Nixon is calling for $34 million for higher education. Missouri Western could receive a boost of 3.4 percent after meeting certain criteria.

Dr. Robert Vartabedian, university president, said the problem is that the budget isn’t clear unless it is closely examined. He said he went back and read through Nixon’s transcript of the speech and discovered the fine print, which call for Western to receive a 1 percent decrease in its base appropriation.

“I hate to have people getting excited for this money, when the proposal by the governor isn’t really there,” Vartabedian said.

Nixon proposed a performance funding- formula where universities would receive funding-based requirements. Western received four out of five of the requirements, which leaves 80 percent of funding for the university. The reason it didn’t receive the 100 percent is due to graduation rates being low.

Western ranks last in full student equivalency funding and would now receive a reduction in its base appropriation of $260,000. The proposed budget of $34 million — if passed through the legislature — would allow Western to receive around $725,000 over last year. Rep. Mike Thomson (R-Maryville), who heads the House Higher Education Committee, believes the proposed budget needs to have the justification and rationale as to why schools get the support they receive.

“I know that Missouri Western feels that they’re not given support equitably according to some of the other state universities,” Thomson said. “We all feel we need more money and education already makes up 47 percent of the state budget.”

The $725,000 boost the university would receive would be lowered further considering unfunded mandates that would need to be paid for first. Vartabedian said that instead of a 3.4 percent increase that Western would be at 2.4 percent.

Cale Fessler, vice president of financial planning, said the 1 percent cut in the base funding is something the university will need to examine as to its effect on budgeting.

“The proposal is still in its first stages,” Fessler said. “I believe there will be changes.”

The funding Western would receive after the 1 percent cut would most likely go toward deferred maintenance on campus. Vartabedian and Fessler believe that after the legislature’s sorting of the budget they will have a better handle on where the funds will be placed.

“You can’t have a building roof cave in on students,” Vartabedian said.

Western has been building up its reserves after the appropriations increase last year and might consider opening the reserves for one-time emergencies. Vartabedian and the university’s Board of Governors have discussed using $800,000 of Western’s $8.3 million in reserves. Vartabedian has expressed his concerns toward taking out too much from the reserves in case problems occur later.

“We don’t want to take too much out because the legislative cycle could get worse,” Vartabedian said. “We will try to be as democratic as possible but stay fearful to go under the $7 million level in the reserves.”

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.

HB 70 would give professors the right to conceal and carry guns on campus during school hours. Western’s faculty have voiced its opinion on whether it agree with the message the bill is trying to achieve.

Dr. Robert Vartabedian, university president and Dr. Robert Bergland, Faculty Senate president both stand in opposition of HB 70. Bergland said he wouldn’t like to see anyone carry firearms on campus outside of campus security.

“There are more chances of things going wrong, than there would be a chance of guns serving as a deterrent,” Bergland said.

Faculty’s been portrayed as educated, intelligent individuals who are stable enough to handle guns on campus said Representative Mike Kelley (R-Lamar). He said he knows of faculty who hide the fact that they conceal and carry on school grounds illegally. The bill would relieve them of hiding the guns.

Dr. David Tushaus, professor of legal studies, said he stands in opposition of HB 70. He said he doesn’t know of any legitimate research that supports allowing guns to be carried by teachers while in school.

“In fact, more research is needed on effective ways to reduce violence,” Tushaus said. “I am not convinced more guns make us safer.”

In recent years, most shootings that have occurred in the United States are in gun-free zones which happen to be schools. Dr. Steven Greiert, chairman of the history department, said he supports the bill and believes faculty with proper training and responsibility should be given the chance to conceal and carry on campus.

“Let’s face it, a lot of people doing these school shootings are mentally ill,” Greiert said. “We can’t prevent everything that happens in the world, but if we have trained people then they should be allowed to carry.”

The faculty members who were interviewed were in agreement that they don’t see the need for guns on campus. Dr. Edwin Taylor, assistant professor of political science, said as a faculty member he also doesn’t support the bill. He said he doesn’t own a gun and doesn’t have any intentions on buying one if the bill passes.

“Arming faculty members would do little to improve the safety of the campus community and would only increase the probability of gun related accidents,” Taylor said.

The Faculty Senate hasn’t met with Vartabedian to discuss the matter of allowing guns on campus during business hours. Bergland said that if the bill progresses out of committee, then he thinks there would a vote from the faculty to either support or oppose the bill.

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

Delegates and guest on the Republican National Convention floor. Photo by. Ellis Cross, News Editor for the Griffon News

Republican National Convention began this morning with excitement since yesterdays events were canceled due to the tropical storms.

News Editor Ellis Cross has just arrived in Tampa, Fla., where the RNC is to be held. He said that activities start for him today at noon.

Cross stated in his blog thecrossreference.wordpress.com that yesterday at 7:38 p.m. eastern, the Chairman of the RNC Reince Priebus emailed delegates and other “Interested Parties” informing them that the convention will “convene on Monday August 27 and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28.

He said the email stated that the RNC’s first priority is ensuring the safety of delegates, alternates, guests, members of the media attending the RNC and citizens of the Tampa Bay area.

“The RNC is working closely with state, local and federal officials, as well as the Secret Service, to monitor Tropical Storm Isaac and preserve Florida’s emergency management resources,” Cross said. “They are expecting participants to experience difficulties due to sustained wind and rain.”

Cross said that the events Sunday, August 26, are still on schedule and will proceed.  He said that the welcome event hosted by the Tampa Bay Host Committee at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., is going as planned.

The crossreference.wordpress.com site states that the convention staff is working around the clock to find alternate housing for delegates in storm-impacted areas.

“Those plans for replacement housing are expected tomorrow morning Sunday the 26,” Cross said.

The convention and coverage from Cross will start tomorrow and will continue throughout the convention cycle. He said that he loves every minute of the experience.

“The weather is great so far but Monday’s RNC has been cancelled as a precaution due to Hurricane Isaac,” Cross said.

For more information on updates from Cross’ coverage of the RNC, please follow his blog at www.thecrossrefernece.wordpress.com or www.griffonnews.com. There will be an update from Cross on Monday, Aug. 27.

Click Here for coverage from Cross from the NRC

Ellis Cross, news editor for the Griffon News and Delegate for the Republican National Convention

One Missouri Western student will have the opportunity to travel to Tampa, Fla. on August 27 to be part of this year’s Republican National Convention.

Ellis Cross, news editor for the Griffon News was elected as alternate delegate by the Missouri Republican State Caucus along with fellow members of the state.

Cross said that students need to pay attention to this election because America is at a crossroads. He said the next election will determine if we will have larger government in our lives or if we will begin to get at the debt that comes with it under control.

“Students must register to vote and educate themselves on the issues and where each candidate stands,” Cross said. “Then they must vote their own conscience.”

The Republican National Convention occurs every four years when a presidential election occurs in our country. This year the likely nominees are presidential candidate Mitt Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

Cross said that they will be selecting the Republican candidate for president by vote of the delegation. He said they will also be voting on the articles of the Republican Party.

“Those are the rules of how the party operates,” Cross said. “There will be many speakers and candidates to talk to and experience.”

Cross said he will be blogging at thecrossreference.wordpress.com and will be sending videos to the Griffon News website. He said that most of the blogs he will be writing will be about what he’s experiencing and what is happening in Tampa during the Republican National Convention.

“My blogs will be loaded with opinion and even some facts,” Cross said.

For full coverage on Cross’ trip to the Republican National Convention, keep up to date on the Griffon News website at www.griffonnews.com and through Cross’ blog at www.thecrossreference.wordpress.com.

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.”

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.”

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.

He was referring to his presentation, “The Middle East- Then and Now,” where he saw members of the Muslim mosque, United States military, veterans, Christian clergy and other guests in the audience who may have had their own opinion.

He executed his speech, keeping close to the facts. He knows those facts from serving America in Middle-Eastern U.S. Embassies for over 25 years. For a time, Armbruster was a hostage of Saddam Hussein and could not leave Baghdad.

When he was allowed to leave, it was in haste as the embassy group fled to Turkey for refuge. At the time, Armbruster was taking care of his infant daughter alone. He had to send her ahead with another diplomatic family and follow in a 19-hour car ride to Turkey.

“We [the U.S.] are in it for the long haul,” Armbruster said. He explained that peace would come eventually. “Changes result in protest in the Middle East; there will be balance between these tribes and countries but history isn’t written yet.”

He said that technology has been a great avenue of change, but not necessarily the technology that members of the audience may have expected. The introduction of the Internet, as well as social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have improved communications, but those changes started with satellite television, which brought news from other countries. The introduction of the fax machine was equally important, according to Armbruster. The cell phone also came to areas that didn’t have landline phones yet.

Audience member Rony Aboujawde asked a question about the representation of minority groups in the Middle East. He was referring to Christian populations. “Not all Muslims are radicals, the same as not all Christians are non-radical,” Aboujawde said.

Armbruster agreed and explained that Middle Eastern leadership groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, recognize the voices of minority groups and are working out a way that all voices will have some degree of power in the future. “It’s not a forgone conclusion that the majority will suppress the minority,” Armbruster said.

Armbruster told a story of spoiling thanksgiving turkeys during a time when there was no electricity at the embassy. They buried them, only to have them emerge from the ground in the hot sun, to be buried again. Western student Nicholas Brothers, who wants to be a Middle East specialist someday, referred to the story. “I learned today that I may need to bring a shovel,” Brothers said.

Brothers also mentioned the diversity of the nearly record crowd of over 160 attendees to the Eggs and Issues presentation.

Armbruster concluded saying “There are voices on all sides that seek peace. Also, there are voices who are best served by continuance of things as they are.”

If you look around Missouri Western’s campus you don’t see any signs posted no guns allowed like you do at other sate institutions. Chief of Police Jon Kelley said, “The existing Missouri Law on carry concealed prohibits concealed carry on campus whether there are signs in place or not.” Kelley is not the only chief of police faced with these problems.

There are 26 states that have it written that a person cannot conceal carry on a college campus. The other states leave it up to the individual higher learning institutions to decide. Missouri is not the only state in the union to try passing laws like this. There are several others, none have passed yet. HB668 also lowers the age for a conceal and carry permit from 23 to 21 years old. May 11, 2009, was the last time any action was taken on HB668.

Kenny Jones sponsored the bill. Jones said, “The ability to conceal and carry on institutions for higher education was an amendment to my bill.” The now retired senator said, “It was not my idea.” Don Wells, co-sponsor of the bill, was not available for comment.

If a bill like the one Jones sponsored passes in Missouri, Missouri Western State University will have to decide whether its students can conceal and carry.

Norma Garlington, a Western student said, “I don’t think conceal and carry at Missouri Western is a good idea.”
Garlington, an avid gun owner said, “The crime rate here is high enough. We don’t need to throw guns in the mix.”

The bills to conceal and carry on campus are being met with fierce opposition. Candy Banta a parent of a college student said, “College students already have too much to worry about. They shouldn’t have to worry about guns on camps.”

Trevor Wilson a member of our armed forces said, “It’s not the legal guns we have to worry about it’s the illegal ones and that is what we worry about now.”

“If everybody had to wonder who had a gun maybe they would think twice before using one,” Wilson said.

If a bill like the one Kelley sponsored passes in Missouri, Missouri Western State University will have to decide whether its’ students can conceal and carry.

In light of the decision at our Maryville neighbor to implement a no-smoking policy campus wide on August 1, several faculty and staff members were asked to weigh in on the issue.

Lonnie Johnson, director of facilities, thinks that the students will have to push this issue—if it’s going to happen in the near future.

“I think it’s a good thing [Northwest going smoke-free],” Johnson said. “When I got to Western in 1990, taking us to a smoke-free building campus was one of the first things I was involved in, and it’s been that way ever since.”

Johnson said that this issue [smoke-free campus] has come up several times since that occurred, and he believes that the students will have initiate a move to a smoke-free campus to make it happen.

Grpahic | Andy Inman

Johnson said that the smoking shelters have been discussed in the past, but he feels it’s a better policy to totally eliminate it and just have and end date set.

“I’m an ex-smoker and I always think cold turkey is the best way to go,” Johnson said.

Evan Noynaert, assistant professor of computer science, chaired an Adhoc committee for the faculty senate in 2008 and they discussed the smoking policy then. At the time they looked at the possibility of shelters at an approximate cost of $10,000 per shelter.

“I really don’t think that the shelters are necessary, the idea is that we want to discourage smoking not facilitate it,” Noynaert said.

Noynaert said that the majority of the committee did not want to go to the expense of the shelters, with the likelihood of Western going completely smoke-free in the future.

SGA President Dillon Harp feels “an issue of this magnitude” should come from the students, so that the policy reflects the wishes of the students.

“If student input on this is strong enough, there is no reason why this wouldn’t deserve a place on the ballot come spring time,” Harp said.

Harp feels that designated areas on campus would help to ease the transition to a totally smoke-free campus. Harp feels that shelters, similar to the one near the sand-volley ball court could be built as smoking shelters in the most populated areas.

“With the budget that student government has I think that is an issue that we can address,” Harp said.

Harp feels that if done properly SGA could facilitate this and said that in the future these shelters could be used for other purposes.

Harp thinks this will be something the state will eventually will force colleges and universities to implement as the push to be healthier increases.

“If a petition with 10% of the students signatures on it came forward, I would say that would be enough to put it on a ballot and take it to a vote,” Harp said.

According to an article printed in the St. Joseph News-Press last week there are still approximately $300 million in cuts needed to balance the State Budget.

President Robert Vartabedian is keeping a close watch on the legislative session and is very aware what is likely to happen in the upcoming months.

“We talked with a couple of senators from this region late last week and I asked them point blank: How likely is this to stick?” Vartabedian said, “At least one, who is in a considerable position of power, he said it was very unlikely that it would stay at 5.2 percent.”

If the Senate decides to reduce appropriation levels further, Western can seek approval from the Board of Governors to implement a 2.7% tuition increase based on the current Consumer Price Index (CPI), this is allowed for in Missouri Senate bill 389. This would translate to about $500,000 in additional revenue to help offset the current and potential reductions.

The fate of Western’s tuition is directly linked to what the Senate decides to do.

“If the additional cuts are more than $500,000, then we would likely seek a tuition waiver (to the 5% penalty for raising tuition),” Vartabedian said, “If the cuts are $500,000 or less, we might be able to handle that through the CPI request.”

Currently Western is in the wait and see mode, and Vartabedian said that he had preliminarily talked to some of the member s of the board about the possibility of applying for a waiver if needed.

“We just can’t continue to be cut without some extra money coming in,” Vartabedian said.

Mel Klinkner, vice president for financial planning and administration, also said that in the event the cuts go higher, we would immediately seek to implement the 2.7% CPI tuition increase.

Klinkner and Vartabedian both expressed frustration because they said they feel we have a good product and are forced to sell it at a price that is not conducive to maintaining that product.

“Here we are growing for five consecutive years, have all this potential, in the business world we’d be considered a real success,” Klinkner said. “And a successful business could raise the price of its product, expand facilities or do whatever they needed because they were successful and we don’t have that option.”

As much as the thought of tuition going up stings a lot of people, especially the students, look at your professors and know that they’ve had no raise in two years.

Understandably students are concerned, asking themselves questions like: ‘Will I be able to pay for these potential increases?’ because right now it’s unknown what those increases might be.

Mary McIntosh, a junior biology major, works full time while living with her parents—pays for school out-of-pocket.

“It’s really scary, I mean I only have two semesters left but if they do a major increase I might not be able to pay for it or I might end up staying an extra two years,” McIntosh said.

Vartabedian said that morale is surely suffering when staff and faculty who’ve invested so much time and energy to the university see so little reward for that hard work.

McIntosh said she understands the need to give the faculty a raise to reward them for their service, but that it’s hard looking at it from the student viewpoint.

Western’s institutional appropriation is about $22.4 million as was reported in the St. Joseph News-Press, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. In a document on Missouri Department of Higher Education’s Website, Western—for fiscal year 2010—was slated for a 10% increase to state appropriations and would be looking at an amount around $24.4 million.

Currently the administration isn’t just standing pat as they wait for the axe to fall; they are trying to be as proactive as they can by pursuing all possible streams of revenue, up to and including the possibility of leasing some of Western’s land.

Issues that surrounded the debate didn’t directly relate to Western students, but still affect the city that students live in.

One of the key issues was how to bring in more tourism to historic St. Joe. Candidate Dick Sipe, a self described “homegrown” candidate, expressed the importance of diversifying business in St. Joseph.

“The mayor is the point man for the city,” Sipe said, “and the mayor has to be out there promoting St. Joseph has the place to come. We have to be positive; we have to be the place people want to find out about.”

Assistant professor of government Dr. Jon Euchner moderates the mayoral candidate forum. Photo | Dave Hon

Opposing candidate Bill Faulkner, owner of Faulkner Plumbing, a local business, shared his experience as a city council member.

“We are also known as one of the hardest cities to do business in or get anything going in,” Faulkner said. “We have made some strides to correct that but we have a ways to go.”

Faulkner promised that he would remove obstacles facing the construction companies that wish to invest in St. Joseph.

“A lot of people want to come and invest in St. Joe,” Faulkner said. “And we have to make it possible for them.”

Both candidates also recognized a problem with city engineers forcing private contractors to change their plans days before beginning construction, causing confusion.

“We have to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,” Faulkner said.

Both candidates also support a new hotel/motel tax, raising the current 3 percent tax to 6 percent. To date, the revenue from this tax goes directly to the civic arena, but generating this revenue would allow the city to spend more on museums, festivals, and other tourist activities.

“It is, strictly, a tourism tax,” Sipe assured St. Joseph citizens.

During the beginning of the forum, Euchner raised an audience members concerns that that Sipe and Faulkner shared the very similar views and had very little differences between them.

Sipe responded by verifying that he and his opponent do think alike on several issues, but that he would not continue in the footsteps of current mayor Ken Shearin. Faulkner refuted any notion that he would either.

With only 13 percent of registered voters casting a ballot on the primary election, both candidates hope to see more voter turnout come April 6.

Western doesn’t have a history of uncontested elections for SGA. According to Administrative Coordinator for the Vice President of Student Affairs Kathy Kelly, there has been only one uncontested election for SGA: the spring 2003 election with Sylvester Brandon and John Fabsits ran uncontested for the top office.

SGA election commissioner Josh Rieken thinks that marketing for the election is going to be more difficult than a contested election.

“If it [the election] was contested, then the candidates would have to make posters and talk to people to try to get votes,” Rieken said. “So, I think, the biggest thing we are missing out on this election is the marketing that would have been done by the candidates.”

“I think the most detrimental aspect of having an uncontested election is the fact that students don’t have a choice of who will be their next SGA President,” Rieken said. “An uncontested election basically takes democracy out of the process.”

Rieken thinks that too many students don’t appreciate how fun student government can be. “They just hear the word ‘government’ and assume it will be boring, but it’s not. It’s actually a lot of fun.”

SGA presidential candidate Dillon Harp feels that with the uncontested election, students miss out on a lot of the democratic process like the candidates debating. Harp also thinks that SGA suffers, with the lack of attention paid to the election, when it is uncontested.

Harp doesn’t think it’s a lack of student desire to participate.

“I just think SGA hasn’t really done anything to excite the students,” Harp said.

Harp doesn’t think the interest will be there until SGA changes students’ minds about student government. Until that change occurs Harp said, “I don’t think anyone is really going to run for anything.”

Jordan Carney, a sophomore double majoring in biology with a health-science concentration and biotechnology, is the uncontested candidate for the SGA vice president for the Residence Council.

Carney plans to take a more active role by working with the programming and planning committee to set up events that students will excite students and promote more involvement.

“It’s disappointing that not a lot of people are interested in being leaders,” Carney said. “It seems like the ones that want to be involved can’t devote the time to being in a leadership position.”

Carney also said that many of the resident assistants that would be interested don’t have the time with their current positions.

Besides voting on candidates, the previously reported SGA Technology and Recycling fee has gone on a weight loss program. SGA president Josh Todd said the fee was trimmed down to $4.50 per credit hour because the $3.00 discretionary fund was not well enough defined.

“We did not just want to throw it in some budget if we could not even strictly define its purpose,” Todd said.

The convocation will take place on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 9:30 a.m. in the Looney Complex and will be free and open to the public. In addition, Gingrich will speak at the annual Convocation Dinner, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Fulkerson Center in Spratt Hall.

Founded in 1993, the Convocation on Critical Issues was designed to be an oral presentation platform through which students and the community at large could hear from a high-profile speaker on a timely issue in modern society. Past speakers have included Steve Forbes, Colin Powell and Bob Woodward, among many others.

According to Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement, Western works with the Washington Speakers Bureau every year, looking at a list of potential speakers and trying to match the speaker with current pressing issues in the nation. From his perspective, Gingrich is a perfect fit for the convocation.

“First of all he is … staying well informed on current issues,” Nicoson said. “Furthermore, his reputation is that he presents an intellectually challenging presentation. Both of [these attributes] fit our needs well.”

Following a career as a college professor at the University of West Georgia and Kennesaw State University, Gingrich ran for a congressional seat in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. After two unsuccessful runs in 1974 and 1976, Gingrich won, holding the seat from 1979-1999. During this time, Gingrich also succeeded Dick Cheney as House Minority Whip from 1989-1995.

Gingrich became a household name in 1994 as a co-author of “Contract With America,” a document outlining the Republican Party’s plans, were they to win the majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. When the Republican Party won, Gingrich was made the Speaker of the House, a position that he held from 1995-1999.

Following his career in Congress, Gingrich has remained a prominent figure in the political spectrum, authoring 19 books and serving as a political analyst.

According to President Robert Vartabedian, the process of selecting a speaker for the convocation consists of four phases: determining who is available with the Speaker’s Bureau, who is affordable, who is available within the time frame and whether or not there is a critical issue at hand that is compatible with Western.

Western’s President Vartabedian feels that Gingrich meets the University’s criteria and then some.

“He offered us eight different alternative topics,” Vartabedian said. “That’s kind of unheard of; usually there’s just a basic speech. I think that was very attractive to some of the people in on the decision.”

From Vartabedian’s perspective, there were two other key factors in the decision, the first of being the need to balance the convocation out politically, as last year’s convocation featured a democratic speaker, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Another factor that makes Gingrich unique is swirling rumors about his future in politics.

“He may be a candidate for the presidency in 2012,” Vartabedian said. “This is the first time in the 17-year history of the convocation that we have someone who very well maybe running for the presidency in two years.”

As of now, it is unknown as to what subject Gingrich will speak about. According to the Washington Speakers Bureau website, www.washingtonspeakers.com, Gingrich’s main speech topics include how to improve America’s economic standing, the Obama administration and leadership lessons.

Regardless of what topic he chooses, it can be assumed from his prolific background and experience that Gingrich will provide the students of Missouri Western a critical take on a timely issue that is important to all.

“[Gingrich]…has an experience and insight into critical issues which I think he can bring to [Western],” said R. Dan Boulware, the former Western regent for whom the convocation is held in honor of. “We like people who speak on college campuses and who are well received by students; that’s very important to me and Newt Gingrich fits that criteria.”

Three of the 11 Western District court judges were part of the appeals court which handles approximately 40 percent of the intermediate appellate caseload in Missouri, with jurisdictions covering 45 counties. Missouri Western is just one of the many stops the court makes each year and has been doing so for 12 years. Three cases were presented that day; one criminal and two civil cases regarding child custody.

Judge Thomas H. Newton, who was appointed to the court of appeals in 1999 said, “We think it’s important to get out and about so folks know we are not in our so called ivory tower. They say appellate judges are in an ivory tower, we just kind of go up there and read and write.”

The Court of Appeals handles cases that are handed up from the circuit court. If a party loses in the circuit court and feels a mistake was made, that party may file an appeal. The court considers the briefs, oral arguments, transcripts, pleadings and exhibits from the trial in researching, deciding, and writing its opinions.

Professor of legal studies, Suzanne Kissock said, “I love the cases that were presented today because they were like Lifetime afternoon movies, but people think that the law is theoretical and intellectual and not part of their lives. When you see it first hand and you go to court and you see in the appellate court how plainly the lawyers and judges are speaking about very personal, very intimate issues then I think that’s when it comes alive.”

Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer, who was appointed in May 2009 to the court of appeals, said how difficult some cases can be, whether it is a criminal case or a custody case. As a parent himself he feels it is refreshing to hear cases involving children who have parents who love that child enough to fight for them. A decision on each case is voted on after the judges have reviewed past related cases as well as laws; while leaving out any personal opinion. This process can take six to eight weeks to finalize.

“We are human beings, too, and so we don’t just look at these as theoretical law school exam question,” Pfeiffer said. “These are real people with real lives and perhaps real problems in their own personal life that may have led to where they are at…at this appeal.”

Regardless if students are seeking a degree in law, Kissock believes it is important for all students to experience the Court of Appeals during their studies at Western to provide them with a better understanding of how the law relates to them.

“A lot of time there is this misunderstanding that the system functions without a heart, without a soul in the sense that they are not connected to the people that come before them and they very much are. They’re people who are trying to do the right thing to make an impact on the world and students don’t get that from a textbook,” Kissock said. “I just wish more students would attend and pay attention,”

The judges were asked if they like practicing law, Pfeiffer said he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting before deciding to study law. He encouraged all the students to pursue careers for what they have a passion for.

“It makes life interesting when you can wake up in the morning and say I have a passion for doing my job,” Pfeiffer said.

Kennedy will be the first speaker to focus on the environment. He was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Planet” for his success in helping to restore the Hudson River. A senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Kennedy has questioned the environmental policies of the United States for years. He is also the author of the bestselling book Crimes Against Nature. An extremely strong defender of the protection of our planet, Kennedy’s speech will hope to inspire Missouri Western students to try to make a difference in the world.

Bringing in such a well known speaker is a big step for the convocation.

“We’re pleased to be able to bring a speaker of such national prominence to our students and to this community,” said Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement.
Dan Boulware, a former president of the Board of Regents and founder of the convocation, said that one of the main reasons that Kennedy was chosen to speak is because of his focus on the environment.

“When this was started, it was convocation on critical issues, and we’ve addressed a myriad of critical issues over the years,” Boulware said. “But we’ve never addressed the environment. He brings to us a unique perspective that we have not had before.”

Ironically, a part of Boulware’s motivation to start the convocations came from a speech he heard as an undergrad in 1968 from Bobby Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy’s father.

“It meant a lot to me and I wanted that experience for our students here,” Boulware said. “I thought it would elevate this university in the eyes of its peers. I thought the students appreciate the opportunity and be stimulated by the opportunity. I hope that when you’re older, you’ll look back and say ‘hey, I heard RFK.’ I may not have agreed with him or I might have agreed with everything he said, but it’s part of the educational experience.”

Boulware understood that hearing different speakers talk about different issues in our world today is a crucial part of learning and opening minds. This is one of the main reasons that in 1993 he started bringing nationally renowned speakers to Missouri Western for the students to hear. While cost can be a limiting factor to who Missouri Western is able to bring in, some big names have still spoken here on campus and hopefully will in the future. Some of Boulware’s favorites from the past are Colin Powell, David McCullough, and Joe Nye.

“I have always liked going to the convocations,” said senior Western student Zack Kerner. “I know a lot of people choose not to go, but the speakers I’ve heard are pretty interesting and talk about important stuff. There’s a lot to be learned by going and listening to what they have to say.”

“This isn’t a revenue problem,” Graves said. “This is a spending problem.”

Congressman Sam Graves visited Western’s campus on his Main Street Matters Tour for a town hall meeting. Graves discussed issues pertaining to the health care reform and HR 3200. Photo: Marty Ayers

By visiting all of the counties Graves represents, he has been able to hear the voice of people like Virginia Wigham, a local political activist.

“I have never been more disappointed in the democratic party,” Wigham said. “They took impressionable minds at the high school and college level and had students that didn’t study the issues vote for the democrats. They brought a bunch of sheep to the slaughter and now we are trying to clean it up.”
Wigham believes that students should vote on the issues rather than the party.

“If you read the 1220 pages in the senate version of this health care bill…they will have their answers,” Wigham said. “People have taken it apart page by page, by page, and said what was wrong with it.”

From the moment that the bill was purposed, Graves and his staff have been analyzing HR 3200 and have come to a single conclusion.

“It’s more intrusion into our lives,” Graves said. “I don’t want our federal government runing 20 percent of the economy through the health care system.”

Even though Graves believes that HR 3200 would be counter-productive, he does not deny the problems with the current overpriced health care system in the United States.

“First of all, some of the health insurance reforms that need to in place: portability and pre-existing condition, making sure that people aren’t prevented if they have a pre-existing condition and, if you move to another job, being able to take that insurance with you.”

Proponents of the HR 3200 bill have worked none-stop to pass the health care reform as quickly as possible. Graves believes that taking the issues to the streets and visiting his constituents is the best way to represent his people.

“I know some [congressmen] aren’t doing any town halls because they don’t want to hear it from their folks, but some members are doing a lot,” Graves said.

Representative Graves finished his tour on Thursday, Aug. 27, stopping at Albany, Grant City, Maryville and Mound City.

Aside from the group of protestors standing outside with signs, people did not seem disappointed after Biden’s intense and inspirational speech.

When the intro music started, audience members gradually clapped along, eventually yelling, “Go, Joe!”

During the high points of his speech, people rose from their seats to clap and cheer with escalating enthusiasm.

Erika Baker, a freshman at Northwest Missouri State University, has watched Biden’s speeches on television, but never in person.

“I really, really enjoyed it,” Baker said. “I think that Joe Biden is a great speaker.”

This was the first time Baker has been to a political rally.

“I thought it was a whole new experience to be that close; I was right on the aisle – two rows back,” Baker said. “I shook his hand and everything afterwards, so it was exciting.”

Nathan Bowman, also a student at Northwest, was amazed by Biden’s tone.

“My basic thoughts were that Senator Biden did a terrific job getting people going,” Bowman said. “You could tell he was very passionate.”

Bowman believes Biden really projected towards the climax of his speech.

Heather Fields, a Western student, actually got a picture taken with Obama’s vice presidential candidate.

“I was more excited than I expected to be,” Fields said.

Janie Bland, who traveled from Spickard, MO, has been campaigning for Barack Obama, and thoroughly enjoyed the speech as well.

“That was a wonderful speech and he really spoke to the middle class people,” Bland said.

The opinion of Western student Andrew Trautmon, who is a Republican, differed slightly. He is not a huge fan of Obama or McCain.

“I went in with an independent mind,” Trautmon said. “Really, I’m not leaning with either one.”

Trautmon was not as impressed with Biden’s speech as others were.

“I was a little bit upset with Biden… the first part of his speech seemed like an attack against McCain,” Trautmon said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right click, save as. Requires quicktime

Biden Closing Remarks 

Slideshow of the event

Slideshow of Speakers

Biden, who is fresh off his debate with the Republican vice president candidate Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, will speak to a crowd of 500 at the Looney Complex’s reserve gym at 9 a.m on the topics of the economy and health care. He will then head to Liberty and Jefferson City on a tour to help Missouri go into the Democratic column on the Nov. 4 election.

Missouri is still one of the closest battleground states with polls showing the race is a virtual dead heat right now. The head of the Buchanan county Democratic Party, Bill Caldwell, said that the tour is what is needed to put the Obama ticket on top in Missouri.

“Pundits are saying that McCain can’t win the national election without carrying Missouri,” Caldwell said. “Biden has the charisma and knowledge related to the campaign and it will be apparent who has the edge after Thursday.”

This is the first visit from a national candidate to Saint Joseph since 2004 when incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney addressed supporters at the Civic Arena. The incident was marred by protests but campus officials are not expecting the same problems. Beth Wheeler, director of external relations, said that the Secret Service is working with local officials to ensure the campus will still run smoothly.

“Public safety officers will be at their [Secret Service] disposal,” Wheeler said. “The Looney complex and J lot will be closed and classes in the building will be moved or cancelled at the teacher’s discretion for Wednesday and Thursday. We are excited for this excellent opportunity and to put this feather in our cap and we will do everything that we can to make this go smoothly.”

Wheeler also said that the Obama handlers were here last week and that a major factor in their choice of going on campus was the Convocation speaker series which recently hosted political pundits James Carville and Mary Matalin.

“They were impressed with our repertoire of speakers,” Wheeler said. “This goes to show that what we actively do on campus helps future endeavors and events come here. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we will do our best to shine.”

The Obama campaign is also using this opportunity to bring its message of change to thousands of young voters in the midland empire. The Press secretary for the Missouri Obama campaign, Justin Hamilton, reiterated the purpose for the speaking tour during the waning days of the campaign.

“Obama thinks that the young voters are changing the electorate,” Hamilton said. “Our message of change speaks to everyone, young and old, but the young voters have an imperative need to understand that their voice is heard and their issues are being addressed.”

Hamilton also did not rule out the possibility of Obama coming to campus.

“Obama still has plans for Missouri,” Hamilton said. “He does not have concrete speaking dates yet for Saint Joseph, but he is still open to the opportunity.”

The McCain-Palin campaign has also been offered the opportunity to speak on campus but has yet to respond to the invitation.

Each year’s Convocation allows for a special dinner the night before that allows patrons to meet the guest speaker.

The married political pundits, James Carville and Mary Matalin, spoke to a capacity crowd at the Fulkerson Center Monday night for the 15th annual Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues dinner that helps fund each year’s speaker. The dinner, which was the fastest selling in Western’s history, sold out in a matter of days and had a nearly 200 person waiting list. According to Dan Nicoson, vice president of university advancement, this can be attributed to the impact it has on the surrounding area.

“I am convinced that this Convocation, series in its fourteen years, now fifteenth year, has brought more national experts for our community to be exposed to than any other event,” Nicoson said. “This just isn’t a university event, it is a community event.”

Carville and Matalin addressed the crowd during dinner and spoke on several issues, including the market panic that had occurred earlier that day. Even though the couple takes residence in separate political camps

their message was the same.

“We are American,” Carville said. “Married, young, old, Republican, Democrat. We are all Americans and we can work through our differences.”

Matalin also reiterated that it was our duty to be involved politically, to understand the events that are happening now, and to believe in the country.

“There’s so much that we [the public] don’t know what’s happening,” Matalin said. “We didn’t know about Georgia coming, we didn’t know about people flipping on energy with the moratorium on offshore drilling being lifted last week. That sometimes we think that people are going to go into a panic. I don’t think we will. I have faith in our country.”

The dinner also helped spotlight the community businesses and donors who helped fund the Convocation.

“The foundation is very proud of this event,” Nicoson said. “Having said that, it still would not be possible without our thirty-one corporate sponsors. This dinner also is a way to thank them.”

Pro: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Con: 

Guns on campus while thought provoking, unnecessary
Addison Ford

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

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

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

And the scary thing is, it just might happen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

President James Scanlon’s announcement during his faculty “thank-you” reception Friday morning of his decision to retire silenced the room, said Public Relations and Marketing Director Kristy Hill.

The silence was immediately replaced with a standing ovation, Hill said.

Scanlon first disclosed his plans to retire, effective June 30, 2008, during a closed session at the Board of Governors meeting on Thursday night.

“It has been a very emotional two days,” Scanlon told reporters at a press conference on Friday afternoon, as his voice cracked with emotion. “[Today] has been a day of tears and hugs.”

According to a press release, Scanlon will be turning 65 in October of 2008. He said he has been working through his decision for a few months, and although it was not an easy one to make, he knows it is time.

Scanlon began his duties as president of Western in March of 2001, succeeding President Janet Murphy. He has been a driving force behind many changes at Western in that time, not the least of which was attaining university designation in 2005.

“Certainly among the things that I think are very important – it’s not my achievement; it’s the student’s achievement – is university designation, which in my view simply gave us the name we had deserved for some time,” Scanlon said.

He also said that he is very satisfied with the way in which Western has enhanced its connection with the community, citing its role in strengthening economic and cultural development in the region. In addition, he said he is proud that the campus community has extended itself to serve a good greater than its own through community volunteerism.

“Particularly, to serve the needs of people who have needs that if people like us don’t serve them, they don’t get served,” Scanlon said.

Serving the good of the many, such as through food banks, is something Scanlon is certain he will continue to do after retirement, when he and his wife Lauren move to their home in North Carolina.

That dedication is no surprise for Dan Nicoson, vice president for University Advancement.

“President Scanlon is a man of great integrity,” Nicoson said. “He is unwavering in his commitment to quality, applied learning, community partnership and ethical practices. Working with him is a rewarding experience.”

Scanlon said that there is always unfinished business upon retirement. In particular, the $30 million out of the Lewis and Clark Initiative for renovations at Agenstein Hall has passed the Senate and will now need approval from the House of Representatives, as well as Gov. Matt Blunt’s signature before it becomes law. If passed, Scanlon said he believes it will take at least two years to complete the renovations and hopes to be invited back when it is done.

The Strategic Plan is in its final stages, and over 400 people from Western and the community have helped develop it, Scanlon said.

“The campus has a sense of direction, and whoever becomes the next president here, she or he is very fortunate because they come into a campus that knows what it is and knows where it wants to go,” he said.

The search for a new president will is the responsibility of the Board of Governors.

“We appreciate Dr. Scanlon’s leadership and vision over the past several years; he will be missed,” said Janet Leachman, chair of the Board of Governors. “Over the next few months, the Board of Governors will begin the search process for the next resident.”

As for Scanlon’s retirement plans, he said that he is an English professor. And like most, he plans to write books. However, he plans to break the mold just a little. Although Shakespeare and the Renaissance are his areas of expertise, he wants to rite some mysteries.

“They may only be read by my wife or perhaps my wife and a few neighbors, but we’ll see,” Scanlon said.

“The bags are all going to be recycled,” Glynn said. “I think the project really made people think about how they don’t recycle. I would like to begin a dialogue among the viewers in response to what we use and discard. I want to take something very simple and familiar and replicate that on a larger scale for the impact. With this project, I want to portray our use [of bags] not only on visual terms, but in auditory terms, as well. I am hoping that the viewer will gain a sense of concern for the space around them and perhaps think twice in regard to their own personal consumption and waste production.”

Many students were left puzzled by what message the bags where trying to portray.

“I was wondering what those bags meant,” sophomore Moses Fields said. “I thought it was either a prank or a memorial for the Virginia Tech shootings.”

Junior Traci Haug agreed.

“I had no idea what it was,” she said. “They should have put some kind of sign up. I guess if they would explain why the bags were there for everybody, we wouldn’t be clueless to their meaning because it looked like trash to me.”

Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been celebrated by million of people all over the country to spread the message of how important it is to take care of the environment.

Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who said that he “was determined to forcibly thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the nation,” originally founded Earth Day.

This creation of Earth Day eventually led to the passing of the Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act (1977) and the setting of efficiency standards for the use of fuel in automobiles.

The University currently does not do anything on its own accord for Earth Day, but after this year’s demonstration, Glynn hopes a larger awareness campaign can be put together for next year.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider the legality of a case in which former University of Arizona students sued the Arizona Board of Regents for increasing tuition by nearly 40 percent in 2003.

In November, an appellate court decided the students are generally entitled to sue the board of regents over the decision to raise tuition. It did not say whether tuition was raised too much.

The regents challenged that outcome and appealed to the Supreme Court, which will decide whether the regents can be sued over tuition hikes.

Both plaintiffs and defendants applaud the step, saying they hope the court will rule in their favor.

“Now it looks like it’s finally going to get decided,” said John Kromko, a former UA student and state legislator, who was among those who initiated the suit. “I think this is a vital state matter that really needs to be decided by the Supreme Court.”

Kromko and three other former students claim the regents violated the Arizona Constitution, which states that the “university and all other state educational institutions shall be as nearly free as possible.”

When tuition was raised by 39.1 percent in the 2003-04 school year, the money was not used just to improve education directly, Kromko said, but also for scholarships, research and building construction.

In his experience tuition increases seldom have direct effects on higher standards in classroom equipment or better-qualified teachers, Kromko said.

“It’s right to give scholarships but it’s not right for university students to pay for those,” he said. “The regents and the universities have not taken any steps to ensure that tuition is as low as possible.”

But the regents say they are the ones to decide what tuition money can be used for. Part of that capacity is to ensure that enough financial aid is available to students who can’t afford higher tuition rates, said Nancy Tribbensee, the general council for the Arizona University System and a staff member of the Arizona Board of Regents.

“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court has accepted review of Kromko,” she said “This gives them the opportunity to reaffirm the regents’ constitutional authority to set tuition rates.”

If the Supreme Court decides it is lawful to sue the regents, the initial case has to be reconsidered by the trial court.

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.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Jon Dennis didn’t get arrested during spring break for indecent exposure or public intoxication.

The University of Kansas senior was taken to a Washington, D.C., police station for praying in front of the White House during the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq march on March 16 during the four-year anniversary of the Iraq War.

Before the march, participants sat in on any of 14 different workshops at various churches in Washington, D.C., which dealt with the interface of peace, faith and civil disobedience.

Some demonstrators used that training later that night when they were arrested for stopping and praying in front of the White House.

After the workshops and a non-denominational church service, an estimated 3,000 people held lights that resembled candles, marched and sang while they walked from the National Cathedral to the White House. Some stopped to pray in front of the building while others circled it.

The first 100 people who stopped to pray in front of the White House were arrested for failing to comply with an officer for refusing to keep moving.

The remaining 122 people who stopped, including Dennis, were arrested for crossing a police barrier.

Dennis said there was a lot of cooperation between the protest organizers and the police and that the route to the White House was blocked off for the march.

All 222 arrested people had their hands zip-tied with plastic bands and had their mug shots taken in front of buses that transported them to a local police department. They were given $100 tickets that had to be paid in person at a Washington, D.C., police department within 15 days.

Drizzling rain and brisk winds made the march uncomfortable for the protesters. Sonia
Marcinkowski, Blue Springs, Mo., junior, also marched but decided the weather was too unpleasant to wait around.

“I didn’t want to lose my toes,” she said. The next day, March 17, Dennis took part in a
larger anti-war march from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Pentagon. He said that the protesters in that march were more hostile than in Friday’s march.

“It wasn’t as moving and it was really negative,” he said.

Dennis received sponsorship from the Oread Friends Meeting, a Quaker religious organization, as well as some help from the Ecumenical Christian Ministries.

Dennis, Marcinkowski and Beth Ruhl, a sophomore who also took part in the peace march, plan to speak at local churches and share their experiences.

The road to a college degree might have a few less hills and pot holes as a new program to help student’s finance college.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt came to Western on March 21 to promote a new Financial Aid program, Access Missouri.

Blunt has been touring the state and talking to educators and students about his plan to at least double funding for need based scholarships.

Blunt claimed that Access Missouri program will raise the number of students who are receiving aid under the current program from approximately 200 to 1800.

“Education is my highest priority, and I will continue to enhance opportunities for all Missouri’s students,” Blunt said in a news release.

Blunt went on to say that the new funding for the scholarships would greatly expand students’ access to college and higher education opportunities.

President Scanlon was also in attendance; he introduced the governor and also introduced Lacey Wible, Western freshman and business major. Wible made a speech in favor of the Access Missouri program. She spoke about how Access Missouri would benefit her and would help students like herself to afford college.

State Senator Charlie Shields was also in attendance and spoke on behalf of the program.

“Senate is committed to this program.” Shields said. “This is a bi-partisan issue, both parties are in support of the program.”

According to a news release Western’s department of Financial Aid reported that the current program serves approximately 17,000 students. The new program is expected to serve an estimated 36,000 students.

Access Missouri is just a proposal for now and is going through legislation to become effective. Access Missouri will offer a scholarship solution that will level the playing field for all applicants and ensure that Missouri’s neediest students receive aid. It will also make it easier for Missouri families to plan for college because the scholarship will be more predictable.

Funding for Access Missouri will come from the state. Blunt stated that there is now a surplus in the state’s funding.

“We have a $300 million surplus from controlled spending and influx of taxes,” Blunt said.

Blunt suggested an increase in needs based scholarship funding, taking the current program from $27.5 million to more than $72.5 million.

That is the short version of a possible scenario posed by assistant professor of political science Dan Cox, based on one political science theory.

Cox and four other Western professors led a multidisciplinary panel on the war in Iraq last Thursday, which was sponsored by the Alpha Chi Honor Society, with about 70 people in attendance.

“Hopefully, I’m completely wrong,” Cox said later. “Most political theories are wrong,”

However, Cox did remain the lone gun in his convictions about which direction the U.S. will take with regard to Iraq and the Middle East.

“I see Iraq and our involvement in the Middle East differently probably than just about anyone,” Cox said. “I see what we are doing right now – I see it expanding over time. I think it’s unfortunate, but I think it’s almost certain we are going to expand into Iran.” He said he believes that expansion includes the bombing of Iran.

Associate professor of sociology Ali Kamali, who was born in Iran but has lived in the U.S. for decades, said he holds out optimism that bombing Iran will not happen. He also shared his views on how the war in Iraq has been bungled.

“It doesn’t take an intelligent person to see that the current policies of the current administration are inoperative and not working; however, think about who is taking advantage of the situation,” Kamali said. “There is no denying or lack of information that Dick Cheney, President Bush and a couple others actually own and are running oil companies in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

Professor of philosophy Phil Mullins agreed that oil has always been in mind with U.S. policy.

“I’m not sure that our policy ever had any very good, sensible roots…arrogance in recent times,” Mullins said. “But it does seem to me that now we’re in a real pickle.”

And that “real pickle” is something that history professor Dan Trifan feels needs clarification.

“One must differentiate between military invasion and occupancy,” Trifan said. “[This] has changed to occupation.”

Economics professor Reza Hamzaee, who was also born in Iran but has been in the U.S. for over 32 years, spoke about the economic cost of war in terms of missed opportunities in the U.S.: poverty, education, social security, health care and the shrinking size of the middle-class.

“These are all opportunities we are losing because we are putting so much into war,” Hamzaee said. He said that the industries of defense and oil are booming while others suffer.

Kamali also said that there is another important factor in the region’s stability that the U.S. Administration largely dismisses with names like renegades or thugs.

“One of the unspoken factors in international politics is non-governmental key players who make major decisions,” Kamali said. “We have to take them seriously.”

Any discussion about Iraq and the Middle East will inevitably turn to religion, and this panel was no exception.

“My general view is that American policy as a whole has not done a good job of taking into account religious dynamics,” Mullins said. And then there is the Israel factor.

Student Government Association Vice-President Luke Herrington, who is a history/government double major, attended the panel discussion and later gave his opinion about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

“As an ally of Israel, we will do what we need to,” he said. “Israel feels threatened, surrounded by a sea of anger.”

Yet, with so many countries in the region – including Israel, Pakistan and India – in possession of nuclear weapons, Iranians also feel threatened, Hamzaee and Kamali said.

All the while, the U.S. possesses over half of the world’s nuclear weapons. It is also the only country ever to use such a weapon against another nation.

Following the discussion, the panel took questions from the audience. Many people stayed after to talk more about the multi-faceted subject of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

“I think you have to go after if with an interdisciplinary approach,” said senior Kasi Norris, a government major. “There is not only one view.”

Elizabeth Sawin, professor of English and director of the Honors Program said that perhaps there should be more panel discussions on this subject in the future.

“It is the responsibility and the privilege of the university to give students and the community breadth and depth of understanding multi-disciplinary points of view,” Sawin said.

The Campus Activities Board sponsored the event last Wednesday, along with a showing of the Laramie Project on Tuesday. Janell Banks, president of CAB said that the even cost approximately $9,000.

Judy Shepard took the stage and delivered a message that told a familiar story, promoted acceptance and issued a call to arms.

“She said things that our campus needed to hear,” said Abi Pontius, Western senior.

Western junior and member of Pride Alliance Brad Dixon agreed with Pontius.

“Hearing words of wisdom from Judy Shepard was uplifting and felt like a breath of fresh air,” Dixon said.

Shepard started her presentation with a video depicting her son, Matthew Shepard’s, death and the death of James Byrd Jr. Both men were victims of hate crimes.

Little of stature and soft of voice, the blonde woman started out her speech with some information about herself and a joke.

“With my reluctant membership [to AARP] came my reading glasses,” Shepard said.

She also pulled out a little paper fan and said that she was having personal summers and that the fan was with her at all times to help her through the hot times.

Though her message had a heavy baseline that stemmed from her own son’s brutal murder in 1998, the fingers she pointed were not to the “haters,” as Shepard called them, but rather to all in the audience.

“If don’t tell your stories, if you don’t share your life with your friends and loved ones, if you don’t help them vote for the right people then they don’t know how to help you,” Shepard said.

She said that the GLBT community is responsible for their progress. Being complacent and waiting for someone else to take care of the issues and problems that the community faces is not acceptable.

“You have to tell them what your life is like,” Shepard said.

She also stated that all students should make a difference by contacting their government representatives and letting them know what the needs of the GLBT community are.

Though her voice was monotone and quiet, she made her point about getting involved in the fight for civil rights and liberties for all, especially the GLBT community.

CAB President Janell Banks hopes that Shepard’s message lit a fire under the GLBT community at Western, as well as the allies.

“I think she created an air for allies,” Banks said. “People are joining the Pride Alliance Facebook group as allies. Students now realize the importance of allies for the GLBT community.”

Shepard spoke about the use of allies for the GLBT community.

“We know that by sheer numbers the GLBT community cannot make these changes alone,” Shepard said. “Which is why allies are so very, very important.”

She also spoke of allies and the GLBT community being afraid to speak out about the civil liberties and rights that are denied to the GLBT community.

The fears she spoke of stemmed from fear of rejection, physical harm and discrimination. Shepard also spoke about same-sex marriage. She is a strong advocate for same-sex marriage and breaking down the ignorant reasons that are against same-sex marriages.

She also spoke about hate language and how the gay community isn’t protected under law against hate language. Banks felt that Shepard’s message might have given the GLBT community at Western a voice.

“I think the GLBT community is shy,” Banks said. “She gave it a voice. We can be open about our lifestyles like everyone else.”

Shepard made suggestions for Western to be more GLBT-friendly.

“It’s up to the students to make the difference, write letters to the administrators,” Shepard said.

Paul Shang, dean of student development, was pleased with Shepard’s message.

“It was thought provoking with experience and emotions which makes it real and able to connect,” Shang said. “It was not just intellectual.”

Shepard issued a message to all students in the audience.

“You just need to be who you are; you all need to be who you are. Don’t hold back for any reason,” Shepard said. “You need to respect yourself enough, and respect your friends and family enough to tell them the truth, tell them your stories.”

For Missouri Western professors Pat Scott and Martha Ellison, the news of Matthew Shepard’s brutal murder in October of 1998 represented more than the loss of a life because of anti-gay hate— it meant the loss of a friend.

Both Ellison and Scott met Matthew at the University of Wyoming, where they taught before leaving for Missouri Western in the summer of 1998.

In October 1998 Matthew was 21 and attending the University of Wyoming, working on his political science degree when he was brutally murdered by two men motivated by anti-gay hate.

Scott, the director of the social work program at MWSU, met Matthew through a mutual friend, Walt Boulden. They met for the first time at Matthew’s apartment warming party.

“He had a baby face, but I knew him to have a good time,” Scott said. She also explained that Matthew lived an openly gay lifestyle on campus. He was open, sweet and honest about every aspect of his life, she said.

Scott also alluded that his openness may have been a factor in his murder. Because he was always open and honest, he was also a target for those ignorant and afraid. The two men convicted of killing Matthew testified that Matthew came on to them.

“That wasn’t Matt,” Scott said. “He was never like that; he was a gentle soul.” Ellison readily agreed.

“Matt was a sweet, young, naive gay man who believed people were good,” she said. “He had been to my home. We went shopping together, dined out and saw each other socially often. He trusted people and was not cynical. He was a happy person who would occasionally tease a friend but never in a harsh way. Matt did not inflict his views on anyone; Matt never imposed.”

Ellison also related her personal feelings of conflict between a social worker that should not seek a path of revenge and her anger toward the men who took the life of a good, helpful and giving man. “He would have been a great contributor for society,” said Ellison.

She further pointed out that the men responsible for Matthew’s death were young also. She tried to reason why but admitted there was no justification for the brutal way that they left Matthew beaten and tied to a fence on the open prairie.

“There was no need for this violence,” Ellison said. “If they did not like Matthew or what he stood for, they should have just walked away.”

Both Scott and Ellison heard of the tragedy from a phone call from Boulden.

“It was a rude awakening for a lot of people,” said Scott. The phone call came before the media had reported the attack. Boulden was the family spokesperson at the time and now lives in the Kansas City area, teaching at UMKC and is working at The Resource Development Institute.

Like many tragedies, this one also has some positive results.

“It’s too bad that someone so good and innocent had to pay the price for the good things this event has started,” said Ellison.

The University of Wyoming has a very active Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) group dedicated to educating the public on and off campus to fight ignorance and fear. Matthew’s mother, Judy, travels the country speaking about the tragedy while educating people and promoting a better understanding of gay issues. There are many Web sites devoted to Matthew’s memory such as www.matthewshepard.org and www.matthewsplace.com. “The Laramie Project,” a groundbreaking film for HBO, started with the energy and frustration of Matthew’s murder.

“Matt is now a galvanizing symbol,” said Scott.

Those different perspectives were the purpose of the Alpha Chi Honor Society bringing together a multi-disciplinary panel of Western professors on Thursday to discuss the war, the region and the future.

“It is the responsibility and the privilege of the university to give students and the community breadth and depth of understanding multi-disciplinary points of view,” said Elizabeth Sawin, professor of English and director of the Honors Program.

The five panelists who addressed about 70 students, faculty and community members were history professor Dan Trifan, economics professor Reza Hamzaee, assistant professor of political science Dan Cox, associate professor of sociology Ali Kamali and professor of philosophy Phil Mullins.

Trifan started the discussion by clarifying the current U.S. role in Iraq.

“One must differentiate between military invasion and occupancy,” Trifan said. “It has changed to occupation.”

Despite varying disciplines, one message was consistent among the panelists: there is no easy way out for the U.S.

“Will our getting out cause a bloodbath?” Mullins said. “It might. Will our staying in cause a bloodbath. Yes.”

Cox said he does not see the U.S. getting out of Iraq, but rather an expansion involving Iran.

“I see Iraq and our involvement in the Middle East differently probably than just about anyone,” Cox said. “I see what we are doing right now – I see it expanding over time. I think it’s unfortunate, but I think it’s almost certain we are going to expand into Iran.” He said he believes that expansion includes the bombing of Iran. “Hopefully, I’m completely wrong.”

Kamali, who was born in Iran but has lived in the U.S. for decades, said he holds out optimism that bombing Iran will not happen.

“It doesn’t take an intelligent person to see that the current policies of the current administration are inoperative and not working; however, think about who is taking advantage of the situation,” Kamali said. “There is no denying or lack of information that Dick Cheney, President Bush and a couple others actually own and are running oil companies in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

Mullins, agreed that oil has always been in mind with U.S. policy.

“I’m not sure that our policy ever had any very good, sensible roots…arrogance in recent times,” Mullins said. “But it does seem to me that now we’re in a real pickle.”

Hamazaee, who was also born in Iran but has been in the U.S. for over 32 years, spoke about the economic cost of war in terms of missed opportunities: poverty, education, social security, health care and the shrinking size of the middle-class.

“These are all opportunities we are losing because we are putting so much into war,” Hamazaee said. He said that the industries of defense and oil are booming while others suffer.

Any discussion about Iraq and the Middle East will inevitably include religion, and this panel was no exception.

“My general view is that American policy as a whole has not done a good job of taking into account religious dynamics,” Mullins said.

And Kamali pointed out an important factor in the region’s stability that is largely dismissed by the U.S. Administration as renegades or thugs.

“One of the unspoken factors in international politics is non-governmental key players who make major decisions,” Kamali said. “We have to take them seriously.”

Following the panel discussion, audience members asked questions, and the subject of Israel came up.

Student Government Association Vice-President Luke Herrington, who is a history/government double-major junior, was present at the panel discussion. He weighed in with his opinion on the relationship the U.S. has with Israel.

“As an ally of Israel, we will do what we need to,” he said. “Israel feels threatened, surrounded by a sea of anger.”

Yet, with so many countries in the region with nuclear weapons, including Israel, Iranians also feel threatened, Hamazaee and Kamali said.

Many people stayed after the discussion had concluded to talk more about the complicated subject of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Sawin said that perhaps there should be more panel discussions in the future.

“I think you have to go after if with an interdisciplinary approach,” said senior Kasi Norris, a government major. “There is not only one view.”

When the subject of terrorism is brought up, the common focus is on the Middle East. Cox took researching terrorism a little further and expanded the focus to 76 nations in Asia and Africa in the last 29 years. Cox’s research touches on all of the nations in Asia and Africa besides those with a population fewer than 1 million or completely closed societies such as North Korea.

His research is not just for recreation. Cox is co-authoring a book provisionally titled, “Terrorism and Instability in Asia and Africa” with Maj. Brian Stackhouse, a military science instructor at Western, and Dr. John Falconer of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

“We’ve always been interested in political violence and what causes violence,” Cox said of his decision to perform his research.

There is a popular belief that democratic countries are less likely to experience terrorism, considering that two democratic nations haven’t engaged in war since the War of 1812. However, Cox’s research shows that democratic societies’ chances are slightly higher. Japan, a democratic entity, has an average of 3.3 incidents of domestic terrorism per year, whereas China, with a communist government, experiences only 1.33.

Some interesting findings were that if a country has two or less religions or ethnicities, the probability of terrorism is greatly increased.

Michelle Dittemore, a student looking for a degree in nursing, was in attendance for the revealing of Cox’s findings.

“I found it interesting; I didn’t realize there was that much terrorism in Asia and Africa,” Dittemore said.

India has the most recorded number of domestic terrorism in the last 29 years, reaching 303. Pakistan, a nation that Dr. Cox said is more of a danger to the U.S. than Iran, has experienced 188 incidents of international terrorism and 273 incidents of domestic terrorism in the last 29 years.

Cox’s presentation last Tuesday was part of the university’s lecture series of faculty members who received research grants last summer from the Western Institute.

Cox said that the major cost of the grant was paying students to labor over the data sets. Not all of the data was free of charge either.

The book is an academic book, but Cox would like for his findings to open the eyes of some people in Washington. Eventually, Cox would like to expand his research and examine the terrorism throughout the entire world.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Campaign Director of savetheinternet.com Timothy Karr spoke on Wednesday to a lecture hall full of students at Rutgers University, warning them about the dangers that the Internet is facing. He described how Congress was considering passing laws — backed by billions of corporate dollars — that would abandon “net neutrality.”

He spoke about his organization, savetheinternet.com, which was engaged in a fight to prevent the change from occurring, and showed students how they could help.

Karr explained how the organization is a subdivision of the broader freepress.net. Since 2002, a coalition of individuals from freepress.net has been working to save the Internet.

They work to spread awareness about what they believe are serious threats to the Internet’s survival as a tool for communication and democracy.

Karr narrated a PowerPoint presentation that covered some of the history of mass communication and then centered the discussion on the Internet. Net neutrality — which he referred to as “the first amendment of the Internet” – - is the way the Web is currently configured. It is a free and open playing field where the Web sites of large, powerful companies must compete for the public’s attention with bloggers and YouTube.

This atmosphere — which, according to savetheinternet.com, is good for small business and is an unprecedented platform for free speech — is also fertile ground for innovation. Upstarts with great ideas — like Google, eBay and MySpace — have grown into business giants on the strength of public support. This could all go away over time if net neutrality is removed, Karr said.

Internet service providers and other corporate giants have expressed the desire to remove neutrality from the Internet, and have spent fortunes on Capitol Hill trying to get the obstacles removed.

They want to be able to charge Web sites for providing service to them.

In other words, the Web sites that load the fastest will be the ones that can pay the most. In an interview with Business Week Online, Ed Whitacre, CEO of SBC Communications, said, “Why should they be allowed to use my pipes? The Internet can’t be free in that sense.”

ISPs such as Verizon would also begin to favor themselves if neutrality were to be removed.

“Verizon could block or slow access to iTunes, so you will have to use their music store instead of Apple’s,” Karr said.

So what has savetheinternet.com done to stem the landslide of money and influence? The stated purpose of freepress.net is to “engage the public in media policy debates.” They have been trying to keep the interests of mass media conglomerates from influencing policy makers in Washington to the point where the Internet is no longer neutral.

In an effort to spread the word, the activists for the issue inundated MySpace, Facebook, the streets outside senators’ offices and the mailboxes of those senators with protest. Karr estimated elected officials have received 1.5 million letters on the topic from concerned citizens.

The 2006 Congress came to a close without any legislation in favor of removing neutrality from the Internet.

“They (corporations) didn’t count on the public understanding the issue and getting mad,” Karr said.

Karr described to the students in Scott Hall on Rutgers’ College Avenue campus how the mass media is a vital tool to a healthy democracy.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Tensions were high as afternoon turned to dusk, and residents of Brazoria, Texas, wanted the conflict resolved. Young and old, white and black, all wanted their chance at the microphone to voice their concerns to the mayor and city council.

Everyone had a different reason for not wanting a city ordinance banning the use of a certain racial slur. Not only because of the $500 fine, but because not everyone has the same standards of morality.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a ban of the word by entertainers in late November, just one day after comedian Michael Richards appeared on Jackson’s radio show to apologize for his racist rant the week before.

Jackson’s call for a ban wasn’t accepted well by some entertainers, and it is one of many efforts some perceive as trying to impose morality upon the masses.

Some legislators, including Louisiana state Rep. William Daniel of Baton Rouge, think morality issues will be more frequently discussed and voted on in the future.

“I think it is growing,” Daniel said. “I think religious issues are best left to religious places. It becomes very difficult to separate what is a religious issue from a legal issue.”

Daniel said morality issues are the hardest to debate because there is no right and no wrong. Stem cell research has been debated on the floor of the Louisiana House of  Representatives in past years, and Daniel said lawmakers will raise the issue again in future legislative sessions. He said he thinks stem cell research is an issue of science rather than morals.

Across the South in Plains, Ga., some residents in the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter are calling for a crackdown on low-waisted pants.

Members of the Plains City Council said they plan to ask the town’s attorney to determine if they have the authority to regulate the fad known as “sagging.” They said it offends some of the town’s 600 residents and could defer some of the 68,000 tourists.

“It’s gotten to the place where it borders on indecent exposure,” said Councilman Eugene Edge to the Associated Press. “We have a lot of tourists coming here. To have a lot of young men walking around like that, it creates a bad image of the place.”

In 2004, Louisiana lawmakers rejected a similar proposal. The bill would have made it a crime to wear clothing in public that “intentionally exposes” undergarments or certain body parts.

In South Dakota, legislators introduced anti-abortion bill Wednesday that supporters think will lead to a legal challenge of Roe v. Wade. The issue was decided by constituents in a November election, where it failed 56 percent to 44 percent but has since resurfaced.

In Utah a state House committee voted Tuesday six to two to ban abortion, setting the stage for a legal battle if the bill is signed into law. The committee sent the measure to the full House.

As moral legislation continues to draw media attention, University political science professor Jas Sullivan, who specializes in racial and ethnic politics, said morality could become a centerpiece of political platforms for candidates seeking office.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Talent during this year’s midterm elections and did so with the help of actor Michael J. Fox.

The former actor, who battles Parkinson’s Disease, appeared in television commercials that endorsed McCaskill and her backing of stem cell research. The advertisement influenced national attention to the issue and proved moral issues can define a political campaign.

“People are raised to have certain and different types of values,” Sullivan said. “Abortion is a classic example. It’s a values issue. People have their opinions. You usually can’t change people’s mind. You usually can’t convince people because these are deeply rooted values. You can pass all the legislation you want, but people will make a decision.”

The first female Speaker of the House has proved to be a mover and a shaker. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has passed six bills through the House of Representatives within her first two weeks of taking control.

One highlight of the Democratic agenda is to make higher education more affordable. Pelosi’s initial plan was passed through the House at alarming speed, which was a bill that is proposed to gradually cut the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans in half. The interest rate on federally subsidized student loans is now 6.8%; Pelosi plans to cut that to 3.4% over the next five years.

A federally subsidized student loan is a need based-loan. The lender takes into account the cost of tuition, board and living expenses. An unsubsidized loan is not based on need.

The bill was widely popular receiving a 356-71 vote. Democrats voted 232-0, while Republicans voted 124-71. During Pelosi’s “first hundred hours,” she has passed the
aforementioned six bills at an intense pace.

The student loan bill was rushed through the opening days of congress without hearings, debate or committee authorization.

The student loan bill is expected to get caught up in the Senate where Democratic Senators plan to make the bill more comprehensive.

The proposal will only drop the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans to 6.12% on loans taken out after July 1, 2007. Two years from now (Jan. 2009) the interest rate will have dropped to 4.76%. Only 29% of students taking out federal loans will be eligible for the breaks that this bill offers.

“I would rather see them make money available that is not a loan,” said Director of Financial Aid Lisa Siudym.

One of the main criticisms of this proposal is that it does nothing to slow the constantly rising cost of college tuition, while spending $6 billion of taxpayers’ money. It only helps students while they are paying back loans instead of possibly helping with the cost of college.

“Every year it seems students have to borrow more money because the cost keeps rising,” Siudym said.

Western Senior Jamie Sanger is one of many students who will benefit very little if any from this bill.

“I would have liked to have seen a bill like this pass four or five years ago,” she said. “It would have helped me quite a bit then, but I am glad to see that the government is making an effort to make college more affordable.”

Democrats are still unsure exactly where the $6 billion will come from, but speculations are that other federal student loan programs could be removed completely to fund this bill.

AMES, Iowa – The state of Texas has given all who want to enforce the Texas-Mexican border the job of security guards.

Texas has launched a virtual border patrol, using the Internet to broadcast images from 10 cameras set up on the border. Individuals can log on to Texasborderwatch.com, set up a free account and obtain access to the cameras’ images. Officials have asked citizens to log on and report any suspicious activity.

Patricia Hamm, assistant professor of political science and U.S. Latino/a studies program assistant, said Sept. 11, 2001, had a sizable impact on immigration policy within the Untied States. With the threat of terrorism, the potential terrorists and unauthorized immigrants have been considered as one problem and efforts have been concentrated to our southern border.

“The idea is that they [terrorists] are likely to come from the south rather than from the north, [but] there is no logical explanation for that,” she said.

James McCormick, professor of political science and department chairman, agreed that the events of Sept. 11, 2001, had a large impact, specifically on the formation of U.S. foreign policy and border enforcement.

“I think that immigration has always been a perennial issue, but I think with 9/11, we had a bit of a jump-start on the concern about the border,” he said.

The success of programs similar to Texas’ are hard to measure because of the absence of effective data collecting, McCormick said.

“Part of the problem is we don’t have a handle on exactly how much border flow there is, so it’s hard to get real, hard data in terms of the success of the program,” he said.

The reasons why individuals come to the United States illegally are not being dealt with, which has caused some to believe there is another answer, Hamm said.

She said these people have proposed to increase the opportunities to come here illegally.

Hamm said right now, the number of legal visas is very limited. Those who want to come work in the United States and are being recruited by employers are unable to come.

The cameras are encouraging citizens to take the law into their own hands, Hamm said.

“It’s kind of like, in a way, encouraging vigilantism, except you are safer [and] you are just at home,” she said. Due to the recent shift of power in Congress, Hamm believes things will change soon.

“Chances are, we’re going to see changes in direction of immigration policy,” Hamm said. She predicted less support for border enforcement and more support for legalization and guest worker programs.

As an immigrant from El Salvador, Victoria Munoz, senior in Spanish, understands what drives immigrants to come here illegally. “There was no other way to come legally, so we had to come here illegally,” she said. Munoz has since become a legal resident, but doesn’t think the cameras will stop people from coming.

Mario Iniguez, graduate student in interdisciplinary graduate studies, agreed.

The harder the government makes it to get across the border, the more likely they will settle here permanently, Iniguez said. He also said he wondered what the true motivation behind this is.

“It sounds like propaganda to fire up the Minutemen,” he said.

Both Munoz and Iniguez said that immigration reform is the answer. Munoz said the current system treats immigrants from different countries unequally.

“They need to come up with a system that is fair,” she said.

The problem is with the current system of immigration, not the current system of enforcement, Iniguez said.

“It’s not broken borders, it’s broken policy,” he said.

The contentious Amendment 2 has three main points of debate and/or confusion that has caused opponents and proponents to launch commercials and Web sites, often contradicting each other.

In an attempt to provide a description of the amendment’s language, along with the technical and ethical issues, an informational forum took place at Missouri Western on Oct. 20 with professor of biology Todd Eckdahl and assistant professor of philosophy Steve Morris.

“The more people can understand the science, the better,” Eckdahl said.

Eckdahl said that it is important for people to use the correct language when discussing cloning, for which there are three types.

“We need to use the term cloning differentially,” Eckdahl said. “The Amendment is very clear. It is incorrect to say (they) are the same.”

First, molecular cloning has been happening since the 70s. Second, organismal cloning is, as the name implies, cloning of a whole being such as with the infamous Dolly.

However, according to the official summary by the Missouri Secretary of State, “No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being.” Furthermore, the amendment makes a violation a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment for violators.

The third type of cloning is that which Amendment 2 deals with, which is cellular cloning. This is copies of cells, not genes.

Embryonic stem cells can become any of the 220 types of adult cells. By contrast, adult stem cells found in a tissue can yield all the specialized cell types of that particular tissue.

“There is more flexibility among embryonic cells than adult stem cells,” Morris said.

Currently, adult stem cells have yielded treatments for nine conditions, most of which are blood cancers, Eckdahl said. However, with further research, it may be possible to use adult stem cells in the future to treat Parkinson’s, type 1 diabetes and heart attacks. Eckdahl said that in his opinion he does not believe that adult stem cell research will suffer if Amendment 2 is passed.

“Stem cells could be directed to develop into various cell types: neurons for Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury, heart muscle cells for heart failure, cartilage for arthritis, pancreatic cells for diabetes and new myelin-producing cells for MS,” Eckdahl wrote in his presentation.

In addition, stem cells could be used for research for organ replacement, to study a patient’s disease progression or drug response and may help scientists to understand cancer and birth defects.

Eckdahl spoke about three different ways to glean embryonic stem cells: in vitro fertilization (IVF), somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and from preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

Since 1981, IVF has resulted in 200,000 babies, but tens of thousands of IVF embryos are produced each year. The unused embryos are destroyed. Stem cells could be extracted from these. However, Eckdahl also said that these embryos are unlikely to be compatible with a given patient.

Morris said that the vast majority of about 400,000 stem cell stores will be destroyed. “The stem cells that would be allocated have been frozen,” Morris said.

With SCNT, which is a major point of argument for many, the nucleus is removed from the egg, fused with a donor cell and fertilization is simulated. The blastocyst is formed after five days and stem cells extracted from the inner cell mass. These embryonic cells would have histocompatibility with donor.

PGD technology is currently used with IVF embryos and more research is proposed. If this technology is successful, one cell can be removed from a 16-cell stage, and the remaining 15 cells are a viable embryo. However, more research needs to be done with this technology.

“As it stands right now, it hasn’t been perfected,” Morris said. “I think all sides would indicate this a road to follow.”

Perhaps if an embryo were not destroyed in the process, the debate would end. However, students and community members at the forum brought up other points of debate.

For example, one woman believed that this amendment would open the door for women to be exploited for their eggs. However, the summary by the S.O.S. says that it is illegal for a woman to profit from the sale of her eggs. In addition, it states that no human blastocyst may be produced by fertilization solely for the purpose of stem cell research.

Still others believe that this amendment will open the floodgates.

“Some people don’t understand that this amendment will open avenues for other amendments, which will change science’s role with how life is dealt with,” senior JJ Ray said.

Another point made by a community member was that harvesting the eggs is a dangerous procedure for women. However, Eckdahl pointed out that the process is exactly the same as that used for in vitro fertilization for couples.

“I’m not a medical doctor, but the doctors I have talked to say the risk is minimal,” Eckdahl said. Eckdahl said that if the amendment passes, stem cell research will remain at its status quo. If it fails, nothing will change.

“This amendment can be viewed as a defensive action,” Eckdahl said.

The approved initiative petition for the proposed amendment states, “on and after January 1, 2007, a tax equal to four cents per cigarette and twenty percent of the manufacturer’s invoice price before discounts and deals on other tobacco products shall be levied and imposed upon the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.”

Many tobacco users, manufactures and sellers have retaliated against the proposal by displaying signs that urge citizens to, “Vote ‘no’ on Amendment 3,” saying, “Enough is enough,” and to, “Vote ‘no’ on tax abuse.”

The Committee for a Healthy Future is in favor of Amendment 3. This organization claims it is, “a citizen initiative backed by those who care about the health of all Missourians, including health care professionals, physicians, and health care organizations.”

The Committee’s website states, “It is important to get serious about the state’s health and future.”

Missouri currently has one of the highest smoking rates in America, but its tobacco tax is the second lowest. Missouri ranks last in funding for smoking prevention programs.” The Committee’s solution to these problems is the Constitutional Amendment 3 on November 2006 ballot.

The initiative petition for this amendment states it is “for the sole and exclusive purpose of providing additional moneys to be expended and used only for tobacco use education, prevention and cessation programs and initiatives and the improvement of health care access and treatment in both urban and rural areas of the state.”

Sara Bovard, a sophomore nursing major, said she believes the amendment is a good thing and has a good cause behind it.

“I think it is a good idea to start taxing people because it will get some people to quit smoking,” Bovard said. “Some people will say, ‘Hey, I don’t want to pay more just to kill myself,’ and they will quit.”

Bovard doesn’t agree with the statement “tax abuse” because the moneys acquired will go towards prevention and health care.

Junior Heather Porter, an occasional smoker, said she will probably vote for Amendment 3 but doesn’t think it will pass. Porter’s assumption comes from the lack of signs and visual support for the amendment.

Students are advised to look into all matters before voting Nov. 7.

—

FYI: Amendment 3 is not limited to cigarettes
Other tobacco products include:
- cigarette papers
- cigars
- smokeless tobacco
- chewing tobacco
- smoking tobacco
- clove cigarettes
- other products with tobacco substitute containing nicotine

For the past nine years minimum wage has remained the same at $5.15 an hour despite the spike in gas prices, a rise in the cost of living and an increase in the cost of food. Many arguments have been made in favor and in opposition of raising Missouri’s minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. Minimum wage has lost its real purchasing power and has fallen to historically low levels.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 22 states plus the District of Colimbia have increased their minimum wages above the federal rate.

Patrick McMurry, professor of economics at Missouri Western believes that Missouri’s minimum wage should not be raised.

“Minimum wage is aimed at heads of households with families at or below the poverty line,” McMurry said.

According to the EPI, over a quarter of a million low-wage workers would benefit from a raise in minimum wage.

McMurry refutes that minimum wage would not effect a lot of people. He also claimed that 53 percent of the people that receive minimum wage are under the age of 25.

The EPI states that raising the minimum wage would not cause job losses. In 1998, EPI study failed to find job loss associated with the 1996-97 minimum wage increase. In fact, following the minimum wage increase, the low-wage labor market performed better than it had in decades, meaning there was lower unemployment rates, increased average hourly wages and increased family income.

Linda Garlinger, director of Career Development, agrees with McMurry that minimum wage does not need to be raised. She also believes that if minimum wage is increased, outsourcing could ensue.

“I think the numbers of jobs would decrease because companies could not afford to hire as many people,” Garlinger said. “There is always the possibility that people will decide to move those jobs to other countries.”

She also said that the service jobs would not move to different countries but that employers might decide to give these workers a salary, which might work out to them making less than minimum wage.

According to EPI, an analysis of the 2005 Current Population Survey reveals that the workers potentially affected by a minimum wage increase are mainly adults who work full-time and provide significant income to their families. A boost in Missouri’s minimum wage would also affect the 102,000 children of these workers.

McMurry disagrees. He estimated that around 60 percent of minimum wage workers worked parttime. He also said that a big chunk of minimum wage workers come from families that make much more than the minimum wage.

“If you want to help the working poor, this is not the way to do it,” McMurry said. “Help the working class with earned income tax credit. Let the working poor keep more of their income.”

Garlinger suggests education and training to be the missing pieces with this issue.

“The government does a good job of providing educational opportunities for people,” Garlinger said.

Claire McCaskill is in favor of raising the minimum wage.

According to her website, claireonline.com, McCaskill believes Missouri’s workers deserve a long and overdue raise and supports increasing the minimum wage.

Jim Talent hasn’t taken a stand on the minimum wage issue.

If the Missourians vote to increase minimum wage, the measure will become effective on Jan. 1, 2007 and will rise each year with inflation.