for everyone so that we can advocate for our children,” Dr. Mary Jo Gay, assistant professor of Nursing, said. “This conference is interdisciplinary and will be informational and educational to all students.”

Of unique interest to participants will be the special guests, Terry Probyn, Dr. Rebecca Bailey and Jane Dickel, LCSW. They will be conducting a workshop presented by The JAYC Foundation. The foundation was formed by former kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard. Their topic will be on reacquainting law enforcement officers and employees with their culture and mission. This workshop will be the last event of the conference from 1-4pm on Thursday.

“I plan to attend and so do many of my fraternity brothers from Phi Sigma Kappa,” senior criminal justice major Matthew Morris said.

Corporal John Christianson, Highway Patrol Troop H officer and Adjunct Criminal Justice Instructor, says that he has assisted other patrolmen in responding to calls that involved abuse. He keeps a watchful eye during all shifts for signs that indicate a hotline call to DFS is needed to investigate the situation.

“If we save one child, then it is worth it,” Christianson said. “This is a good conference because it pulls from many disciplines and provides a voice for victims that don’t have a voice.”

(left) Dirty Dorthy interacts with students at last years PRIDE Alliance Drag Show.
Photo by: Will C Photography

The Pride Alliance will be hosting their annual Missouri Western Drag Show on April 2. The doors will open at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00 p.m.

PRIDE President Kayla Wiedmaier, said the event will take place on April 2^nd, in the Fulkerson center and believes this year’s event will bring in more students and members of the community. Western students will get into the drag show for free with their Western ID. The show will charge members of the community $3 a person to attend this year’s show.

“It gets better every year,” Wiedmaier said. “The theme we’ve chosen is quite different from the years previous and should bring in a large crowd.”

PRIDE has chosen to do this year for their Drag Show will be a 1950’s. Wiedmaier said the design and look for this theme is completely different from their Burlesque theme from last year. The event will headline three drag queens which include Bianca Bliss, Catia Lee Love, Madison Elise and other special guest.

The organization plans to take donations from those who attend the event and all tips that the drag queens receive will be donated to a group in need. Tyler Rhoad, former president of PRIDE and Wiedmaier said they would not release the organization they plan to donate the money they receive for this year’s show.

All the tips that are donated to the drag queens will be donated to a charity,” Wiedmaier said. “You will have to attend the event to hear who our secret charity will be.”

The event has been held for the last couple of years and has seen a significant number of large crowds. Keisha Davis, former president of PRIDE, plans to attend this year’s event. She believes the reason why attendance is why is due to the event being a unique cultural experience that student’s aren’t used to.

Students should go because not only is it a lot of fun,” Davis said. “It’s educational and there’s something in it for everyone.”

Sarah Matthews, member of PRIDE, said that students and those in the community should attend because it’s the one time of the year where everyone can come together for an exciting event.

“Students should come to the drag show because it’s simply a fun and entertaining experience, that most people don’t get to see on a daily basis,” Matthews said.

The Education Expo will take place on April 5 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Fulkerson Center.

The Career Development Center plans to provide college students and graduates in the field of education the experience to reach out to employers in the job market this month. Claire Busby, program assistant at the center, said school district positions, graduate programs and higher education positions could be offered to education majors.

“We have over 40 school districts and 50 recruiters coming in,” Busby said. “It’s all Missouri and Kansas schools that plan to attend and there’s something for everyone.”

Recruiters attending the Expo are employing for preschool positions as well as elementary and high school positions. Students from every line of study such as math, science, English, history and art will have an opportunity to speak with these recruiters.

Coaching positions and performing art teachers are needed and recruiters will be there to speak with students about different types of employment opportunities. All types of positions are looking for full-time and part-time faculty members.

Minerva Torres, adviser of the Nontraditional Association, said students in the field of education who plan to graduate this May or even December need to attend the Expo to receive practice with employers and hopefully have the chance to get their feet wet in the job market.

“It’s good to see who’s out there and what these recruiters are looking for,” Torres said.

The Expo will offer a wide diversity of employers. Busby said that students never know what’s going to happen when you attend the event and see what these employers are looking for in their prospective areas. She said students need to practice dressing professionally and boosting their resumes while making sure it’s updated.

“Any student at any point in time can bring their resume to the Career Center for improvements to be made,” Busby said. “We will work with you to help ensure that you are the best candidate for the position.”

Torres believes the event is a good way for students to boost what they have learned from their classes at Missouri Western and to go out to these expos and show these employers what they can offer in the field of education.

“It’s a good way to get their credentials out there,” Torres said. “The sooner these students get out and network, the better they will be.”

Amanda Felice, instructor of English, said she’s been to the Education Expo more than once. She’s had friends who have been hired by districts through the Education Expo.

“It is a good way to make contacts and to hand out your resume,” Felice said.  “So when these schools start the hiring process, they remember your face.”

No matter what your grades are or how many credit hours are in your major, it’s an opportunity to get some networking with other education employers, Busby said.

“I have a very diverse group of school districts from big to small, urban, private, public and Christian,” Busby said. “You have a ton of advantages available.”

Vicky Perez illustrates what she is talking about during the Taste of Spain Presentation. Tevin Harris | Photo Editor.

Beginning with the Northwest corner and circling the coastline then traveling through the interior, guests were shown the highlights of many cities and regions.

“There is a wide variety of languages spoken in the country,”  Calzadilla said, “depending on what region you are traveling in.”

Like the language, the landscape varies drastically from Northern to Southern Spain. Northern architecture is dark and grey with thick stone walls to keep out dampness and cold. Southern architecture is white, bright, and much more airy.

“In the South, you will see flat roofs and large windows,” Calzadilla said. “Many old parts of towns are pedestrian only.”

She showed examples of various traditional celebrations including Las Falles, the celebration of Saint Joseph. Large models are made of wax, paper-mache, and wood then burnt at the end of the celebration, she said. It is a smoky, fiery, five day celebration that involves fireworks and many noisemakers. Some models are five stories tall. They depict a wide range of people from Lady Gaga to President Obama. There is no limit to what is created.

A video was also shown of the historic yearly running of the bulls celebration in Pamplona. Calzadilla explained that tourism is a huge market in Spain due to the large amount of usable coastline. Almost all Spanish cities are tourist destinations due to the huge variety of architectural influences.

“It’s a very exploited area because of the tourists,” Calzadilla said.

She displayed pictures of miles of beaches with hotels nearly on the water. She said that heavy beach erosion has occurred in these areas due to overpopulation and exploitation. Spain sets on the Mediterranean Sea coastline, Calzadilla explained that the water there is similar to calm lake water. It is crystal clear, warm and very pleasant to swim in, she told the crowd.

“This is a unique way of seeing what is native to the land,” assistant professor of Spanish Francisco Castilla Ortiz said. “it shows what the natives would show.”

Calzadilla said the city of Bilbao boasts a Guggenheim Museum built by Canadian-American architect  Frank Gehry. The modern art building is highly recognized because it has been featured in movies, music videos and video games. Built in 1997, it invigorated the Bilbao tourist industry with its wavy, reflective outer walls and innovative interior design.

“Overall, I thought the presentation was very exciting, and it convinced me to visit Spain in the future,” junior Kelsey Samenus, president of the Spanish Club, said.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the show occurred when the drag queen Catia Lee Love requested that audience member Tyce VanMeter Pull a ribbon hidden in her rear. The crowd Screamed and were very shocked, yet applauded him for doing it. Tevin Harris | Photo Editor

“I think me not being on campus has impacted the show this year and not in a good way,” Rhoad said. “The performers though will be great.”

The event showcased queens in 1950’s drag and modern drag which left a lasting impression on the audience. Kelsey Guthery, leadership programming assistant of Center of Student Engagement, said the event is always a lot of fun. She believes the energy is always good, no matter what the theme is.

“They’re always hilarious,” Guthery said. “The drag queens usually have the funniest senses of dry, sarcastic humor and I love it!”

The drag queens involved the students, faculty and community members in the show and brought down the house in laughter. A child from the audience was selected by one of the queens to get on stage and strut his stuff to earn some cash. The boy was six year old Micah Everall, whose mother, Charity, is a student at Missouri Western.

“I had a lot of fun,” Everall said. “I liked dancing on stage.”

The show brought out several of the Greek organizations, the Student Government Association, The Villa employees and faculty at Missouri Western for one night of dancing divas and sarcastic humor from the queens.

“The drag queens do some outlandish things,” Guthery said. “It doesn’t really represent the gay community as a whole, but I think people understand that it’s just for entertainment.”

The drag queens that headline the event included Sparkle Iman, Bianca Bliss, Catia Lee Love and Miss Gay Missouri Madison Elise. Iman was ready to get the show on the road and got the crowd standing and cheering for the performances the entire night. She brought humor and interaction with the audience.  Iman would call out attendees took out their cell phones and didn’t pay attention, using them as humor to entertain the audience.

“Put up that god damn cell phone,” Inman said. “It’s time ladies and gentlemen, let’s get the show going.”

The queens accepted donations from the audience during the performance and all proceeds went towards the local autism chapter in St. Joseph, Mo.

Students were encouraged to come and donate as well as pick up anything that caught their eyes during the event.

“It’s viewed as sort of a spring cleaning idea,” Jason Mullin, member of the Nontraditional Student Association said.  “As kids get older their clothes don’t fit anymore, so instead of throwing them out, students can donate them here.”

Along with all sorts of clothes and toys, students who arrived brought their children to the event as well.

“We encourage any students who have kids to bring them,” Delisa Richardson, president of the Nontraditional Student Association said.  “As parents, we realize that when we do anything, it’s important to involve our kids.”

The children who arrived were given plenty of space to run around and brought coloring books to draw in while the parents socialized and laid out their donations.

“This event is more family oriented,” Minerva Torres, advisor for the Nontraditional Student Association said.  “But that doesn’t mean that anyone can’t come in and donate or have a good time.”

A projector was available the children to watch movies or play video games as well as food and drinks for the parents.  Torres said it was important for these students to be able to bring their kids to events like this and have a good time.

The Nontraditional Student Association had been struggling for well over a year since the original leader of the organization had to leave.

“A lot of members will graduate each year,” Mullin said. “When they do, there’s a lot of restructuring, rebuilding and reconnecting, and that was a big problem one semester.”

Under new leadership, the organization hopes to increase awareness of its goals and ambitions through many different events.  Richardson said the organization planned to advertise through word of mouth, fliers and possibly sites like Facebook.

Members of the organization are hoping that the “Playdate and Swap Shop” event becomes successful among the students at MWSU.

“We’re hoping to make this a bimonthly event,” Richardson said.  “We know how difficult it can be for students to go to college while trying to take care of their children, and it’s events like these where we’re trying to give them a place where they feel comfortable.”

Phi Beta Sigma promoted safe sex and provided students with informational statistics about premature babies during their Sigma week, March 4-8. Flowers were passed out for Women’s Appreciation Day and Backpacks to Briefcases Day educated men about life skills and after college life experiences.

Phi Beta Sigma Nu chapter teamed up with St. Joseph’s March of Dimes team to help raise money. March of Dimes was first established by President Franklin Roosevelt and focuses on premature birth and birth defects in infants. Educating doctors and promoting pregnancy screening are a couple of ways that March of Dimes tries to prevent premature birth and defects.

Sigmas around the world volunteered to raise money for March of Dimes. Nationally, Sigma organizations made a goal to reach $75,000. Chapter Alpha Beta Nu of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity Inc. hoped to raise $500 as a starting goal this year and wanted to exceed past that goal and increase the number as the years come. Phi Beta Sigma sold wrist bands, t-shirts and car magnets to help out a great cause. Also, students attended week long events on campus to get further educated on the important cause.

Phi Beta Sigma member Elie Moore feels as though properly educating women about pregnancy is the most important thing that the cause has to offer.

“We wanted others to realize how important and serious premature birth defect situations are,” Moore said.

The group wanted to support others as much as possible. The fraternity’s ultimate purpose and goal was to help raise enough money for expenses of equipment and supplies that are needed for operations or prevention of birth defects occurring.

It wasn’t all about premature babies though. Pregnancy prevention was also a source of education at the events. Western student Samantha Asher feels that attending the events was important and that the motto “Safe sex is great sex” was very educational.

“I learned a lot of great things including how to practice better sexual habits,” Asher said.

Phi Beta member Arian Duncan believes that the March of Dimes event had a huge turnout because of the purpose of the event was so important to the community.

“People realized that we took donations for premature babies to help with the medical evaluations,” Duncan said.

With the weekly events here on campus, Phi Beta Sigma wanted to educate students on how important March of Dimes really is, not only to the organization but to society as well. Students that attended the weekly events learned that there are children who need help with complications and helping makes all the difference.

The Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority hosted their annual Mr. MWSU male pageant on March 27. Over 100 students and members of sororities and fraternities attended the male pageant called “Sock Hoppin’ Mr. MWSU 2013.”

Male contestants Patrick Putnam, Dillon Williams, Nick Brewer, Nick Williams, Ryan Griffey and Scott Schlesser competed for title while trying to impress an enthusiastic crowd.

Trophies and sashes were awarded to the winners of each category. Category winners included Nick Brewer of swim and formal wear, and Dillon Williams of talent and best outfit.

With a very upbeat and positive connection, judges were able to determine Ryan Griffey the winner of Mr. MWSU 2013 and individual winner of raising the most money. Patrick Putnam received second place followed by Dillon Williams taking third.

The organization hosted the event to raise awareness for juvenile diabetes research and treatment and money for leadership programs for Alpha Gamma Delta women.

The goal this year for AGD was to raise $2,000 between this event and the teeter totterathon that was held in the fall. Out of 17 years that AGD has been on campus, 16 of those years they have raised their goal for their foundation so the sorority could be a jule chapter within national headquarters.

Kelsey Guthery, president of Alpha Gamma Delta, felt as though preparing for this event took a lot of planning and preparation.

“We started preparing for this event as soon as the semester started but what’s really great is seeing how everything comes together,” Guthery said.

Crowd excitement filled Spratt Hall as many gathered to watch six male contestants perform talents, danced, and showed off their swim and formal wear.

Students who bought raffle tickets also had to the chance to win prizes. The drawing offered Missouri Western bags and lanyards, water bottles, gift cards, and bowling passes to be given away.

Julia Buescher, student of Missouri Western, thought the event was fun and very entertaining.

“It was interesting seeing how creative the boys were during all of their performances especially Ryan Griffey,” Buescher said.

Beth Hoffman felt Alpha Gamma Delta did a good job supporting a great cause.

“It’s nice seeing Alpha Gamma Delta support diabetes and it felt good coming to this event to help out as well,” Hoffman said.

The new program is called SALT and it is the latest brain-child of the respected American Student Assistance nonprofit and it is completely free for students to use.

This program does everything from tracking students’ debts and updating them constantly to help them manage those debts.

It offers alternative suggestions to student loans and has scholarship and job search databases. SALT representatives are available to students 24 hours a day and seven days a week to help them budget almost everything financially-related to college.

Western’s Senior Financial Aid Coordinator Tammy Allen explains why SALT is an important tool for students and who it is most helpful to on campus.

“It’s an effort to help and it’s basically geared towards our student loan borrowers,” Allen said. “Of course, here at Western, we are wanting to do everything that we can to try and offer some assistance for our student loan borrowers from the time they get here until the time they graduate; trying to educate them into borrowing smartly.”

Allen also believes that SALT will go far in preventing potential financial disasters after college and will help with the transition back into the working world.

“It’s just that we want them to be constantly aware of how much they have borrowed so far, don’t borrow any more than you need to and what kind of payment you are looking at as you go along,” she said. “So that when you graduate you are not blind-sided with this six or seven hundred dollar payment that you could have maybe found other sources [to finance college] throughout your time at school.”

Aside from programs like SALT, there are those out there who believe if students are willing to work hard enough and endure a little sacrifice students wouldn’t need student loans at all.

• Affordable college
• Look for scholarships
• Get a job
• List your finances monthly

Daughter of finance counseling super-star Dave Ramsey, and high-profile finance motivational speaker Rachel Cruze is one such individual and explains how not only college could be free, but also how students could be completely debt-free.

“Yes absolutely it’s possible to go through college debt-free; I think one of the first things that you need to do is look for a college that you can actually afford,” Cruze said. “Meaning you may want to stay in-state and take in-state tuition even if it’s just a community college for you first year or two just to get the basic courses out of the way.”

Cruze explains a couple of other key things to going through college debt free.

“Second, look for scholarships and grants, that’s free money” she said. “Third, actually get a job and go to work.”

She also believes that if you manage your finances and life-style correctly, keeping your credit score at zero, instead of taking a chance on credit cards and loans defaulting, is fine for today’s world.

She claims that as long as you keep bills paid up and stay employed you can even get a mortgage for a home with a credit score of zero.

“People think that you can’t get a mortgage without a credit score, and that’s not true” Cruze said. “There is a process called manual under-writing, and that is where the lending company will actually look at you the person; so they will say have you been on a job consistently for two years and have you been on-time with all of your bills.”

Cruze also believes that you should buy used cars with cash instead of taking out loans even if that means driving a beater for a while until you can save up for a better vehicle.

If individuals saved their car payment instead of paying it every month the amount of money one would have at retirement is nothing to scoff at.

“Just a little fun trivia, the average car loan is around $412.00 a month, if you invested that instead of paying for a car loan,” she said. “And if you did that every month until you were 65, that comes out to about 5.2 million dollars.”

An MWSU alumnus, and Chief Executive Officer for Family Investment Center, Dan Danford, believes that not everyone can go through college debt-free and that sometimes student loans are necessary. At the same time though, like Cruz, he cautions against high loan debts for generic degrees.

“Even in Missouri, you can go to The University of Missouri and get a really nice teaching degree,” Danford said. “But, if you finance that whole degree you are going to have 70 or 80 thousand dollars in debt to pay off; and you know what, teachers only start of making 30 or 35 thousand.”

Danford also believes that when buying electronics or things like that, students need to find out the true value of what they are buying, meaning the retail value after purchase, because they may be able to save a lot of cash.

“When I talk to students especially one of the things I talk to them about is what I call the eBay test,” he said. “Before you get ready to buy consumer electronics or any fairly high dollar gear, go look it up on eBay first; you may be able to find what you are looking for used, or the other thing is you may be able to find what you want refurbished directly from the manufacturer that still has the same warranty and everything.”

When it comes to students and finances, Danford says knowledge is good but not enough.

“I doubt if there is anything they [students] haven’t heard,” Danford said. “I mean a lot of it is common sense, but it’s also, you gotta do it; it’s not enough to know it, you have to actually do it.”

Students interested in the SALT program can go to the financial aid office or sign-up at salt@saltmoney.org.

In the spring of 2009, Western stood at 17.7 percent minority rate among students on campus. That number has since increased 2.1 percent which has Western’s minority students at 19.8 percent in spring 2013.

The Asian student number at Western in 2012 stood at 29 and excelled to 47 in 2013 which is an increase of 62 percent. Western places minorities in different categories according to different races. The data shows a decrease in individual ethnicity percentages between the years of 2009 to 2013 due to new categories used for reporting race that began in the fall of 2010.

When compared to other universities such as Northwest Missouri State or Missouri Southern the African American percentage is lower than Missouri Western.  Western stands at a 9.2 percent among African American students with Northwest at 5.75 percent and Southern at 3.87 percent.

Judith Grimes, associate vice president for Student Affairs believes Western has seen a huge change and believes the University will continue to grow over the next several years. She thinks the reason why we have a much larger minority rate is based on the increase of international student population and students who have parents of different ethnic backgrounds.

“I’ve seen a pretty dramatic change over the last 15 years since I’ve been here,” Grimes said. “We have many students who might have one African American parent and the other Caucasian which increases our student minority.”

Missouri Southern State University is similar in comparison to Western with 19 percent of their student body being minority. Northwest Missouri State University remains low with 16 percent rate of their student body being minority. Amy Kotwani, international student services director said she believes Western is still less diverse than other schools but feels it is increasing at a positive rate.

“I think the population of our international students and other ethnicities are growing,” Kotwani said. “There’s a push to bring more international students to Western which would increase our diversity among minorities.”

Minority students at Western believe its university has become more minority friendly over the past 5 to 10 years. Lisa Uketui, a junior said that other students of  the same  Nigerian decent  as her is growing is increasing at  Western and around the state. She believes Western has taken a different view and welcomes all groups of students regardless of their color, race or gender.

“It’s definitely grown,” Uketui said. “We have so many groups of students from different ethnic backgrounds.”

Over 80.2 percent of Western’s students are of the Caucasian race. Bryan Miller, a junior said when he moved to St. Joseph, Missouri he believed that Western would be mostly Caucasian because it’s in the Midwest. The reason he believes that Western has a high Caucasian percentage is due to most students are commuters from surrounding towns.

Miller explained that when he moved here from Texas that things were getting better. He worked for Abercrombie and Fitch as a sales associate and when he started it was predominantly  Caucasians  employed by the company. Over time he said the company changed their view and started hiring more ethnicities which helped their sales.

“I think the school can only get better in terms of increasing their diversity amongst students,” Miller said. “There’s a huge minority awareness and this is a topic that must be addressed  if Western would like to see a higher percentage of races among students.”

The Marching Cobras, an African American dance team, came to Rolling Hills to celebrate Black History Month. Joyce Stevenson | Staff Writer

All month long there will be a long list of things to do to celebrate; from cultural movies to a taboo talk event, the Black Student Union and the Center for Multicultural Education are hoping to bring a lot of passion and excitement to the table this year.

One of the most exciting events that is coming to campus is accomplished actor Gregory Gibson Kenney who will be performing “Rosa Parks: Please Keep Your Seat.” Kenney has performed in such films as “Silence of the LambJackson’s: An American Dream” and “The Wonder Boys” as well as many commercials, printed advertisements and theatrical performances. Kenney also operates an organization called “EDUCATE Us” where he travels to schools and colleges performing a  30 minute monologue followed by an optional 15 minute question and answer section. Each monologue he performs portrays a historical figure and their triumphs, trials and goals.

Surprisingly, it is not as difficult as one may think to get talent of Kenney’s caliber to come to Western. CME program assistant Jordann Barron explains.

“Because of how early we plan it, it’s a lot easier,” Barron said. “Because we are a university and it is educational they are more than happy to come and help out.”

While most students were at home with their families, CME was already hard at work planning out Black History Month activities.

“A semester ahead of time is when we start planning for things,” Barron said. “Over Christmas break we were here for two weeks after the students left and that’s normally when we do most of our planning.”

BSU chair of major attractions, Leah Hayes, talks about why she feels Western needs such a large variety of events as well as why they structure them the way that they do.

“We don’t want anything to be like a lecture,” Hayes said. “I mean we are students too and we don’t want to go to class and then go to an event that is another lecture. We want it to be fun and we need to learn to progress; we feel like we really need to educate the campus on this and sometimes certain groups of students might feel like they aren’t represented and you know, this is our month to let the campus know we are here and we appreciate our heritage and come and join us in celebrating.”

BSU president Tobias Pointer also feels strongly about having Black History Month come to Western.

“It’s important so you can get a facet of more than one race on campus,” Pointer said. “I would say that a lot of black and, not necessarily white, but a lot of cultures don’t mesh well because they simply don’t know about each other’s culture; so that’s why we try and have plenty of events out there where we have more than one facet of culture, so you can get to know each other.”

One of these events is going to be a game night Hayes goes on to explain.

“It’s just like playing a game of Jeopardy and people can win prizes and things like that,” Hayes said.

These are just a few of the events that are coming this month, for a complete list contact the CME  department at cme@missouriwestern.edu or 816.271.4150. There is also a mass email with a full list of the events to come and informational posters around campus.

Aaron Malin, executive director (left) and Monica Nelson, co-founder (right) pose outside the Secretary of States office in Jefferson City, Missouri. They have filed to petition a ballot measure for the next election.

One group thinks Missouri’s youngest voters are the key to its goals.

Missourians for Equality seeks a 2014 ballot initiative to support same-sex marriage.

Aaron Malin, executive director of Missourians for Equality, believes the youth vote will be a determining factor for passage of the initiative.

The organization plans to travel throughout the state to campuses to recruit students for help. He said a recent poll from Public Policy Polling showed in June 2012 that 64 percent of Missourians support either same-sex marriage or civil unions.

“Most of those people will vote for us,” Malin said. “We are using every avenue out there to find support. The campaign for signatures will begin in late December.”

On Nov. 7, the group filed on its initiative. This would allow the collection of signatures to begin.

Monica Nelson, co-founder of Missourians for Equality, said that she thinks voters will approve of non-discrimination toward individuals of the LGBTQ community.

“I am optimistic that this measure will pass,” Nelson said. “We saw four states vote in favor of LGBT rights, so this is a very sign that we will see a shift in other states to pass pro LGBT initiates.”

Students of the Western LGBTQ organization are beginning to take action since the initiative has been filed with the Secretary of State’s office.

Keisha Davis, president of Western LGBTQ, feels it will take a lot for it to pass, but anything is possible. She plans to do everything in her power to see it pass.

“I think it absolutely needs to be put on the ballot,” Davis said. “My best friends are engaged, and I don’t think it’s fair they have to go to the next closest state just to make their commitment to one another legal.”

There are still those who believe the initiative is needed but see a slim chance of the voters passing the measure if gets on the ballot.

Zachary Johnson, former Western student and openly gay man, said he thinks America does have a problem with gay marriage, but they are coming around.

“I have heard things like gay marriage is going to be the downfall of the human race,” Johnson said. “People just need to realize that it’s 2012 and that people can’t help who they fall in love with.”

On Nov. 6, Nelson said Americans saw three states legalize same-sex marriage and a fourth prevent a ban on same-sex marriage. She believes it was a huge step forward and a victory for the LGBTQ rights movement.

“I think there is a bright light ahead of this dark tunnel for marriage equality in the future,” Nelson said. “I believe this will create a domino effect and we will see same-sex marriage be legalized across the country in the next several years.”

The group plans to have all 150,000 signatures by the end of 2013, and it started a website where Missourians can go sign the petition at www.missouriansforequality.com

The presentation of Brazil Cultura rocked the house at Fulkerson Center Wednesday, Sept. 19, in a romping display of Brazilian music, food and drink.

This is the third time the show has played at Missouri Western according to band leader Ninja Pinto. He took command of the conga drums throughout the evening’s performance.

“We have been performing at schools for years now and have always enjoyed Missouri Western,” Pinto said. “We do it all, schools, bars, nightclubs, and we would do a funeral if we get a chance.”

The hard hitting beat may be unusual for a funeral, but at this party it was well received. President Dr. Robert Vartabedian congratulated Interim Director of Student Engagement and Residence Hall Director Lisa Hamblen on a wonderful event during the performance.

“We have had a great turnout and had to even bring in more chairs,” Hamblen said. “Now all we need is for people to get up and move.”

It wasn’t long until the dance floor filled with adults and children alike.

The event was held in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month and presented by the Center for Multicultural Education. The festivities included food and drink from Aramark. The menu included Churrasco (BBQ pork) Pao de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) and Suco Tropical (Brazilian Punch).

Artful dancing included machetes, sticks, martial arts and several moves in grass skirts seldom seen on Western’s campus.

Pinto led the audience in a rhythmic hand clapping exercise. He said that they had tried this at a Latino event recently and they did not do as well as this audience.

“Western students have rhythm,” Pinto said. “They killed it.”

Freshman Emily Giljum said she had first been exposed to this type of music by a recording in high school.

“I knew I would like it before I came,” she said. “It’s really upbeat and easy to dance to.”

She confessed though that she didn’t dance during this performance. She claims to be too shy.

The children were not shy at this party and began to fill the dance floor about 45 minutes into the presentation. There was every kind of dance from the unrecognizable to break dancing to really sensual Brazilian moves.

The professional dancers wore every kind of costume from shorts and t-shirts to grass skirts. A couple of the girls were wearing feathers. Yes, feathers.

The new circular plaza will be used by Greek organizations for ceremonies and as a recruiting tool. Greeks have never had a place to call their own on campus until now, with the new Greek Village and Greek Plaza giving them that space. The placement of the plaza next to the Greek Village and close to Downs Drive was no accident.

“The location of the plaza was Dean of Enrollment Management Howard McCauley’s suggestion,” Director of Residential Life Mark Stier said. “When you visit other campuses, you see the presence of Greek life and we didn’t have that.”

Stier credits the initial vision for the plaza to Western’s President, Dr. Robert Vartabedian, and the Greek organizations themselves.

“The leaders in Student Affairs and the Greek themselves really deserve the credit for the work on the Greek Village,” Vartabedian said. “I have just encouraged them to promote an expansion of Greek Life on our campus.”

He also noted that the plaza could help students to better “connect” with each other and with university life in general.

“We are focusing on increasing opportunities for students to be engaged on campus and to feel part of the campus,” Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Judy Grimes said. “We want to encourage more students to live on campus and have increased many late-night events for them.”

The Greek Village and Greek Plaza are parts of the response to the consultant’s report that was completed a few years ago Grimes said. She also pointed out that the report is still on the student affairs website.

Ten Greek organizations will be represented with one of 15 benches with the name of the organization and the Western emblem. These benches will be placed in a large outer circle with three benches in the inner circle. In the center of the circle will be a rock that is to be painted and maintained by each group with their colors, name and handprints at different times of the school year.

This project was financed with monies left over from the Residential Hall Association’s budget.

“Their sole purpose is the enhancement of residential life for the betterment of the community,” Stier said. “Because the Greek village is a part of residential life a portion of the project came from them, the other portion came from Dr. Grimes and student government.”

Stier also credits a great deal of the planning success to the SGA as they assisted him in getting all of the Greek organizations together for several meetings to get their input for the design of the plaza.

Usually freshmen at Western are not allowed in Juda. Stier is making an exception to the rule for those who pledge Greek. There are still spaces available in the original west wing of the Greek Village in Juda. There are nine units available and they could be doubled up if necessary.

With 70 new men showing interest in pledging Greek and the women’s side still pledging, those spaces could go fast. At most Juda could hold 120 Greeks if the entire building was used for Greek housing.

Missouri Western’s dream machines, the sparking dark blue bins located in every campus building, accept a lot more then plastic juice bottles and soda cans. According to Student Recycling Coordinator Amanda Blevins, these handy-dandy magical mechanisms accept almost any plastic object.

“Some people aren’t aware of what’s recyclable,” Blevins said. “On the bottom of almost every piece of plastic there is a little triangle made of arrows. In the middle of that is a number — usually one, two, four or six. The dream machines can recycle ones and twos. Almost anything that comes in plastic and is made for home use is a two.”

Western’s new recycling project, also known as Greenopolis, has gained numerous attention from both faculty and students. According to Blevins, people are not only using their campus waste to recycle, but are even bringing in their bags from home.

“I like when people bring bags from their homes,” Blevins said. “It lets me know that that recycling is on their minds even when they are not by the machines.”

Craig School of Business instructor and advisor of Greenopolis Michael West said that the next step is educating more people about the use of the machines and ensuring that the machines stay empty so that students can continue filling them. Though machines are filling up very quickly, West explained that students can rest assured that they will be emptied as fast as possible.

“We are developing an education program for recycling in general,” West said. “We hope to foster in some additional growth. People are bringing in such volume. They will bring it so much that it will fill up the machines. It’s positive that people are recycling large volume. It does take time for the next crew to unload the machine however,” West said.

According to West, even Western’s janitorial staff has jumped on board with the recycling program.

“Even the custodians, when they find plastic bottles or cans, they are putting them into the dream machines,” West said.

West and Blevins both feel that with the economic cycle, it’s highly important now more then ever to go the extra mile in recycling. Along with developing an educational program, Blevins has gone to Griffon Edge to speak to the new freshmen and hopes to get another dream machine kiosk, like the one in the commons, in the Blum Union.

“We need to reduce the landfills,” West said. “We are running out of stuff. There was a time not too long ago when trash was getting so bad that they were taking the trash out to sea. They literally were loading up barges and taking them out to sea. We have overcome the problem through recycling.”

West explains that the dream machine kiosks give students points when they recycle. The machines quickly scan the object and place the points on a card. The more points, the more prizes. Coupons, restaurant discounts, certificates and even a laptop are on the list of prizes students can win depending on their points. There is also a school incentive, Blevins said.

“If we recycle a certain percentage in weight, we are automatically entered into a contest to win a $500,000 scholarship. We have been unable to meet that quota, but in time I hope we can recycle enough to enter in that contest.”

Student Alyssa Filger frequently utilizes the machines, but feels if there were kiosks present, the process would be more beneficial.

“They only have two on campus so that’s my complaint about it,” Filger said. “There was only one over there by all the dorms and it would fill up really fast and then you would have to wait a couple days to load.”

Whether only a step or mile toward the right direction of recycling and ultimately beautifying the world, Blevins explains that she loves her recycling job simply because it makes her feel like she is personally helping the world. She feels that within time, more people will eventually jump on board.

“Every time I work I feel like a superhero,” Blevins said. “I just feel like I’m saving the world.”

After a recent press conference, the Craig School of Business has now provided an Applied Entrepreneurship course to provide more career opportunities to students through the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

The sweetest deal at Missouri Western just got a little sweeter. In the past four years, graduates of the Steven L. Craig School of Business have been given the opportunity to partner with the school’s benefactor to operate a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise. The MWSU-RMCF partnership stores are in nine locations across America and are operated by nine Western graduates.

President Dr. Robert Vartabedian announced in a press conference Monday, Aug. 13 that the relationship between Western and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is expanding. Starting this semester, the Applied Entrepreneurship class will be offered in both the fall and spring semesters.

“This will allow us to at least double the number of entrepreneurs the program prepares each year, and it may grow significantly beyond that,” Vartabedian said.

The expansion also includes, for the first time, all alumni. Any graduate of the Craig School of Business, no matter when they graduated, now has the opportunity to submit a business plan to the selection panel. If selected, students are awarded ownership in a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store.

“This is a unique opportunity known only to Missouri Western graduates,” Dean of the Craig School of Business Philip Nitse said. He went on to say that he knew of no other university doing anything close to what Western offers.

Students interested in participating in the program need to enroll before Aug. 30 in the special entrepreneurship class. You must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above and prepare a business plan for a store in a specific location. The program includes an internship in one of the stores operated by one of Western’s graduates.

Your success doesn’t stop there, however. After being awarded the store, graduates are supported by faculty from the Craig School of Business and the CSB Advisory Council.

The program was conceived in November 2008 by Steven Craig.

“I wanted to find a way to help people get into business,” Craig said. “Giving young people the chance to own and operate a business does so much, not only for the store owners themselves, but also for the community.”

Recent Western graduate Isaac Collins has been working at his store in Williamsburg, Iowa, for only one and a half months. He holds two degrees in business management and marketing. He reports that his store is growing with increases in sales every month. He is most proud of his work with the “Fudge for Troops” campaign which supplies actual fudge for American troops as they serve around the globe. His store’s total is over 600 pounds of fudge shipped so far in this year’s campaign.

Leslie Oberg is the franchisee of the Aspen Leaf Yogurt Store and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store in St. Joseph. She graduated in 2011 and received her store after her business plan was selected.

“All nine of the winning franchisees have had to move away from the St. Joseph area to finish their internships,” Oberg said. “It was a great way for us to get out there and make our own path toward success.”

A lack of understanding was the reason some thought the CME was in danger of being cut. Norris feels that the situation was a misunderstanding and constantly stressed the fact that the CME program will always be here at Western.

“It’s not being cut at all,” Norris said. “CME is already paid for by SGA, and administration verbally gave a promise to students that CME was not in consideration of being cut. Students were worried about the situation, but I am sure that SGA will always pay for the program. It’s in our constitution to do so.”

Louis Erby, president of the Black Student Union, was one of the students that became worried about the fate of the CME program. Erby feels that the situation was not addressed well to him by SGA, which only led him to assume that the program would eventually be cut from students.

“We had a lot of speculations and a lot of questions because it was not explained well to us,” Erby said. “I believe in telling the truth from the jump so there won’t be any type of misconceptions. It was just a lack of communication.”

20 percent of the SGA budget goes to funding for programs like CME. The money is divided up into areas in student affairs and, according to the SGA constitution, that money will go strictly to student programming that will benefit all students.

CME Director Tay Triggs feels the program is something that everyone with different backgrounds and cultures should participate in.

“Our main priority is to do diversity programming on campus,” Triggs said. “We don’t just do things that relates to race. We also have programs for disabilities and sexual orientation.”

Neither SGA nor student affairs has any plans of dismissing or replacing CME, and Norris feels that SGA will have their word in the situation if in the future someone does try to cut the program.

“We know that this program is important to a lot of our students,” Norris said. “So by our constitution stand point, we cannot cut CME.”

Alpha Sigma Alpha and Alpha Phi Alpha are holding a fundraising event Wednesday, April 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will help raise awareness about autism and bring the campus together for a great activity.

Amber Rivera, president of Alpha Sigma Alpha, said that they hope to raise as much money as they can for this cause. She said all the money they receive from donations and students from the event will be donated at the “Walk for Autism,” which will take a place a few days after the event.

Rivera said she believes that autism is understated, and that there’s not a lot of attention focused on it. She said there are two billboards on the Belt highway that say 1 in 100 kids every year are diagnosed with autism.

“That’s a lot of kids each year being diagnosed with autism,” Rivera said. “It’s also low funded, so anything we can do will help toward finding a cure.”

The event that both of the organizations are hosting will receive help from other greek organizations. Amanda Benjamin, member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, said that the TKEs are planning to barbeque, and a member of Phi Delta Theta plans to DJ for the event.

The fundraising event is not part of their philanthropy, Benjamin said. She said the event is in honor of Kathy Kelly, former advisor for Alpha Sigma Alpha, and her nephew Tanner who was diagnosed with autism.

“Kathy Kelly has always been a big supporter of our organization,” Benjamin said. “Also, autism is a big issue for her as well.”

Kelly is very excited about the event. Kelly said that a lot of the members of Alpha Sigma Alpha sort of became big sisters to her nephew Tanner.

“It touches my heart,” Kelly said. “The girls would hang out and drive Tanner places with them.”

DeAndre Diamond, Secretary of Alpha Phi Alpha, said that the two greek organizations planning the event have a bond.

“We hope it’s a big success,” Diamond said.

No one has ever donated to autism at Missouri Western before, Benjamin said. She said that if they can bring this event in to help, it will help the campus overall.

The event is one that will be remembered. Benjamin said the best part of the event is that both Kelly and Isaiah Collier, who are both Alphas (Kelly a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha and Collier a member of Alpha Phi Alpha), will be at the event, and will also have pies thrown at their faces along with other members of the organizations.

Kelly said that she would do anything to help them. She said that they have done so much for her and her family already.

“I would be grateful to have a pie thrown at my face for this cause,” Kelly said.

Alpha Phi Alpha member DeAndre Diamond shakes hands with student Elie Moore after helping him fill out his voting registration card.

President of APA Mark Bush said that the goal of Alpha week this year is to educate people on important issues such as community service, networking and educational improvement. One special goal is to get at least 100 students registered to vote in St. Joseph, Bush said.

“There is a ballot coming out on April 3 here in St. Joe voting on school district employees and things like that, and we would like people to be involved there and also definitely vote for the next president in November. I was looking at the statistics here in St. Joe and only 13 percent of the population voted in the last opportunity we had here to vote. We want to make everyone aware of the need for community service here in St. Joe as we have a very large homeless population.”

This Monday the boys went to Second Harvest to help out the St. Joseph community by serving and preparing food. On Tuesday, they set out a table in Blum right outside of the food court to catch the traffic and register students to vote. On Wednesday, the Alphas held a resume-building, interview etiquette and career-developing workshop with Career Services Director Donnell Turner. They will be hosting a “Rock & Jock” basketball pick-up game at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Commons basketball court. On Friday, the members are hosting an appreciation BBQ at 7 p.m. in the Commons courtyard. The final event is the annual step show, which starts at 7 p.m. Saturday and will include numerous step performances from greeks all over the Midwest, from Oklahoma to Nebraska. Western’s step team “Sounds of Ambition,” who won the competition last year, will also be performing.

“A lot of students here on the campus mention not having a lot of activities to do here on campus,” Bush said. “We are trying to provide that with some of our fun events. We plan to collaborate a lot more with other organizations here on campus to promote unity. We should be having some events later this semester with some of the other organizations here on campus. It’s important for us to work together because of the level of networking. We make connections that can last a lifetime.”

APA member Brandon Griffin, who was the president last semester, said that the members are really trying to focus on things other than fun, social events and want students to really learn and grasp something for the educational events.

“For the first time in awhile he kind of stood away from the social aspect, and we are really trying to tap into the service,” Griffin said. We always get a great turnout at our step show and our party. We really want numbers at our service events.”

Student and member of campus sorority Delta Sigma Theta Jessica Criss said that she is very proud of what the Alphas have been doing with their events and thinks the new members have been doing a great job with promoting and educating.

“I’m excited to see what the new members of Alpha are going to bring to the university,”Criss said. “It’s been a lot of old members for awhile, and I’m really proud of the work these new Alphas have been doing thus far.”

PRIDE week is from April 16 to April 20. On Monday, April 16, PRIDE will host the event “Only Love photo shoot.” Two booths will be set up, one in Blum and another possibly in Potter. Thursday’s event is “What’s it like to be Gay in America?” and Friday is the National Day of Silence.

PRIDE alliance member Merriam Hayden said the drag show is a very popular event and a lot of people like it.

According to the event coordinator of PRIDE Tyler Rhoad, the drag show is his baby. He said he basically brought the drag show from the ground up. The show is featuring talent such as Dirty Dorthy, Fenix and River Rains. The drag show, which has been an annual event for numerous years, is not just for Missouri Western students. Other guests may pay $3 for entry.

This year’s theme is “Burlesque.” There is going to be a mock cocktail bartender mixing mock drinks and some students dressed up as cocktail waitresses. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The day of the drag show, local organizations can buy or rent a table for the day. A lot of campus organizations show up such as SGA, WAC, BSU and the sororities and fraternities on campus. Rhoad believes it is good publicity for everyone. When people first walk in, the booths are lined up, and it gives everyone a chance to see the groups that support GLBTSQ students.

“The drag show, I think it does help, it does speak to people,” Hayden said. “Even though a lot of people will make fun of it, make fun of us for participating in it there will always be people who need stuff like that to happen.”

Rhoad said that though people often perceive the drag show as just a “gay” event, it really is much more then that.

“A lot of times when people first get there ‘oh it’s a gay thing,’ but it’s not just a gay thing, once you get into the show portion of it, they talk about family values, respecting everybody, excepting everybody’s differences,” Rhoad said.

According to Rhoad, the drag show grabs the most attention entertainment-wise, but the Day of Silence brings a message home to everyone.

For National Day of Silence, t-shirts will be handed out in the commons building and Blum. According to Rhoad, cards that say “I am participating in the National Day of Silence, so please do not call on me because I will not speak,” will be made available for participating students to give to their teachers. Other members in their support will be wearing tape on their mouths.

“I think it is a good cause; I think it is a noble and worthy goal to fight oppression and to do things, fun things, like come together,” Hayden said.

The night of the National Day of Silence, supporters of the day will gather at the clock tower and hear a minister to give an inspirational speech before continuing on to the next part of the evening. From the clock tower, the group will go to the football field where a school band will play “Amazing Grace.” After the song, multi-colored lanterns will be released into the sky. Hayden said she is looking forward to the lanterns being released into the sky.

The annual benefit will be held Mar 31 at St. Francis Xavier Church Parish Center and will begin at 5:30 and run about an hour and a half. Seven choirs from the university and community are singing during the event. The benefit involves a spaghetti dinner and music performed by the choirs.

Dr. David Benz, director of choral activities, said the event is “an evening of delicious music.”

Every current choir student from the college should be participating in the event. Songs being performed are mainly pop and jazz music. Each choir performs two songs and has different pieces to sing.

Before the benefit begins, Kathleen Holeman, director of vocal and piano jazz, and Bob Long, director of jazz studies and coordinator of woodwinds, will be performing as the other choirs set up. According to Holeman, in between other choirs setting up she will be performing and singing.

Each guest needs to purchase a $20 ticket to attend. Tickets are available through the university’s music office. The proceeds from ticket sales and donations go towards scholarships for choir students.

Not just the music students are excited for “Pop’s and Pasta” but the directors are eager for the event as well.

“I love it! Holeman said. “This is right up my alley because my focus is jazz and pop. I wholeheartedly get into this event, and of course it is a wonderful benefit for the local scholarship.”

Sophomore music technology major Brent Isom feels that this event should ultimately be a good turnout.

“It’s a good event because it’s one we get to enjoy a lot of what’s going on, along with the people who are actually there,” he said.

“The students like it,” Holeman said.  ”My group does jazz and pop all the time, some of these groups do much more serious literature and I’m sure it’s a welcome change, just to have a variety.”

According to Benz, people give donations and support to their events.

“Often time’s people do give donations; people are very supportive of many things at the university which is great.”

Benz hopes this year is another full house. The center holds roughly 225 guests. He said he always appreciates the people that come out to support the singers and the program.

The officers of the College Republicans have made their picks for President of the United States to go against President Obama this fall. Each officer of the organization has chosen a different candidate and they all seem to dislike a particular candidate as well, but they all agreed that whoever the nominee is they will support.

Travis Hart, College Republican’s president said that his candidate for President is Newt Gingrich. He believes that Newt has a great plan for America which includes lowering gas prices down to $2.50 a gallon, reforming Medicare, and entitlement reforms.

Sterling Flitcher, College Republican’s secretary said he supports Congressman Ron Paul of Texas for President. He also said that overall he wanted to defeat President Obama and would support any candidate.

It seems  that  the economy is not the only issue  these  leaders are worried about. The officers of the College Republicans believe that the rise of gas prices,  Obama care, and social issues seem to be  major factors for them going into the 2012 elections.

Flitcher said it’s not directly President Obama’s fault for the rise in gas prices. He said that Obama had the opportunity to sign the treaty to Key Stone Pipeline, and he refused to do that.

“That was a way in which he could have helped, but he didn’t, Hart said.”

Jacob Scott, College Republican’s vice president said that he isn’t in favor of the Keystone pipeline. He believes that the government has a responsibility to create conditions for Americans to succeed. Scott said President Obama has an obligation, or any President for that matter, if gas prices are too high then make it possible for us to drill.

“What you do is create fairness through standards and regulation’s to allow for drilling, Scott said.” “So the price of gas can go down, stimulate our economy, and improve our country.”

The organization believes that many of the bills that have been passed over this President should be repealed. Hart believes that Obama Care is a major issue but is not the only bill that should be repealed.

“We can’t just stop at Obama care, Hart said.” “We are the party of reforming, and we don’t want to just replace it, but reform it.”

The opposition has a different approach on the republican candidates and party. Kayla Wiedmaier, pride member said that she believes the Republicans are close-minded, power-hungry, greedy people. She said that a main issue is her support for gay marriage and the opposition of the Republicans who don’t support equality of marriage.

“I think that Republicans are so concerned with what the church thinks, Wiedmaier said.”  “Mainly because the Christians lobby and give money to these candidates, and they don’t stop to think about the nation as a whole.”

Prevention Education Specialist Ron Cohen defines Green Dot as a moment or opportunity for somebody to utter the intolerance of violence. According to Cohen, Green Dot is not a club, program or organization, but a moment of standing against a potential threat.

“It’s not a club. It’s not a position. It’s not a person. A lot of people say ‘I was a green dot today.’ You can’t be a green dot, you performed a green dot,” Cohen said.

Green Dot, which just started on campus last semester, is open to anyone interested in standing against violence as long as they understand and have the right knowledge of what it is, Cohen said.

“As far as collaborating with the program, any student, faculty or staff member, anybody can become a part of it,” Cohen said.

Cohen feels that even though Green Dot is a new movement, it has already started turning heads across campus.

“I think we’ve made a really good impact thus far on the campus,” Cohen said. “As we look around we see many students wearing green dot buttons. That’s definitely a start for us. People are feeling empowered by what Green Dot is.”

On Monday, March 5, the programmers held a self-defense course that also served as a violence prevention informational with demonstrations, applications and numerous free things to give away to students and staff. In addition to the self-defense classes that are offered numerous times throughout the year, Green Dot personnel will also host “Green Dot Jeopardy,” “Hug Your Homeboy/Homegirl” and an annual Bystander Intervention Conference all within the month of March. The Bystander Intervention Conference is a free six-hour conference that provides training to become an official green dot generator.

Prevention Education Coordinator Jackie Moser feels that anybody should be knowledgeable when it comes to protecting yourself in today’s society.

“[Knowledge] is important to have anywhere just because of a threat that something can happen,” Moser said. “We live in a society where violence does occur. The more students are aware of their surroundings, the more they’ll be safe in any situation they are in, on campus or off campus.”

Green Dot Generator, Resident Assistant and student Jackie Waters feels that students specifically should consider being trained as green dot personnel due to the fact that it helps save people from hurt, harm and danger. Currently, all of the Resident Assistants have been through the training. In the training, Waters explains, she learned three techniques of how to perform a green dot: direct, delegate and distract.

“Sometimes a lot of us green dots have that direct approach,” Waters said. “We go directly to the situation and we say ‘Hey this is not acceptable. Can you chance this?’ If we don’t feel that we are prompt to take action we delegate it to someone else to say something. For the distraction, we will go up to the person and be like ‘Hey do you have a quarter?’ in the middle of their situation to kind of distract them from the problem. Being an RA, we do run into a lot of those situations in the residence halls.”

Waters provides one stern warning to anybody that is considering getting more involved with Green Dot.

“Take that one person in your life that you honestly love, and write them down on a piece of paper,” Waters said. “Just think if somebody was to rape them, verbally abuse them or get into their minds mentally. Just think of the first thing that comes to your mind when something like that happens. That’s what helped me out in the program on willing to help prevent these different things. All and all, it could be you at the end of the day.”

The next Green Dot Training will be on March 24. Free food and a free T-shirt will be provided. For more information on the green dot program visit www.mwsugreendot.com.

With three full time counselors, Dave Brown, Dr. Vinceza Marash and Steve Potter, the counseling center is able to offer diverse services to their students. Between the three counselors, they have over 60 years of experience. Each counselor has different degrees and work experience for their chosen field.

Marash holds a doctorate in education psychology and master’s degrees in social work, developmental psychology and liberal studies. She is a counselor because she loves her work.

“It’s deeply meaningful to be able to be there for clients in ways that support them in the work that they’re doing and to witness their ongoing healing and growth,” Marash said.

The staff also addresses time management, self-confidence, decision-making abilities, stress and depression and helps students with personal trauma.

The counselors believe they make a difference. Brown, director of the counseling center, said, “I know we do, we affect mental health of campus, and we affect how well students do in the classroom. I think we are essential.”

The center only sees current Missouri Western students. Brown said their salary is paid for by the students’ tuition. As long as you are a student at the university you have access to a professional counselor. The center also does not charge students for their services and there are no limits on the number of sessions a student may have.

To schedule an appointment with a counselor, talk to the administrative assistant at the reception desk, Sandi Berg or contact one of the counselors directly.

Potter has a Master of Arts in counseling and guidance and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a license in professional counseling. Potter said he has students that may only come in once or twice and others come in throughout the entire year.

Brown is a licensed professional counselor, and he holds a Master of Science in clinical psychology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“That it means a lot to me that students are healthy and happy and aware,” Brown said.

Each counselor has a different way of counseling. Marash says she wants to provide a safe and supportive context where clients can explore their ways of seeing and being, their paradigms and patterns, for the purpose of constructive life change.

Potter said counselors are here if students are struggling with something. Sometimes students come in and talk just because “they want to bounce ideas off of someone.”

“I am not a miracle worker; I don’t pretend that counseling works for all people,” Potter said.

According to Martha Kitzrow, Ph.D., of “Personnel Administrators Journal,” the retention rate for students who received psychological counseling was 14 percent higher than for students who did not.

The center aims to always have someone on staff in case of emergency or a student needs help. The center also has three supervised interns with graduate degrees that may assist students.

An annual survey is going on during February and March that encompasses 1,500 students. It is one way Brown feels the counseling center receives feedback about the students. Information gathered from the survey is used to plan events for next year.

With the other schools in the state, the counseling department is a part of  Partners in Prevention. The organization provides funds and cosponsors events. One annual event coming in April is the Battle of the Belts. It is a program that monitors students’ seatbelt usage.

The center is also going to host a program right before spring break to remind students to be safe while away from campus. The counseling center is still deciding on what topic to address in the program.

According to BSU President Louis Erby, the students are who he is looking out for. Erby wants to show people that the students will be the main focus for the organization.

‘The students are our main goal,” Erby said. “We’re not trying to please anyone else, but we’re trying to inform and provide something for our students to learn from and be entertained from.”

On Feb. 22, BSU will be hosting the Million Man March simulation. The event will be held in Blum at 2 p.m. The goal for the simulation is to educate students about the importance of Black History month and afterwards the students will make their march around the campus.

“Everybody is meeting here in Blum,” Erby said. “We’ll have a discussion about the reasons why we are meeting and the reason why we felt that this will be an effective way to spread some knowledge about Black History Month.”

Every Friday BSU will host a movie in Spratt Hall Room 101. On Feb. 17, the organization played the movie “Get on the Bus,” which is a movie about men with various backgrounds making their way to the Million Man March. Each Friday a movie will start at 7 p.m., and the event is free.

The Black Heritage Ball will be hosted on Feb. 28. The event goal is to talk about the difficulties that have been presented in the past and also difficulties we are dealing with in this generation.

“That’s going to be a very powerful program that will address a lot of the past adversities that we face, from slavery to present time,” Erby said. “A lot of things will be addressed and talked about in a fashion where it will be informational and entertaining for everyone at the same time.”

Erby feels the Ball will be a good way for students to learn about some older incidents that have happened and how they may affect us to today. Erby feels that students and the community should come into the event with an open mind.

“We want students coming out being optimistic, open and ready to learn,” Erby said. “We want to take a trip back memory lane and discuss a lot of things that have happened in our past.”

The Heritage Ball is free and will be located in Spratt Hall room 214, but the first 70 students or staffs that RSVP will be served food at the event. The ball is a black tie affair.

The latest program that BSU hosted was on Valentine’s Day. The event was called the “Language of Love” and it presented poetry and singing by students. It also featured special guest Brandon Thornton who goes by the stage name “Explicit.”

According to BSU Vice President Rodney Roberts, the event was a fun night out with your Valentine where you get to be entertained at the same time.

“The ‘Language of Love’ program was a special night,” Roberts said.

“Language of Love” started at 7 p.m. and had a good turnout of students. Student Jordan Blew felt that all the performers where good and she really enjoyed herself.

“It was really good,” Blew said. “I loved the music and seeing people getting up there to perform was also amazing.”

Black Student Union welcomes everyone to come out to the BSU meetings that are held every Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Travis Hart, president of college republicans, believed it was time to give students the opportunity to choose a student group that fits their political preference. This past year the University Democrats have been able to recruit, fundraise and be a voice in the political arena for students on campus.

“We are here to promote the conservative message, in order to help elect Republicans running for office,” Hart said. “The college democrats were rather unopposed by a different group with different views.”

Nicholas Brothers, a member of University Democrats, believes it is a great thing to have a wide diversity of opinions. He said he hopes the two organizations do not have to be rivals merely because of party affiliation.

“Maybe we should in fact reject that and start building ties now, to prevent things like the gridlock we see in Washington today from continuing into the future,” Brothers said. “Hopefully MoWest Democrats and MoWest Republicans will have a chance to partner together during this election year for registration drives, panel discussions and the like.”

According to Sterling Fichter, it was time that organization was brought to Western. He said he tried to start the group back in the fall semester, but with his schedule was unable to achieve his goal. The goal now is to promote the organization to conservative students on campus.

“To enlighten, inform, and discuss the current political issues of the day with other like-minded students,” Fichter said, “and to grow the size and reach of our group and its influence.”

Hart said he has two congressmen and the mayor of St. Joseph committed to come and speak to the organization. He believes it will be very beneficial to have these speakers come to campus and speak to students.

Hart is looking toward the future to get significant name politicians to campus.

“I am confident that I can get Sam Graves to come and speak at Missouri Western,” Hart said.” I would also like to see U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder come to campus and be guest speakers.”

The college republicans are looking at 2012 as a new beginning and are hopeful they can make a change. Hart’s main goal going into the election is to make Barack Obama a one-term president.

“We are hoping to have more structure than other groups on campus,” Hart said. “Maybe they won’t even agree with us, but it’s good to have this group on campus and to finally see a conservative view for students.”

On Feb. 29, students along with leaders of PROMO, an organization that stands for LGBTQ rights and has a chapter here in Missouri, will go to Jefferson City to advocate two pieces of legislation. According to Dr. David Tushaus, professor of legal studies and PRIDE’s advisor, the bills that students will be discussing with legislators include civil rights legislation and the Safe Schools Act.

“Students will be advocating a civil rights piece of legislation that already exists,” Tushaus said.“This will make it against the law for employers to fire someone for being a member of the LGBTQ community.”

The second piece of legislation is to help strengthen the Missouri Safe School Act, Tushaus said.

“This piece of legislation will include a list of groups to be concerned about in terms of bullying,” Tushaus said. “The LGBTQ is a particular and vulnerable group in our K-12 schools.”

Laura Beal, president of PRIDE, said that this advocacy day is very important for all students, and not just for the LGBTQ community. She believes that if it’s not this issue that they are fighting for, something will come up one day that students will want to advocate for or against.

“We want all students to go; there will always be issues that come up that you will want a voice in,” Beal said. “It just so happens that this issue is towards the LGBTQ community, and they are ready for their voice to be heard.”

The PRIDE organization and the Legal Studies Association have been working to gain student involvement for students to go to Jefferson City to voice their concerns on this issue. Student Victoria Coursen said that no one should be judged for who they are and believes that legislators should listen to the students.

“I have friends that are gay, and why should they be treated any different?” Coursen said. “They still can do the job no matter who they want to have relations with. That kind of thing doesn’t affect work performance.”

Tushaus said he feels that students could have an influence on some legislators, even though the legislatures in Missouri are predominantly conservative.

“You have to keep pushing for equal rights,” Tushaus said.“You have to keep going back to the well to get to the place you want, and then maybe we will get to them to understand our concerns.”

The concern Beal feels is that students don’t believe they can make a difference. She said students can complain all they want, but if they don’t voice their concerns, nothing can get done.

“Most college students don’t think they can go somewhere like Jeff City and make a difference,” Beal said. “However, going and speaking to your legislators is a start, and if enough of us take part then maybe we can make a difference.”

Dr. Tushaus said that he asking students to still take part in the advocacy day on Wednesday, Feb 29. Interested students should contact him at 816-271-5627.

Several members of the Western student body have become participants in a state wide initiative to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis. Show-Me Cannabis, the group behind the initiative, is attempting to procure 150,000 signatures by April. If the group achieves this, the intitaive to legalize marijuana will appear in the ballot in November along with the general election for President.

Paul Newton, a Western student and supporter of the initiative, said that a recent article in The Griffon News made him realize that University President Robert Vartabedian had no real plan to solve the budget crisis.

“The only thing he thinks is that it’s going to happen year after year,” Newton said. “It’s about creating so much more tax revenue. It’s not about pot smoking.”

The legislation, if voted on in November, will regulate and tax marijuana for people above the age of 21. Melody Patton, another Western student, believes that the legislation will also benefit Missouri farmers.

“The benefit from agricultural hemp alone,” Patton said, “I mean, the Midwest is prime soil, prime land for growing hemp. Our farmers could greatly benefit.”

The group said that they will have a table stationed in Blum union for hopefully a month. They hope more students will get involved.

“We want to turn the university into a place where we can educate students out there,” Newton said.

Once the legislation is on the ballot, Patton believes that Missouri residents will support it.

“I think if it’s on the ballot people will vote for it,” Patton said. “No revolution has ever been won without the students.”

Patton has received some opposition from others while trying to obtain signatures for the petition to get the legislation on the ballot.

“I was told I should be executed, by a former law enforcement [officer],” Patton said. “He told me himself, ‘if I could, I’d execute you all.’”

All political groups that want to solicit students for signatures on campus must first receive approval from Judy Grimes, associate vice president and dean of students.

“My role in working with this particular situation was to explain the process the group needed to go through to reserve the space as well as what the guidelines are that must be followed in a petition drive,” Grimes said.

With an energized political season coming close, Grimes hopes that she sees more petitions and political groups being active on campus. As energized as the topics may be, Grimes hopes students remain civilized and act respectful.

“This is an institution of higher learning,” Grimes said. “We expect people to be able to debate—agree and disagree—in a constructive manner.”

The group meets weekly in the East Hills Library basement. This Saturday, a former law enforcement officer will be speaking on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement agents hoping to legalize cannabis.

PRIDE Secretary Keisha Davis says that PRIDE is an outlet organization for gay students who attend Missouri Western. She wants to show students that everyone is equal and no one should be judged.

“I don’t know if just one group can change people’s opinion on the queer kids, although many people have a negative opinion on us,” Davis said. “I just don’t think that one group can change everyone’s opinions, but if we can change one person’s then we can make a difference.”

The organization wants to be viewed as a positive group on campus. Their goal is to bring gay and straight students and the community together to support those who may be looked down upon. PRIDE Vice President Kathleen Furlong said that the group welcomes everyone, not just the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

“We strive to send the positive message of equality for all,” Furlong said. “The people in the LGBT community are just like everyone else. We are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers. PRIDE educates people on this. We are no different than you and that is the message we are trying to spread.”

Davis believes that Missouri Western is far from being fully equal towards “the queer kids,” but believes Western is better than most universities.

“How would you feel if you were told that the person you were in love with was wrong?” Davis said. “That the one person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, you couldn’t. How would you feel being judged or ridiculed for being the person that you are?”

PRIDE wants to let the student body know that they are here, and have events coming up that will be family-friendly. Over the years PRIDE has been recruiting new members and educating students on safe sex.

“We will be passing out safe sex flyers along with condoms and dental dams at Heart Your Union,” Furlong said. “We will also have a day of silence and the drag show this semester.”

PRIDE President Tyler Rhoad encourages closeted students to come out. You aren’t under your parent’s roof anymore, Rhoad said. Rhoad’s goal is to let others know that it’s okay to be who you are at college.

“You’re in college, the people you surround yourself with will help, because this isn’t high school, and you don’t have to worry about Mom and Dad anymore,” Rhoad said.  ”People like you for who you are, and don’t fake being someone you’re not.”

 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.

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

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.

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.