Zumba instructor, Jamie Gilpin, sings along as he among other instructors lead the group through the morning Zumba session. Photo by Jason Brown

The participants work in a couple more quick stretches before Bagley screams out “Let’s shake it!”

Then the music begins.

Last Saturday, Jan. 21, 525 people (counting Max the Griffon) made an appearance at the 2nd Annual Zumba in the Room-ba, which was an increase from a total 498 at last year’s event. Unfortunately, 525 was not enough to break the existing record.

“I wish we would’ve set the Guinness, but that’s cool that we at least beat our record from last year,” student Hannah Strasser said. “We’ll just keep getting better, hopefully.”

Although St. Joseph did not break the Guinness World Record, it is still recorded as a personal best at 525, which also led to raising around $10,000 for the YWCA Choices Program (which focuses on issues facing adolescent girls and helps the girls to increase their life skills and to make good life choices) and Western Women’s Athletics.

Wendy Hickman, who works for the Choices Program, was very pleased with how the event turned out.

“I thought it was great; it was fun, it was energetic and everybody seemed to be having a good time — and it was all for a good cause,” Hickman said.

Hickman also said the donations going toward the Choices Program will help by allowing speakers to come and talk to the girls involved in it.

Not only did the Choices Program benefit from the event, however.

After dancing the Zumba for a straight hour, the instructors and contestants were undoubtedly gleaming with sweat and sporting smiles. Strasser, who couldn’t make it to Zumba in the Room-ba last year, enjoyed the event.

“It was really fun,” Strasser said. “All the instructors did really well.”

There were a lot more instructors this year, and Zumba leaders, like Jaclyn Ziesel, were really looking forward to Zumba in the Room-ba this time around.

“It was awesome, we were so excited to do it,” Ziesel said. “Coming from doing it from last year, we were for sure we wanted to do it.”

Although the event is over for this year, Hickman is already looking to the future.

“I’m looking forward to next year.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are many intramural sports a student can participate in, varying from the always popular and competitive flag football to a more relaxed sport like bowling. Other available intramurals are powder puff football, billiards, kickball, badminton, volleyball, racquetball, and dodge ball.

To sign up to play an intramural sport all one has to do is go to the Front Service Desk in the Looney Complex and fill out an entry form, stating what sport, if they need a team or already have assembled a team to do battle with.

“A student should play intramurals because it gets them engaged in the university experience itself, it gets them out of their dorm rooms, and allows them to meet other students and extend their high school years of sports activity,” Recreational Services Facilities director Wonda Berry said.

This year the Recreational Services wants to appeal to everyone, they are going to try to have sports for students with disabilities so they too can have fun.

“We want everyone to get the most out of their college experience,” Berry said.

Anyone that has any more questions should contact the Front Desk inside Looney Complex at (816) 271-5604.

Transition about Steve Potter.

“Everyone handles what life gives them differently. Some people just need to talk it out with themselves,” Potter said. “It’ll take time to master a way that works for you. Sometimes people just need to recharge their batteries and do things that they enjoy doing.”

Anyone that has a job and goes to school knows what it is like to have to create time management for yourself to get things done. Having to be at work by 4:30, getting out of class at 3:00 and figuring out how you’re going to get a paper done by tomorrow is just one prime example of a kind of stress we face.

“For me it is not as stressful as it once was, since I now work here on campus and go to school,” Senior Shannon Ebling said. “With working here it gives me more time to get homework done, and unlike other jobs, here at Missouri Western they will work more around your school schedule.”

So who is more stressed? College-aged or middle-aged people?

“I’ve been to college once before, and honestly I think it varies on the individual,” Non-traditional student Marilyn Colboch said. “Everyone’s circumstances in their lives are different, and how they deal with them are different as well.”

On Oct. 29, free massages were given out by physical therapy majors in Eder Hall 208. For the students that were in attendance for the stress management seminar, this would be an added little treat for them.

“The massage was amazing, it felt really good. I could almost feel every negative thing in my body just melting away,” Freshman Katie O’Toole said. “Sometimes you just have to unwind and let everything go.”

If you are having problems in any part of your life, school, work, family, friends, or relationships perhaps you could consider counseling.

The counseling center here at Missouri Western is located in room 203 of Eder Hall. Counselors are there Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. You can simply go into their office or call them at (816) 271-4327 to set up an appointment.

“That’s right, Missouri Western knows how to act,” Duskey said.

The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship is given to encourage, recognize and celebrate the finest and most diverse work produced in university and college theater programs.

They will travel to Oklahoma in January to compete in the Regional Finals. Only four to six participants from each region will be selected to move on to the National Finals that take place in Washington, D.C., early in the spring semester.

“It definitely is a very prestigious honor,” Duskey said. “To be recognized for what you’ve done on stage just feels really good. Hopefully we can continue all of this and one of us will win that scholarship.”

A $500 scholarship is awarded to the winners of the regional portion of the competition. The two winners in Washington, D.C., will each be awarded a $2,500 scholarship to pay for tuition and fees to further their education, not necessarily limited to theater full-time Scholarship winners must maintain full-time status and have a 2.5 GPA.

Director of “Romeo and Juliet” Tee Quillin says, “It is absolutely wonderful to see these Theatre majors getting some recognition for the acting that they have done. Hopefully in January we will be seeing Missouri Western move onto nationals at the Kennedy Center, and ‘bring home the hardware,’ and make our university and our Theatre department proud.”

With all of the prestige that this scholarship has swirling around it, it is not hard to imagine that one would be excited about being nominated.

“I’m ecstatic. This is really my first year getting back into acting,” Noe said. “To be recognized like this is a great, and [I] definitely didn’t expect this to happen.”

Although Phi Beta Sigma has over 150,000 men in over 650 chapters in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, President Arion Duncan and member Niyaa Daniels are trying to stay focused on increasing their membership on campus

Phi Beta Sigma adviser Ronald Cohen wanted to reactivate the Alpha Beta Nu chapter because he felt there was a need for students to have more opportunities on campus.

“I have a passion for student success, most specifically students of color and their advancement,” Cohen said. “I know a lot of times that students of color on this campus don’t get presented with a lot of opportunities, so they don’t take them. For me that was really important to get more people involved in Greek life.”

Phi Beta Sigma is among the few black Greek letter fraternities and sororities who are struggling on the Missouri Western campus to increase their membership. For any organization to be recognized on campus, they have to have at least five members, where as Phi Beta Sigma only has two.

Phi Beta Sigma member Daniels is staying optimistic and believes they can use what they were taught to keep their chapter alive.

 “Seeing that we just crossed, it’s only us two,” Daniels said. “It’s tough because we don’t have any experience in running an organization, and we’re basically going off what we were taught.”

Duncan said that they are getting a lot of support from different institutions such as University of Missouri-Kansas City, Northwest Missouri State University and Kansas University to help them run their organization.

Duncan and Daniels aren’t taking the opportunity they were giving lightly, because they know that they must increase in number by next fall or their chapter will be deactivated.

Phi Beta Sigma is planning new programs to get their name out on campus. They participated in Pink Week and have upcoming events such as PBS Jeopardy and a panel discussion on issues students often face the most in college.

Duncan thought a program that went really well was the Sigma trash pickup.

“We thought it would be a good idea to take out the residence trash because they get to see us, and we are also doing service, which is very important,” Duncan said.

Cohen encourages any student that is interested in any Greek fraternity to know that they’re always being observed once they show that they may be interested.

“It’s always important that you can present a strong forefront to make people interested in you,” Cohen said. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘character is doing the right thing when no one is watching you’.” 

Cohen said the most important thing is making sure that they are academically ready to become a part of an organization.

Nationally, Phi Beta Sigma requires its members to be men who attend a four year college or university on a semester system, have a minimum of 12 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 2.5.

Duncan knew Phi Beta was something he wanted to be a part of after doing his research.

“I chose Phi Beta Sigma because I did my research on the rest of the fraternities of the Divine Nine,” Duncan said. “They somehow had a stereotype, and you had to change your personality to fit theirs, and that’s not what I was all about.”

Duncan valued this aspect of Phi Beta Sigma because he knew he could be himself.

“Phi Beta Sigma is willing to accept anyone who is willing to do the work,” Duncan said. “You have to be able to bring something to Phi Beta Sigma; they’re not here to change you whatever qualities you have. They’re there to enhance them, not change them.”

Student Affairs will be putting on Casino Night which includes poker, Russian roulette, slot machines, black jack and bingo. Students can win several prizes from a toothpaste and toothbrush basket to an iPad. Food will also be offered as well as a photo booth with a Christmas-type background that students can take goofy pictures in front of.

Casino Night in Blum Thursday, Dec. 8 from 9 p.m. to midnight. The event is free for students who have their ID. Residential Assistant Derek Thompson encourages students to attend Casino Night.

“I would recommend people to come to this event because it is a great way to take a break from studying for finals by playing casino games with your friends, and, if you’re lucky, you can win some pretty cool prizes,” Thompson said.

Another event that may take students’ minds off their finals would be Finals Fun Night on Friday, Dec. 9 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. put on by WAC. On the second floor of Blum, students will have the opportunity to wrestle in sumo suits, play on inflatables like an inflatable Twister and play Just Dance on the Wii.

All the different rooms (besides the DJ dance room) are competition-based, so students have a chance to win various prizes including bookstore gift cards.

“We really like to give away the bookstore gift cards just because people are always complaining that it’s really expensive to buy anything from there,” WAC Vice President Lauren Dillon said. “We like to put the money right back into Missouri Western.”

Students win the prizes by accumulating raffle tickets and being drawn. Right when a student walks in the door, they will receive one raffle ticket so every student has at least one chance to win. However, to increase the chances of being drawn, the students must win the competitions to receive more raffle tickets.

If students would rather dance, another room will be set up for dancing and student Nick Niemeier will be DJ-ing. Finals Fun Night won’t be his first time DJ-ing at Western.

“I’ve DJ-ed for WAC sponsored events in the past and really enjoy doing them, so I immediately booked it,” Niemeier said.

Niemeier, who has been DJ-ing since 2007, said there will be a professional DJ set-up, a wide variety of music and music videos along with an L.E.D light show. Niemeier hopes students will come and enjoy their time in his dance room.

“My goals for the evening are to make sure the students have a great time and hopefully take part in memories they will forever have from MWSU,” Niemeier said.

Finally, Sunday Dec. 11, the last night before finals, WAC will be putting on Midnight Breakfast in Blum from 10 p.m. to midnight. Students will be able to enjoy some pancakes and other breakfast-type foods all while being able to dance and win prizes.

In order to win prizes, students will be given a raffle ticket. Drawings will be held every 15 minutes, and they can win bookstore gift cards, movies, video games, etc.

Don’t miss out on the final opportunities of the semester to win some prizes.

Elizabeth Boone practicing the first step in self defense by taking stance and yelling “back!”

Fifteen year veteran of the St. Joseph Department of Corrections Elizabeth Boone, who taught the course, explains how important self defense is, due to the growing crime rate in St. Joseph and on campus.

“I’ve seen St. Joe change so much within the last ten years,” Boone said. “I’ve seen more violence. Just in the last year, we’ve seen more shootings. We’ve seen more assaults. Even on campus, we had two rapes last year. That is two too many.”

Boone, who has been teaching self-defense for 14 years and has taught thousands of men and women defensive techniques, feels that this class should be especially beneficial for female students.

“When they’re attacked it takes a lot of control from a female,” Boone said. “Women are seen generally as the weaker sex, and for the most part we are. But I think that this empowers them. They need to be empowered because rape and assault is all about power and control. I think we need to gain power. I never want to see a female walking in fear.”

The class covered both floor fighting and breakaway techniques, which help divert an attacker.  ACA President and Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement major Clarissa Cudworth, who has worked with Boone in past events, felt that the class would help students be more aware of their surroundings and more prepared for a possible attack.

“We feel like there has been a lot of trouble on our campus with theft and not being aware of your surroundings,” Cudworth said. “We know in past few semesters it has been a lot of issues regarding crime on campus. We want students on campus to be able to defend and protect themselves in any given situation.”

Cudworth also explains the main goal for the ACA is helping and informing students. Eventually, the organization wants to be able to visit prisons to spread knowledge and gain a different perspective.

“The majority of our members at one point in time have been national members,” Cudworth said. “We put on events like this to help people be aware of things. ACA is doing their best to get campus and students involved in wanting to protect themselves and others, and if crime comes about, do something about it.”

Amber Lampe, a student who decided to take the class, felt the class would definitely make her feel more comfortable on campus.

“I know Missouri Western is a pretty safe campus, but sometimes I still feel uncomfortable walking by myself at night, ”Lampe said. “I felt this would be a good opportunity.”

Boone hopes that students will take extra caution in protecting themselves, as today’s criminals are continuing to become more dangerous.   “Since I work for the DOC I think the change and the type of inmates we get inside of the institution are just the worst,” Boone said. “They don’t care about life. They don’t care about property, except for their own.”

Misty Ballew (center), Daniel Banks (left), and many other Western students storm the field at halftime for a surprise performance.

“What is she doing?!”

Some students in the Missouri Western crowd at the rivalry football game were yelling at the Northwest Missouri State University students who had rushed to the middle of the field during half time last Saturday. Others were left scratching their heads.

“I was really confused,” onlooker Lauren Dillon said. “All I thought was, ‘Who are these jerks interrupting half time?’ after they came out behind the band members.”

Then she realized one of the “Northwest” students dancing was her friend Robin Ussher.

Ussher and the other three dancers ripped off their green and white clothing to reveal Western gear. The confusion was over; the crowd went wild. They continued breaking it down on the field while several other Western students (46 total to be exact) randomly joined in sync.

Six months ago, student Erin Williams began to think of ideas to market Missouri Western virally for her independent study. ‘How about a flash mob?’ she wondered. Williams took the idea to her teacher, Dallas Henry, and he was on board right away. Williams, her classmate Shaun Allison and Henry did a lot of research on flash mobs at different schools, but they weren’t very popular—which made the idea even more significant. There was one during a basketball game at Kansas University, but the students only did it in the stands, not on the court. Williams planned on having the flash mob actually on the playing field, which would separate Western’s flash mob even more from others.

Williams thought it would be a good idea to do the flash mob at half time during the Northwest football game because nobody would be expecting it. They originally chose Katy Perry’s “Firework” for the song, but then they changed it to The Black Eyed Peas’ “The Time (Dirty Bit).”

“We wanted a steady beat that was good enough to pump up the crowd,” Williams said. “We also wanted a song that the band could jump in and start playing.”

Williams, who has been dancing since she was 3 years old, was deemed the choreographer. She came up with the total choreography in two days, four hours apiece.

“I wanted a dance that was cool and easy to learn for people who don’t dance,” Williams said.

The next step was recruiting students and teaching them the steps.

Everything was approved Saturday before the game, so Williams had them rehearse that night. Only 12 showed up. However, more students became involved as they rehearsed three more times.

“Everybody caught on fast,” Williams said. “Our rehearsals only lasted about two hours each.”

The final time the students rehearsed was on the field the morning before the game. They kept the event pretty quiet, considering the band didn’t know anything about it until that morning. Williams had told the drum line about the flash mob in advance, and member Daniel Cole thought it was nice change for half time.

“I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out at first, but it was a cool idea that broke away from the same old routine of half time,” Cole said.

Henry and other Theatre & Cinema students set up a total of ten cameras around the stadium before the game. By the end of the second quarter, the “flash mobbers” started getting giddy.

“We were really looking forward to the response of the crowd; we wanted to see just how confused they were,” Williams said.

The crowd was confused all right. Two minutes into half time, the “Northwest” students followed the drum line as they left the field. When the music started, that was their cue. The students, like Dan Banks danced during the whole song and enjoyed every minute of it.

“It reminded me of the old days playing football in high school,” Banks said. “It was great to be in the center of the field again. I was hyped up.”

The main goal of the flash mob was to promote Western, and it has been going pretty well considering the YouTube video (which can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNBr3Osigkk) has received 1,622 hits after only two days of being uploaded.

Banks, who was one of the two cops in the flash mob, thought the video looked very professional because of all the different camera angles. He thought the experience of the flash mob was that much better because Western had defeated Northwest.

“We also won the game, which was just icing on the cake.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two sorority members teeter-tottering for the cause.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“When I came, I expected Americans to know where Kosovo is since the United States fought a war for us,” Halili said. “I was so disappointed!”

On Oct. 19 in Blum 219, as part of MWSU’s International Lecture Series, Halili spoke to approximately 40 students and community members and outlined Kosovo’s history and political issues, making an identification of its geographic location one of her first priorities.

An international migration and ethnic relations major at Sweden’s Malmo University, Halili began by saying that she and her family fled to Sweden during the tumultuous disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1992. She suggested that the widespread discrimination against Albanians, one of six ethnic groups in Kosovo and the one to which Halili belongs, played a major factor in the decision to leave as well. Although she calls Sweden her home now, Halili has a strong desire to return to Kosovo and use her degree to rectify some of its political problems.

“Even though the war is over, there is a lot of tension and conflict in Kosovo,” Halili said. “Hopefully, I will go back one day and try to solve it. There is hope.”

Western student Barry Hersh knows Halili personally and attended the presentation in support of her. He thought her devotion to Kosovo was evident in her speech.

“I’ve had a couple classes with her, and she’s very passionate about peace-building in Kosovo,” Hersh said.

Halili, who came to Western through a foreign exchange program with Malmo University, was asked about the significance of Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 . She said that the people of Kosovo are very grateful to the United States for its hand in their long-awaited liberation, sometimes even viewing Americans as heroes.

“It meant so much,” Halili said, in reference to the declaration. “That’s what they fought for. But now, they’re very skeptical because the situation isn’t improving.”

For Kosovo to endure its hardships, Halili believes there’s still a need for an international presence and a global awareness.

“Our government isn’t strong enough,” Halili said.” There are a lot of issues with corruption. Until we can solve these issues, we need the international community.”

Contrastingly, Halili doesn’t appear to have any needs. When asked about her adjustment as an international student, she said that there haven’t been any struggles, because she has friends that have made her feel very welcome.

Western counselor Steve Potter introduced Halili and spoke about the importance of the International Lecture Series,  which is sponsored by Western’s office of global engagement.

“It’s really about globalization,” Potter said. “It makes us aware of different cultures and ideas. It’s important to understand each other. I think if we do, good things will happen.”

Lafayette High School battles against Lathrop High School and numerous other bands at the Tournament of Champions on Tuesday, Oct. 11

There were 22 marching bands performing from all over, including some St. Joseph high schools that participated in the competition that lasted all afternoon.

So what point would there be for a Missouri Western student to attend a high school marching band competition?

Band Director Jeff Hinton says that, “It would be a good opportunity for a student to come out and see how we can perform outside of just a normal Saturday afternoon football halftime show. It would be a good time to really see what our band can do.”

Marching bands each were given a few minutes to showcase what it is that they have been practicing since the later part of this summer.

“We practice for about two hours every other day during a normal five-day week, and we have a morning band rehearsal just about every other day,” said percussionist Shannon Hart, a junior from Lafayette High School in Saint Joseph.

There are multiple people who help with the judging of the competition. There are two judges that were on the game field and a few that were up in the press booth.

Judges looked for specific things during each band’s performance to judge them on.  Some of the things that they are looking for are their marching fundamentals, the quality of the sound of each part of the band and also, how well each marching band stays in tune with one another.

The two field judges constantly spoke into tape recorders, giving live feedback to the marching bands.

“When we judge, we’re also commenting on things that can perhaps make them better,” said marching judge Dan Stecker. “We want these bands to continue to improve and perform at a high level. That what makes it so fun to watch them after all.”

And the bands even got creative: some integrate dance moves or even non-traditional instruments like the electric bass guitar. But through it all, the students involved say it is a difficult competition and it takes every bit of practice, determination and athleticism as most other typical sports.

“People say this isn’t a sport, but it takes a lot of dedication, and these drums get really heavy,” Hart said.

The competition ended with an awards ceremony and an exhibition performance from Missouri Western’s Golden Griffon Marching Band, which was led by Hinton.

“At the end of the competition, I want these high school marching bands to gain a feeling for what it would be like to be a part of the Missouri Western Marching Band,” Hinton said. “We want everyone to see what our band has to offer, so that everyone can see how we perform and see what we can bring to the table.”

“The idea is that everyone will want to take part in certain events throughout the week, such as ‘The Amazing Griff Race’ for instance,” Homecoming chairperson Taylor Kram said. “Each event will have a Griffon twist to them that hopefully will appeal to Western students and they will want to come to these events.”

Many various events will be taking place during Homecoming week, and some events are being looked as the highlights of the entire week themselves. Josh Blue, the homecoming headliner and winner of Last Comic Standing, will be performing Oct. 20, 8 p.m. inside the Looney Complex.

When asked about the events during the week of homecoming, Special Events Director Cody Sander had this to say, “I think there will be a really good turnout for ‘Last Griffon Standing’,” Sander said. “I want to see as many students as possible at all the things going on during homecoming, and I this is just another one of them.”

Also on the list of things during homecoming will be a food fight. No, not throwing food at one another like you may have imagined. Oct. 10-14, there will a campus wide food drive.

“With all the cans, the various organizations will be required to build a Can Castle,” Sander said. “Whoever is the most original and creative will win the ‘Food Fight’ taking place.”

There will also be a treasure hunt that anyone on campus can participate in. The treasure hunt starts at 8 a.m. on Oct. 17. For your first clue one needs to go to missouriwestern.edu/homecoming.

“For anyone interested at all, the first place prize of the treasure hunt is a 32 inch High-Definition television,” Sander said.

So if all the events taking place during the week are meant to be as real as possible, what about the possible candidates that are going to represent the Homecoming court? What should a Missouri Western Homecoming King or Queen be like?

“Typically what we are looking for in a candidate is someone who is involved around campus and takes great pride in this university,” 2010 Homecoming Queen Laura Schneider said. “We want someone who is going to represent the school well and give a good name to Missouri Western.”

To be a homecoming candidate one needs to be a full-time student and also maintain a 2.5 GPA. Once a candidate makes it through the judging and too court, they must attend all the homecoming events during homecoming week.

“It is important for the candidates to be seen by everyone on campus,” Director of Awards and Judging Morgan Lindgren said. “The students need to get a feel for who these candidates are so they can decide who they want to vote for.”

With everything that is going on during homecoming week, the people coordinating all of it hope it all well and according to plan. And hopefully, every Griffon keeps it real.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recently appointed Director of Entertainment Sebastian Smith rocks out to Journey's Don't Stop Believing

A hopeful student approaches the mike as the huge crowd stops their laughter and awaits the upcoming talent. The student is scared yet confident that their voice will harmonize like the brilliant tones of a canary. Yet as the words come along the screen, the student realizes that he doesn’t know exactly how the song goes, causing him to hum what he doesn’t know and below out the little amount know as that of an angry black crow. This was the normal talent that graced the stage of the WAC Karoke night, held in Blum food court on Tuesday, Oct. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m..

WAC president Robin Ussher felt having the karaoke show in the food court  would be more beneficial for student enjoyment and would spark student attendance at WAC events. The show, which had numerous people in attendance either awaiting to perform or stopping by as they were waiting for food, had the most student participation in a single event for the entire year.

“It’s something different that WAC has never really done before,” Ussher said. “I did some research and I found “Karaoke Productions” from Kansas City, Missouri and she had a really cool package with music videos and lights and stuff that would really make it fun for everybody that came out for it. We decided to give it a try.”

Around 30 to 35 people showed Western their gums as they sang along to Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Journey and Lauren Hill. Some came in groups, others came in pairs and some crooners flocked to the mike solo. Yet everyone showed what they can do; both the good and the ugly.

“I like the way this works because it’s not a matter of people committing to go,” Ussher said. “Things for like the talent show and other events, people have to decide that they are going and have to go out of their way to go to it. This event is kind of hard to miss. We are catching everybody at dinner time. They can make a split decision and boom they are here in attendance. It’s a lot of fun. A couple of our very own WAC members have been up there [singing] with very impressive voices.”

videos and lights and stuff that would really make it fun for everybody that came out for it. We decided to give it a try.”

Around 30 to 35 people showed Western their gums as they sang along to Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Journey and Lauryn Hill.

Some came in groups, others came in pairs and some crooners flocked to the mike solo. Yet everyone showed what they can do; both the good and the ugly.

“I like the way this works because it’s not a matter of people committing to go,” Ussher said. “Things for like the talent show and other events, people have to decide that they are going and have to go out of their way to go to it. This event is kind of hard to miss. We are catching everybody at dinner time. They can make a split decision, and boom: They are here in attendance. It’s a lot of fun. A couple of our very own WAC members have been up there [singing] with very impressive voices.”

Among these “impressive voices” was WAC Director of Entertainment Sebastian Smith who sang numerous times on the stage to daring songs such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Smith however, who recently received a job singing at World’s Of Fun as an entertainer, was one of the night’s highlighted singers and kept the crowd amused.

“Starting in November you can see me on the comedy city stage in downtown Kansas City doing improve,” Smith said. “[Singing] is a hobby that I would really like to explore in the future.”

Smith also feels that not only students but WAC members should focus on showing good attendance at events.

“We want to gain a lot of buzz about WAC,” Smith said. “Students are paying for these events in their tuition. As a member of WAC, you are planning, organizing and working these events. But you are also a student. If you want to participate in these event, chances are other students will to.

Whether karoke night was just a fun event catered for student enjoyment, or a revealing of Western talent and future celebrity singers and songwriters, the night will  definitely leave campus wanting more from WAC in their future events.

Charlonda Bozeman expresses how fun the show was and believes the location was a smart idea.

“Having it in the food court is common because everybody hangs out there and it is a popular spot,” Bozeman said. “WAC events are important to attend to be social to have something to do. It is good to get your name out there.

On Oct. 29 physical therapy majors in Eder Hall 208 hosted a stress management seminar. The 14 students that were in attendance were also treated to a free massage.
For Katie O’Toole, a massage is exactly what she needed.

“The massage was amazing, it felt really good. I could almost feel every negative thing in my body just melting away,” O’Toole said. “Sometimes you just have to unwind and let everything go.”

There can be many reasons why someone is stressed out, but there are also many ways to handle stress. Counselor Steve Potter, who was the presenter at the stress management seminar, presented some of the ways students can deal with the stress in their life.

“I practice what I preach, everyone handles what life gives them differently,” Potter said. “Some people just need to talk it out with themselves. It’ll take time to master a way that works for you. Sometimes people just need to recharge their batteries and do things that they enjoy doing.”

Time management may be difficult for college students but it is important for success. Balancing work, school and everything in between is something that

“For me it is not as stressful as it once was, since I now work here on campus and go to school,” Shannon Ebling said. “With working here it gives me more time to get homework done, and unlike other jobs, here at Missouri Western, they will work more around your school schedule.”

On a campus with a large non-traditional population, older students like Marilyn Colboch, usually have more on their plate than traditional students.

“I’ve been to college once before, and honestly I think it varies on the individual,” Colboch said. “Everyone’s circumstances in their lives are different, and how they deal with them are different as well.”

Regardless of age, students who are having trouble managing their stress should consider counseling.

The counseling center at Missouri Western is located in room 203 of Eder Hall. Counselors are there Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. You can simply go into their office or call them at (816) 271-4327 to set up an appointment.

There are many intramural sports a student can participate in, varying from the always popular and competitive flag football to a more relaxed sport like bowling. Other available intramurals are powder puff football, billiards, kickball, badminton, volleyball, racquetball and dodge ball.

Recreational Services Facilities Director Wonda Berry said, “A student should play intramurals because it gets them engaged in the university experience itself. It gets them out of their dorms, and allows them to meet other students and extend their high school years of sports activity.”

For someone to sign up to play an intramural sport all one has to do is go to the Front Service Desk in the Looney Complex and fill out an entry form, stating what they’re wanting to take part in, if they need a team or already have assembled a team to do battle with.

This year the Recreational Services Department wants to appeal to everyone.They are going to try to have sports for students with disabilities so they too can have fun.

Some of these sports have to be modified to suit certain participant’s particular needs. But the people that run the Recreational Services Department say that will not even be a problem and that they love the challenges that are presented to them to try and satisfy everyone’s wishes.

Some of the sports that could possibly be in the works for people with disabilities to play are disk golf and wheelchair basketball. Here at Missouri Western, they really strive for there to be something for everyone that wants to partake in some activity.

“We want everyone to get the most out of their college experience,” Berry said.

Like most students that go out for intramural sports, many of them are excited to play if they’ve been a part of it in the past. As for the newcomers, they are not sure of what to really expect.

“I am ready to whip up on some people, I am ready to do work son!” Freshman Justin Berry, who plans to play flag football, said.

While some appear ecstatic, pumped up and ready to go, others seem a little hesitant and don’t know what to expect with what kind of experience an intramural sport will bring them.

“I wanted to play last year, but I wasn’t sure if it was for me or not; maybe I’ll go out this year.” Sophomore Neva Kidwell, who is thinking about playing volleyball, said.

Most of the intramural sports will take place on Monday-Thursday and usually will go from 5-10 p.m. So if you have the time to play, maybe you should give it a shot. You may find it to be one of your best experiences while you are in college.

Anyone that has any more questions should contact the Front Desk inside Looney Complex at (816) 271-5604.

James Goodrich, the father of a Central Missouri student, flips burgers on a grill during a tailgating event here Saturday. The tailgating event was part of the family day festivities hosted here this weekend.

Missouri Western State University Family Day Sept. 9 and 10.

The event included a free showing of “Thor,” a 5 and 10 km. walk/run, a free pancake brunch, viewings at the planetarium, tailgating before the football game and various other activities.

The University hosts similar events every year.

“Tailgating is always a family event, but it’s nice to know that the University cares about us,” said Andre Dean Lance, a 14 year old who attended part of the events.

Hundreds of students and their family members took advantage of the free activities despite occasionally having to brave less than ideal weather.

“When we first got here it was raining pretty hard,” said Rodney Saunders, the father of a Missouri Western student. “After that it was off and on throughout the day.”

The rain couldn’t keep the spirits of the families down as many kept doing what they were doing despite the rain.

“A little rain isn’t enough to keep us away from doing something like this,” said Saunders.

Many of the activities such as brunch, the planetarium tour and a free tour of the sports complex did not require the risk of getting wet.

“Thankfully, there was always something to do when it started raining,” said Lance. “It was a fun way to keep dry and entertained.”

Once the main activities for the day were finished, the families and other Missouri Western fans got together for a tailgating bash, which included food, drinks, Frisbee and other games.

“Tailgating might be the best part,” said Saunders. “You get to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends while knowing that there’s plenty of food and good will to go around. It doesn’t hurt that watching football afterward is always a blast.”

The Griffons delivered for the families during the game dismantling Central Missouri 23-6.

“Hypnosis” is the Greek word for “sleep,” which is what Master Hypnotist Tony Lucero specializes in. Thanks to the Western Activities Council, Lucero was able to perform his comedic hypnotist show August 30 in the Kemper Recital Hall.

Lucero, who has been a master hypnotist for nine years, decided he wanted to study hypnotism after he met Michael Johns and was hypnotized during his comedic hypnosis show in Las Vegas.

“I was standing in line for the show and a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was going to see his show,” Lucero said. “I said yes, and we started talking. After awhile, I told him that I’d love to learn how to do what he does, so he told me to come see him after the show”

“We became friends and [Johns] said ‘I’ll take you under my wing and I’ll teach you everything,’” Lucero said.

A determined Lucero practiced in the mirror, on his three kids and wife, and even on his dog. Three months later, Lucero was on the road full time performing comical hypnosis acts in places like Los Angeles, New York and even Las Vegas where he had first seen Johns.

Most recently, it was Missouri Western’s turn to get a hilarious taste of Lucero’s hypnotism. Lucero, who considers himself more as an entertainer than just a hypnotist, kicked off the show by explaining what he does and allowing volunteers to come on the stage.

“I don’t have ‘powers’ or a ‘hypnotic spell.’ What I do is I guide you to a state of relaxation,” Lucero said.

There were 10 students total on stage were hypnotized, but several members of the audience became hypnotized as well. Lucero encourages people in the crowd to participate.

“Sometimes my best people come from my audience,” Lucero said. “That person you’re sitting next to could be the rock star of the show.”

Speaking of rock stars, Lucero told the 10 students they were celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, The Spice Girls and DJ Kasamota. With wigs and props, the students danced to their singer’s songs appropriately (including Jackson’s unforgettable moonwalk and the “worm”) as they played randomly through the segment.

Not only did the students’ dance moves keep the crowd enticed, so was their subconscious willingness to cling to each other for warmth when Lucero painted the picture in their minds that they were on a beach with 165 degree weather to 20 degrees.

Although they may have held on to each other for warmth, they might not recollect it like student Alex Whitaker.

“I know I was on a beach, and then I remember people cheering, but that’s about it,” Whitaker said.

Lucero stated that being under hypnosis is like having a dream, waking up from it and trying to recall all of it- it’s not easy. Student Deraan Washington could only recall certain things toward the end of the show, but what she anticipates is an easy night of sleep.

“I’ve always heard that when you get hypnotized that you get the best sleep that night so I’m looking forward to that for sure,” Washington said.

Not only did Lucero give the students the power to relax deeply, he also left them with good fortune.

“I’m going to leave you with something in your mind so you have an amazing year and whatever you’re trying to accomplish this year will happen very easy for you.”

Check out Lucero on YouTube and keep an eye out for his new reality show “The Pyramid Thing” which is about six entrepreneurs who change lives.

Photos by Dave Hon

After a few speeches and introductions of senate members Scott presented a power point laying out his vision of the new session. It stated some of his views and proposed changes that will be covered in future senate meetings and how those meetings will proceed. The presentation concluded with an instruction to the senate to pass the budget.  

“It’s important to pass the budget now to get programs funded and going today,” Scott said. But, the budget wasn’t passed without some questions from the senate floor.   The money for the SGA budget comes directly from student fees. Fulltime students pay $50 per semester and part time students pay $30 each semester. Senators asked about the fourth largest budget item, which is the $50,000 budget allocation for the administrative assistant position. Vice President Scott began to answer questions and justify the expense and the need for the position.

He explained that the administrative assistance position is responsible for senate travel arrangements and SGA project coordination. SGA Advisor and Vice President for Student Affairs Ester Peralez said, “The position keeps the office open when none of the executive officers are in the office.”  Norris added that the administrative position also checks the senator’s office hours and records them to increase accountability of senators and helps SGA keep an open door policy. “She is also the best resource for all senators with any question concerning Missouri Western and SGA policies,” Scott said.

The senators also questioned the amount of money allocated for organizations on campus and the usual budget problem of more money requested than allocated most semesters. The finance oversight committee regulates these funds and the newly appointed Director of Finance Nick McCutcheon will chair that position. To help keep the fund available for the entire budget period he plans to spend less with each request.

“People may not like the message going in (to this session) but, we will have more money at the end,” McCutcheon said.  Vice President Scott expressed his feelings that the requirements to get money should be more stringent. “We need to make sure that groups on campus are financing their own projects and have a financial plan that we can support so we aren’t just funding trips for them,” Scott said.

As the first steps in her new presidency Norris appointed McCutcheon as the Director of Finance and Jordan Carney aswhich now includes the duties formally held by the Election Commissioner. The Election Commissioner position has not been budgeted since fiscal year 2010.

“I haven’t appointed the director of communication position yet,” Norris said. “I really want someone with a passion for the position. I don’t want the position just filled, I want it done well.” She is considering applicants still and had contacted some for a second interview. “I may select one of them or wait for new applicants,” Norris said.

Last Monday night was the last meeting of the 38^th session of SGA senate. History will record the members of the 38^th session as the first to put the campus-wide smoking ban on a ballot to get student’s input. Key members of the group going out of power and coming in agree that the issue is dead.

“I’m not going to do anything with the smoking ban,” SGA President-elect Alison Norris said. “I feel we already have the student’s answer.” She does support enforcing the present rules imposed on those who smoke on campus in order to address non-smoker’s complaints. The goal of SGA now seems to be to facilitate cooperation between those who smoke and those that do not want to be around the second hand smoke by enforcing the current rules.

Those rules include smoke free zones encompassing a 30-foot radius of all doorways and building ventilation intake vents. Smoking students readily point out that one of the problems with this policy is the location of the outdoor ashtrays. Most are located within the 30-foot boundary. Using the ashtrays places smokers within the 30-foot boundary and create complaints from non-smoking students who need to walk through those doorways.

On the other hand, the areas close to doorways are the ones that are littered with cigarette butts. Campus maintenance employees have placed ashtrays and butt cans next to the doorways to save money on labor to pick up the mess left by inconsiderate smokers. SGA President, Dillon Harp agrees that the future is better served with enforcement of current regulations concerning smoking on campus.

“We need better signage on campus explaining the rules and helping smokers understand where the areas are that permit smoking,” Harp said. “We have heard the student’s voice.” He also agreed with some of the issues mentioned in recent opinion articles printed in The Griffon News. He stated that he knows of no efforts to bring the issue back to the ballot box.

The SGA Director of Student Relations, Kelsey Corzine has a slightly different opinion. “I think the smoking ban would have been a good policy for Western’s students, but I’m glad the student’s voices were heard,” Corzine said. She feels that complaints will subside if smokers would just follow the rules.

But those rules don’t address the littering problem of those unsightly butts around campus at nearly every doorway. The litter issue alone could encourage administration to ban smoking on campus. Maintaining the appearance of campus grounds under the current budget constraints could force the issue. It may come down to a mandatory smoking ban if smokers don’t clean up their act.

A press release from issued on March 8 said that commitments to her record label are cause for Hilson’s cancellation.

Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group

“We’re disappointed Keri Hilson will be unable to make it to St. Joseph and we apologize to those who were looking forward to her performance,” said Don Willis, assistant dean of student services. “WAC will be working hard over the next few days to schedule another performer for the same date and location.”

Refunds will be made available for those who have already bought tickets.

The ten students will be involved in a semester long competition with one another. Three of the ten that prepare the best business plan will then be selected for internships at one of the previously awarded franchises. A panel will then select one of the students to receive the franchise.

This idea of awarding an RMCF franchise to a student came to fruition by Missouri Western Alumni Steven Craig, of whom the business school is named after. Craig is the founder of Craig Reality, which manages several outlet malls all over the United States. Craig believes that small businesses are the strength of our economy.

Craig approached RMCF about giving students the opportunity to compete for a franchise that would be located within one of his outlet malls. The company agreed to join together with Craig to make this prospect possible for the students.

Carol Roever, former Dean of CSB, says that since this program was started it has been a great success and she hopes it can continue to grow. Roever stated that Western’s CSB is the only school she knows of that offers this type of award for hard working students that want to become entrepreneurs

“The three previous winners are doing well with their franchises,” Roever said. “They have really embraced the opportunity and are working hard to be successful.”

The prior winners are Seth Lyons, Brady Ellis and Robert Schimming. Lyons was given a franchise in Silverthorne, Colo. Ellis received a franchise in Vicksburg, Miss. Schimming opened a third one in Lake Elsinore, Calif. The forth store will open in Manteca, Calif. once the winner is chosen this summer.

The stores are not completely free however. A franchise would normally cost roughly $350,000 to buy, but CSB students pay around $150,000 for one. In addition to the huge discount, Craig offers the students the loan with minimal interest and up to five years to pay it back.

The winners of the RMCF must also make a financial donation to the CSB and return to Western to speak to business students. The financial donation is based off a percentage of their profits.

Greg Pope, senior vice president of franchise development for RMCF, says that the franchise winners have been doing a great job running their businesses. Pope stated that he heard Ellis plans to pay his loan off in two years and is on track to do so.

“I am very pleased with what I am hearing about their profitability and pay back schedule,” Pope said.

Pope says he is not worried about turning the RMCF brand over to students that have little or no hands on business experience.

“When you consider the education background and the curriculum that’s in front of them, I feel they have a great chance for success,” Pope said.

The students enrolled in the management 499 class are eager to make their bid at becoming an RMCF owner. The students have been working hard all semester in preparation for the competition.

Leslie Oberg, Western senior, is one of the students competing for the franchise. Leslie says she understands the magnitude of what is at stake in the contest.

“I would have never been given this opportunity if it wasn’t for the Craig School Business and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory,” Oberg said.

Darby Meehan, Western senior, is another student that is competing for the store. Darby feels his experience will give him an edge in the running.

“I work full-time, attend classes full-time and have a family,” Darby said. “I see this opportunity as a journey or adventure; it’s a win-win situation.”

The students competing now and the previous winners all agree that everyone involved with the CSB has been of great help. Several staff members are at their disposal if they need help with anything.

The students are very grateful to Steven Craig and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for giving them what they feel is the opportunity of a lifetime.

This topic has been a sore spot for many students, particularly smokers, and now everyone will have the opportunity to read the new policy and determine whether or not to adopt it.

It is important to note before going any further that this cannot pass by a simple majority, two/thirds of those voting must be in favor to pass it. Once passed by the students, the policy will go before faculty and administration for approval–if approved the policy would go into effect Aug. 1, 2012.

Dillon Harp, SGA president, is excited about the tobacco policy and its placement on the ballot for a student vote.

“What I hope students get out of the process, is they get to vote,” Harp said. “This has been a topic that has been around campus for the last couple of years and now is the opportunity, they get a chance to say yes, we want to go tobacco free or no, we want to keep the status quo.”

Student Governor Peter Gregory said that the policy is being created to promote a safe and healthy environment here at Missouri Western.

The policy also includes electronic cigarettes, and Gregory gave his reason on why the decision was made to include a tobacco-less product within the policy.

“Electronic cigarettes have the same addictive characteristics as traditional cigarettes,” Gregory said.
The enforcement within the document is left vague as it states that employees and students are encouraged to communicate this policy.

The policy alludes to the student code of conduct, which if handled as Gregory said, is intended to be in line with the current alcohol policy and could eventually spell expulsion for repeat offenders.

Another major issue at hand with this policy is the enforcement for faculty and staff. Western obviously has a student handbook to guide us in disciplinary issues for students, but the same is not available for tenured contract employees of the university, at least not for student perusal.

Many students like Kirk Gries, a senior studying sociology, feel that the logical changes for the policy would be to add smoking shelters.
“If they want me away from the buildings, give me a shelter to get out of the rain,” Gries said.

Gries was strongly opposed to the idea of the university implementing a policy banning tobacco and related products. Like Gries, many students also question whether this would include smoking inside their personal vehicles while on campus.

“I can’t smoke in restaurants, I just about can’t smoke in any bars, and now the college is trying to tell me I can’t smoke outside while I’m at school,” Gries said. “I’m going out to have a smoke.”

Student Senator Nick McCutcheon said that his personal views were irrelevant because the policy was going to be voted on by the students. McCutcheon did say that one of the best aspects of the policy was the cessation, which would help those seeking to quit the help they need.

“I’m interested to see if the students understand the scope of this and how big it is,” McCutcheon said. “I’m also interested to see if they’re going to fight because I know there are a lot of students that have very strong opinions on this.

A new regulation, proposed by the Health and Human Services, ensures students the right to have insurance if they are enrolled in college, even if they become sick or are in an accident. Under the new rule, insurance companies cannot deny coverage for students under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition and they cannot drop coverage because a student gets sick.

Director of Center for Consumer Information Steve Larsen suggests this rule is needed because students stress over many things already. By taking away the panic of losing insurance, students now have less to worry about.

“Too many college students weren’t worried about finding a job, they were also worrying about finding health insurance,” Larsen said.
This rule can also save money. Larsen believes families making $65,000 a year will save close to $6,000. Students can also stay on their parent’s plans until they are 26 years old.

Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Young Invincible Aaron Smith agrees with Larsen.”Profits on these plans can be 20 percent or higher,” Smith said. He also said that the old regulation was an unfair practice because students could be released without getting any help. Under the new regulations, students will no longer have to worry about being released without some type of aid in finding replacement insurance.

“In a random survey of nine colleges and universities around the country, we found that eight currently have some exclusion clause where students suffering from a pre-existing condition,” Smith said. “These exclusions put the binding on those who need insurance the most.”
Steven Bloom, of the American council on education, says that they are the umbrella organizing the insurances and education together, though he knows that finding the solution is not over.

“I am a little concerned that insurers may use these regulations as a pretext to inappropriately raise premiums,” Bloom said. “Increases to some schools for insurance plans.”
Nonetheless, now students should be able to get the insurance they need to help them throughout college. Larson said this is their time now that they can finally afford to buy it all.

“For many students, this is their only opportunity,” Larson said.

As commencement for December graduates was nearing the unemployment rate for the well-educated was on the rise, according to reports from the Bureau for Labor Statistics, reaching 5.1%, its highest point since the figure was first recorded in 1970.

The December 2010 rates showed some improvement as the figure dropped to 4.8%, but certainly not the type of improvement those receiving their degrees would like to see.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeanne Daffron certainly sees the issues facing many recent graduates, but she also thinks that Western does a good job in preparing students to enter the work force.

“These are definitely difficult times for any individual who is seeking employment. It is important to make good decisions about education and to know that the unemployment rate for college graduates is less than half that of individuals with only a high school education,” Daffron said.
Daffron really believes in the educational benefits of the workplace learning experience that is required for most students.

“I do think that many Western graduates may have an advantage because of our focus on applied learning,” Daffron said. “The majority of Western graduates complete at least one applied learning experience before graduation. Employers tell us that these experiences help new graduates to move more efficiently and successfully into regular positions. Students who complete internships are frequently offered regular positions at the same organization.”

Recent Western graduate Brandon Edwards, a convergent media major, spoke about his recent experiences trying to find a job after graduation.
“I graduated in May, and I’ve only been on one interview at KQ2, which is where I did my internship, so that was my only ‘in,’” Edwards said.

Edwards is pretty disheartened with the process as are many people currently pursuing employment in their chosen field. He said that he’s not sure Western can do anything for him right now. “No one ever told me, ‘Hey go to this office and they’ll get you a job,’” Edwards said.

“I had been working at Tractor Supply, but I lost that job and I have been driving a truck delivering flowers since then,” Edwards said. “I’m hoping to get on with a prison soon, I’ve been through their background check, and I’m just waiting to hear back from them.”

Edwards said that his wife is currently attending Western and won’t finish her degree for another two years so he can’t leave the area until then to seek employment elsewhere.

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.

Stacy Hersh, a junior, had several concerns she wanted to voice.

“If I’m in a building, that I have to use an elevator to get to the second floor and there’s a fire, what is the university’s plan to get me out of that building,” Hersh said. “As a disabled student, I’m fortunate, my husband goes here, but he’s a senior and next year he won’t be here and I won’t feel safe.”
Hersh said she thinks that this is definitely an issue that should be addressed in every course syllabus, and should be specific to each classroom.

Many of the concerns of those in attendance were accessibility issues and how that affects them on a day-to-day basis.

“Last semester in my manual chair, I tipped out of it three times on the hills on campus,” Hersh said, trying to maintain her composure, “I tipped out of it and lay on the sidewalk as students and professors walked by me and did nothing, so when I say I won’t feel safe, it’s a legitimate concern.”

Classroom configuration was another concern that Hersh said plagues many of the disabled students at Western, because many times the desks are moved around for each class and not put back.

Hersh also referenced the drive and the determination the university showed in pursuing acquiring the Chiefs training camp even in the uncertain economic climate they were facing at that time.

“This university wanted the Chiefs training camp and we saw what they could do to get it here,” Hersh said. “If the university really wanted to get gung ho and get the campus up to speed ADA and make the changes…get that same spirit and change it into a different project.”

Ruth Dome, a third-year criminal justice major, was one of the 200 or so students receiving an email about a meeting that would provide students with disabilities an opportunity to voice their concerns.

“I’ve got several things I’m frustrated and angry about, and I’d like to have them heard,” Dome said.

“There are people that have handicapped placards, stickers or tags, they make use of it but I see them get out and walk off like there’s nothing wrong,” Dome said. “And that irritates me because there are a lot of people that need it.”

“At Wilson Hall, I was going to one of my classes—an 8 a.m. class—and I saw this kid come whipping in with his four-wheeler in the back of his truck,” Dome said. “He pulls in, throws his placard up, jumps out and runs in to Remmington, and I’m still trying to get out of my truck.”

Michael Ritter, disability services coordinator, said that he is aware that there are some perception issues with a lot of the people utilizing handicapped spots and that it’s difficult to address them.

“I’ve talked to the security folks a number of times and we don’t have a great way to address this issue,” Ritter said. “Sometimes the student may have a hidden disability, and they’ve [security personnel] gotten burned a few times by going up and asking somebody if they really have a need to park there.”

Ritter said that in many of those cases the student would then produce documentation stating they had a heart condition or some other ailment not clearly visible.

Unfortunately, the predominant issue facing most students with disabilities is accessibility. Whether the issue was a door that closed too fast, a hill that is too steep, a threshold that is too tall, a classroom door a student can’t enter or a bathroom they can’t get into; the feeling was that the university needs to provide these students with a way, in all cases to go to school and maintain their dignity.

“This university wanted the Chiefs training camp and we saw what they could do to get it here,” Hersh said. “If the university really wanted to get gung ho and get the campus up to speed ADA and make the changes…get that same spirit and change it into a different project.”

The rental program is a new option offered for the first time this semester. Western decided to try the textbook rental program because it seems to be growing in popularity. Western plans to make the rental program a permanent option.

Students who rent their textbooks could save up to 45 percent of the new book price. A new book that sells for $100 would rent for around $45. A new psychology book from the Western bookstore cost $102, but the same book rented for $45.90. A sociology book sold new for $101.35 or used for $76, but it rented for $45.60.

Graphic | Andy Inman

“There is just one rental price for books,” Nikes said. “We rent the new for the reason that we’d rather have used available for purchase.”

Students have ten days after the last day of finals to return books. The bookstore will send out emails to remind students that their books must be returned. Nikes suggested that students go ahead and return their rental books when they come in to sell back the books they bought.

Return conditions for books are simple as well. Nikes said it is similar to buying a book and returning it at the end of the semester.

“You can still highlight in it and make notes in it, but you can’t dump your coke all over it or bring it back without a cover,” Nikes said.

When renting a textbook, students get no money back at the end of the semester. Students pay a rental fee at the beginning of the semester. The rental fee is cheaper than buying a used book, but if students buy a used book and sell it back, it could end up being cheaper than renting.

Not all books are available for rent. Books that are available for rent will vary with each semester. Nikes said that this semester there were probably over 200 books available for renting. Books that are not available are student workbooks, where students may have to remove sheets from the book, and books that have access codes.

Junior Amber Marie Nold said that she was able to find the books she wanted to rent with no problem. She said the bookstore website provided a list of books available to rent.

“There were a couple of books that I knew I would be using in coming semesters, so I bought them,” Nold said. “I mainly rented books that I did not think I would be needing in the future.”

Nold also said that she enjoys being able to rent books, especially books that are not for her major which she will only use once.
Sophomore Jessica Vaughn thinks that the rental program is a great idea.

“I think textbook rental is a great option for students because they don’t have to spend as much money on a book they’ll never use again,” Vaughn said.

Renting books is available simply so students have the option. It is very similar to buying a book and returning it at the end of the semester, except that students do not receive money back.

The rental program will continue to be offered in the following years for students who wish to take advantage of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Professor Lawley said that the project was a great success.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Griffon Yearbook was one of only 14 yearbooks chosen as a finalist for the Pacemaker award by the Associated Collegiate Press.

The yearbook is also only one of six in the category of 314 pages and under selected.

The ACP has been awarding the Pacemaker since 1927 and it is unofficially known as the “Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism.”

A panel of four judges will make their decision based on writing/editing, design, content, concept, photography, art and graphics.

Amy Chastain, one of the co-editors-in-chief, was happy to hear about the award.

“A lot of the top yearbooks in the country don’t even get nominated,” Chastain said.” Being our yearbook we are gonna put everything into it.”

Chastain also gave a nod to her partner at the yearbook Raphael’le Drew who was the other co-editor-in-chief of the 2009 Griffon.

“I was the editor for the 2008 yearbook,” Chastain said. “This year it was Raphael’le’s baby.”

Ann Thorne the yearbook advisor was also pleased to hear the good news.

“It has been a while since we have been on a pacemaker finalist list,” Thorne said. “It was a big thrill just to be noticed.”

Since Thorne took over as advisor the yearbook has won numerous awards such as the Pacemaker, the Silver Crown Award and Gold Crown Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and numerous All-American ratings from the Associated Collegiate Press.

Not only has the yearbook won awards but also individuals such as writers, photographers and designers.

The 2009 Griffon Yearbook has already won six awards given out by the national College Media Convention in New York, New York.

The Gold Circle Awards are a national competition sponsored by Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Five of those awards went to Drew including Third Place, Academic Spread multi-page presentation, and four Certificate of Merits in Academic Spread, black and white, Academic Spread multi-page presentation, Sports Page black and white, and another Academic Spread, black and white.

The other award went to Anna Flin, Certificate of Merit, Feature Writing, Student Life.

Other editors included Kailey Alexander, and Linda Shireman, photography co-editors, and Sarah Derr, business manager. Chastain also served as the copy editor and Drew as the design editor. Staff included Missy Clinton, Hallie Delagardelle, Lauren Dillon, Melissa Friger, Amanda Hake, Jourdan Huffman, Harvey Jackson, EmmaLee Jones, Heather Kietzman, Olin Kinsey, Bonnie Land, Shawn Lesny, Ashley McIntosh, Frank Nemeth, Emma Piehl, Courtney Puett, Brittany Rivers, Raya Shafer, Courtney Slater, Carmen Smith, Erica Stevens and Kelsey Wear.
Lauren Dillon was happy that she could participate in a year it would receive national recognition.

“I’m pretty excited it was the first semester I was on the yearbook,” Dillon said. “Even though none of my stuff was chosen, I was still thrilled to be a part of it.”

The awards ceremony will be held in Louisville Ky., on Oct. 30. during the ACP/College Media Advisers Fall National College Media Convention

Aramark, having recently signed a new contract with the university, wanted to keep the grill concept as part of the latest round of renovations in the food court.

“Of everything we do at the food court, the grill concept will always be the mainstay,” said Campus Dining Director Jim Maides.

According to Brian Tarr and Laura Eisenbaum, retail managers for Aramark, the ideas and concepts that shape Burger Studio came not from the company, but from student input.

“It came from the Dining Style Survey,” Eisenbaum said. “Aramark gathered students from various institutions and asked them, ‘if you could have one concept campus wide, what do you really want?’ This is what the students came up with. The students even picked the name.”

While the menu might still have the same basics such as burgers and fries, what makes Burger Studio unique is the way students can order. Instead of telling the person behind the counter what they want to order, students are now able to order their meals on one of two ordering kiosks. There, students can also customize their burger with the build-your-own concept.

“If you want a fried egg on your hamburger, you get a fried egg on your hamburger,” Tarr said. “They’re in control of what they can get.”

Furthermore, Burger Studio doesn’t skimp on freshness; everything they serve is fresh and made to order for the customer.

“There are so many different options,” Eisenbaum said. “That’s very unique for this type of concept. Everybody does [burgers and fries] from McDonald’s to an upscale restaurant, but we’re really fresh.”

While the Burger Studio is clearly being noticed, there is one aspect of this burger and fries shop that has gone unmentioned. Burger Studio is a pilot program; that is to say, a brand new, undeveloped concept that is being tested out on different institutions across the country.

“It’s a test to work out all the kinks and the bugs and when it goes live to various institutions in the future, they’ll know exactly what to look for…,” Eisenbaum said. “We’re the guinea pigs basically.”

Missouri Western is one of four institutions that are currently using Burger Studio, along with Middle Tennessee State, University of Hartford and University of Delaware; the Western Burger Studio, however, is the only one located in the Midwest.

“The fact that we are the only one in the Midwest means we’re the only university ready to make that jump,” Maides said.

In recent weeks, Maides and his staff have been working to smooth out the kinks that students were raising at the beginning of the semester. While they feels things have improved, issues such as speed of service and the complexity of the ordering kiosks remain potential problems.

“Although the kiosks are very techno savvy, if the printer decides to stop working that means there’s only one kiosk left for all the students to order on,” Eisenbaum said. “Whether that takes 20 seconds to fix or 20 minutes, that’s a big problem.”

Nevertheless, things are looking up for Burger Studio. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive of late; whether it be the techno savvy ordering kiosks, the ability to personalize their burger or just the overall rise in quality, students seem to love their new burger and fries shop just as much as the people who are making it work.

In fact, there are already ideas floating around for expanding the menu, as Tarr explains.

“We’re discussing regional favorites and currently working with Aramark to add them to the menu,” Tarr said. “That would depend on what student feedback is. If they say, ‘hey we really, really want this,’ then that’s what we push to get on for regional favorite.”

Among some of the food items being mentioned are mozzarella sticks, jalapeno peppers, philly cheese steaks, and a wider variety of sauces and seasonings for fries.

Furthermore, the company is already planning to expand the Burger Studio concept all across the nation; according to Maides, 38 universities will be prepared to put Burger Studios in their food courts within the next two semesters. And as Burger Studio is in the very early phases of development, there’s no telling what the future holds.

“I really think that Burger Studio is here to stay,” Maides said.

Joshua Todd, Student Government president feels that a smoking ban is out of the question for the campus mainly because of the residential halls.

“This is where people live. To just say, ‘you’re done’ to smokers on campus is going to cause more problems,” Todd said. “It’s a habit for these people; they’re addicted.”

Judy Grimes, dean of student affairs, holds strong that the issue of what to do about the conflict between smokers and anti-smokers should be dealt with.

“I think it was a great idea for the students to have the discussion and look at the pros and cons because it’s certainly not simple,” Grimes said. “But we know there are some major health issues related to smoking. We would like to have a campus of healthy students, faculty and staff.”

Todd and several SGA senators that attended a focus group last Wednesday, Oct. 5 discussed several ways to make both parties happy in this situation, such as banning smoking 15 feet in front of building doors. Enforcing this ban would be a problem for the university.

“You can’t enforce anything if it doesn’t exist,” Todd said.

The SGA has no authority to make campus policy, but by passing legislation, they can influence administrators to listen. Even if the 15 feet ban passes and becomes policy, SGA senators are worried that campus security would be too busy to enforce such a policy.

Jerrod Huber, a non-traditional student who serves as an SGA senator, led a group of non-traditionals who picked up an excess of over 1,000 cigarette butts outside of Murphy and Eder.

“It’s a problem,” Huber said. “I shouldn’t have to walk through noxious clouds of smoke to get to class at Murphy or Eder.”

Huber suggests that the SGA build roofing over the patios that the university has for smokers. Since the patios are set off on the side of the building, Huber also suggests that the SGA invests in signs to make the position of the smoking areas more clear.

Todd believes that the administrators will listen due to President Robert Vartibedian’s push for campus beautification and the amount of clout that this discussion has around campus.

“There is already enough concern and publicity about the anti-smoking group,” Todd said. “This group is taking initiative and I’m proud of them for doing that.”

In an increasingly digital age, online courses are becoming more and more commonplace with each passing year. National trends at both traditional and non-traditional campuses are showing that the chance to take online courses is becoming more popular with students nationwide.

“It’s an opportunity for them to enjoy higher education,” President Robert Vartabedian said. “The key word is access. They can sit in comfortable clothes at home and work on their education.”

Western began offering online courses during the administration of former President Janet Murphy who pushed hard for their inclusion. More than a decade later, Western now offers 33 different online courses.

Vartabedian states that Western has set a goal to offer 100 online courses within the next three years. While not all departments on campus offer online courses, Vartabedian hopes that they will move in that direction within the near future.

Michael Flowers is an instructor in the Department of Education. Over the last three years, he has personally taught over 200 students in online courses and he sees the online course option as a great opportunity.

“The convenience really attracts students,” Flowers said. “They can work wherever they decide to set up shop. There’s also a time element; you have your own time to work at your own pace. You’re not confined to 60 minutes.”

Vartabedian couldn’t agree more, arguing that online courses can be a perfect fit for today’s technologically savvy generation.

“Many students today are technologically inclined, so it’s a chance for them to use their technical skills,” Vartabedian said. “A really well taught online course should provide gateway to bigger things.”

Furthermore, Vartabedian feels that the addition on online education is consistent with the university’s mission to provide access to quality education for everyone.

“I always like to say that online courses are not always appropriate for everyone, but for some, it can be very beneficial,” Vartabedian said. “I’ve run into a number of students who said, ‘I wouldn’t have finished my degree without online courses.’”

Kelsey Corzine is a junior at Western. Starting this semester, she began taking an online course, Secondary Reading Techniques. She feels that the option of taking online courses is a great benefit for busy college students.

“I’m taking 16 credits and I’m really busy otherwise,” Corzine said. “This way, I can do them when I want to. You don’t have to worry about slowing [other students] down or vice versa; you can go at your own pace.”

Despite such success stories, Vartabedian cautions that online courses don’t allow for active university experiences and therefore shouldn’t become the norm over traditional classroom courses.

“I wouldn’t want to be known as a purely online university,” Vartabedian said. “Western will always be a traditional university, but we want the best of both worlds.”
From Flower’s perspective, it’s important for students to have face to face interactions with their instructors, which is something that online courses lack.

“When students have concerns, they have to call or e-mail whereas in class we can nail the problem down right there,” Flowers said. “Being able to [talk] eyeball to eyeball is a definite advantage in students’ favor.”

In an age where technology has become part of everyday life, the growth in online courses at universities and college campuses across the nation is bound to have success with those students who need such opportunities to complete their education and go on to bigger, brighter things.

This event is put together every year for people to listen to excerpts from some of the most banned and challenged books of all time.

Michael Cadden, chair of the English, Foreign Languages and Journalism department, organizes the reading every year and believes it to be an important event.

“Sometimes we think that living in America means freedom of speech happens automatically everywhere and that’s not the case,” Cadden said. “It’s important to keep reminding people that even if there isn’t a case going on in the community, it’s important that they know that there are cases in other communities that could affect them at some point.”

English professor Bill Church believes the reading is important because of what certain books can provide to certain readers.

“Books allow us to travel without going anywhere,” Church said. “They take us into the geography of other people’s lives, minds and experiences in ways we might never get.”

Church thought this year’s reading was impressive because of the diversity of the texts that were chosen by the readers.

According to Cadden, the key to the success of this event is not to read the controversial parts of the books. The key to success is in the hands of the readers and the material that they choose.

“People were choosing things that they cared about which was the goal,” Cadden said. “It was to get people to share the parts of those books that made them think and care.”

Various excerpts were read throughout the night from works such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

The room in Blum Union was not completely packed. However, there was a good number of people in attendance for the event.

Cadden and Church both believed the attendance would have been greater if the semester was not so close to midterm and there was not so much going on.

Cadden still believes the event was a success and looks forward to doing it all again next year.
“We’re gonna keep doing this until they tell us we can’t,” Cadden said.

In total, there were eight readers during the course of the banned book reading. The readers included people such as Missouri Western professors, local high school teachers, local librarians and Missouri Western students.

The banned book reading started at 7 p.m. and lasted a little over an hour.

Some may ask why the theme “Back in Time to ’69?” Taylor Kram, one of the homecoming chairs said, in 1969 Missouri Western became a four year institution. This year will mark the 40 year of Western becoming a four year institution. The alumni were also involved with the decision for this year’s theme. The three Homecoming Chairs Lolita Murphy, Megan Glenn and Taylor Kram, as well as the 11 other student members voted to approve this year’s theme.

There will be many events going on to mark Homecoming. According to a schedule released from the Homecoming Committee the events are “Sign Contest,” “Donation Creation,” “Penny Wars,” University Happy Hour,” “Yell Like Hell Contest,” “Griffon Spirit” and “Goofy Griffon.”

Monday Oct. 12, will be the kick off for the Homecoming events. There will be a sign decoration contest. The deadline for all who would like to participate is 8 a.m. sharp. All signs must incorporate this year’s theme and include the organizations name and the year. Signs should be no bigger than four feet by eight feet and should be placed in the grass around Downs Drive. Also for Oct. 12, royalty campaigning will begin and penny wars will also start. Students will also have the opportunity to come out to the “Griffstock” BBQ and the “Donation Creation” competition which will be on the west side of Blum at 4 p.m.

All students are welcome to come to the events. They don’t have to be in an organization to come, Kram said.

On Tuesday Oct. 13, there will be the university happy hour competition. Organizations will have a chance to make a non alcoholic drink for students to taste. The taste test will start at 4 p.m. at the Commons Pavilion.

On Wednesday Oct. 14, there will be a “Yell Like Hell” contest which will be held at 7 p.m. in Kemper Recital Hall Leah Spratt 101. Students will have the chance to do skits, steps, cheers, songs and anything else. However the MWSU fight song and the Homecoming theme must be incorporated in some way. Tryouts will be held on Wednesday Oct. 7 in Kemper Recital Hall at 7 p.m. the tryouts are a mandatory event for those that would like to participate.

Students will have two opportunities to show off Griffon spirit. On Thursday Oct.15, Western will host NU for a soccer game which will be in Spratt Stadium at 7 p.m.

On Friday Oct. 16 there will be a pep rally and bonfire for students to get fired up about the football game. The pep rally will begin in the Looney Arena at 7 p.m. and then move outside.

“I think students would really like to get involved in that and come out and support the team and get fired up,” Kram said

The Homecoming football game will be on Saturday Oct. 17 at Spratt Stadium staring at 1:30 p.m., Western will play UCM. At the end of the third quarter the Homecoming royalty will be announced.

One of the major goals for Homecoming this year is to get students involved. Kram said, she would like to make this a great homecoming and one that everyone will remember since it is an anniversary of our campus.

This fall, the food court opened its doors after undergoing a series of renovations designed by Aramark to shake up the menu options available to students as well as the overall atmosphere and design.

According to Jim Maides, the campus dining director, the cost of renovations in both the food court and the dining room will add up to roughly $300,000, all of which is being paid for by Aramark.

Although Quiznos can still be found in the opposite corner, there is now a massive expansion of cold beverages, from 25 to nearly 85 options, that can be found on the left side wall. Students can also find two new restaurants to feast their eyes on: the mexican restaurant Caliente, and a unique burger and fries shop known as Burger Studio.

Brian Tarr and Laura Eisenbaum, retail managers for Aramark who oversee the daily operations of the food court, explain that the genesis of the renovations came out of Aramark’s new contract with Missouri Western and an overall desire for change, starting with the student body itself.

“We take surveys called a Dining Style Survey [including] six to ten different concepts and [students] would rank them according to what they want,” Eisenbaum said. “They had questions about what hours [they] would most likely be able to sit down and eat a meal in the dining hall. Students got to rank what’s most important to them when they’re able to eat and what they’re looking for when they come into the food court.”

For the students however, the biggest and most exciting change comes from the Burger Studio: the icon of the renovation process. While the burger and fries menu seems traditional, the unique aspect of Burger Studio is the ordering kiosks from which the students can choose the exact type of burger they want from a variety of options, including up to 22 different toppings and 15 different sauces.

“It’s part of [Aramark’s] new contract with Missouri Western,” Maides said. “Vendors were asked to come up with ideas for the food court so this was one of the ideas that Aramark had to refresh and replace the Grill Works.”

From Tarr’s perspective, the primary goal is to provide students with the one thing rarely found on college campuses: fresh food.
“It’s a fresh baked bun everyday,” Tarr said. “We do fresh cut fries now everyday. As far as new…not so much but improved and expanded on. The goal is fresh. Everything cooked to order, made fresh. It is all done fresh.”

While proud of the new food court, those involved with the renovation process admit that there have been some challenges, primarily with the time it takes to get the food from Burger Studio.

“We want it to be made to order,” Eisenbaum said. “It’s not McDonald’s. We’re really starting from the very beginning and giving the absolute freshest [product] possible, and I think it’s been hard to convey that message across to students.”

Maides is quick to acknowledge that there have been some complaints faced towards the ordering kiosks as well.

“When technology works the way it’s supposed to, it looks and feels great,” Maides said. “When it doesn’t work, it doesn’t look and feel great.”
Although such problems are not difficult to address, there is one major potential issue at hand according to Student Government Association President Joshua Todd.

“There’s no more register space than there was last year,” Todd said. “People that get out of class and have to go right to another class don’t have time because the lines are so overwhelmingly long, and once they get to the register, they have to stand in line again. That’s something we’re confined to. There’s only so much room in every building.”

Eisenbaum suggests that such issues, if brought to light, can be dealt with in future renovation projects.
“From getting the feedback from students and building on that, we’ll be able to create something even better in six months or a year,” Eisenbaum said. “It’s a continual process of operational excellence.”

Maides is in full agreement, arguing that the process of renovations is a constant, never stopping process that is fully intended to accommodate the student body at Missouri Western.

“I have a hard time believing that we will never be doing something to try and improve,” Maides said. “I also believe that we’ll never quite get it right. Look at campuses all over the country; construction happens all the time because they never quite get it right, and they’re always trying to improve and make it better for the next group of students.”

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.”

According to Linda Garlinger, the director of the MWSU career development office, about 95 percent of the students here work in the area.

“The perception is, that students and graduates can’t get jobs in the local community,” Garlinger said. “We are going to dispel that myth because it’s just not true. Last year alone we advertised over 1400 job opportunities for our students and graduates.”

There are many new programs on campus to help students land that most needed job. There is a new policy concerning the work study program on campus that is designed to increase the number of positions on campus and therefore increase on campus student employment.

Unlike the previous semesters, when 25 percent of the student’s paycheck came from the operating budget of the department, the paychecks now come, 100 percent, from the federal work study program’s monies.
Departments don’t get a complete free ride however.  They are responsible for the paychecks after the federal money runs out. Details are still being worked out on just how the departments may get advance warning when the funds begin to get low.

With the new “Hire a Griffon” campaign, the career development office is informing local employers of ways that their office can advertise a job opening for free on the MWSU web site and that hiring a griffon makes sense for their business.

Matthew Gregg, the new coordinator of career development, explained the purpose of this.

“This part of our office’s campaign is to benefit employers by educating them about the benefits of hiring our students and the benefits of using our campus,” Gregg said. “It was also developed to assist our graduates in finding careers locally.”

Garlinger elaborated on  what this will do for potential employers.

“We can accommodate the needs of potential employers such as resume books and space to facilitate on campus interviews,” Garlinger said.

One of the things that compound the perception that our students are not being employed locally is the notion that all of our students come from the immediate area.

After graduation it seems that most leave for jobs outside the local area.

“This is not the University of St. Joseph, it is a regional state university,” Garlinger said.

Her office holds statistics showing about 25 percent of incoming freshmen come from the St. Joseph, Missouri School District. Garlinger says that even if a percentage of incoming freshmen from outside the local school district wish to stay here after graduation, most graduates would rather return to their home area to start their careers.

So, if they come from St. Louis, Chicago, Springfield or wherever they are most likely to return.
This gives a false perception that our graduates cannot find a career here.

“In actuality,” Garlinger said, “we are just spreading the wealth.”

Seventy-eight percent of Western graduates stay in the state of Missouri according to Garlinger’s data.

“That shows how well we serve the community and state. When you use state money from the community and give back well trained and educated people, that says a lot about what this university has to offer,” Garlinger said.

All in all, about one third of the graduates of MWSU find careers in the local five county area around St. Joseph.  That is a higher percentage than the percentage of freshmen coming from St. Joseph each year. The top two areas of success are nursing and education.

Gregg started a new series of three workshops called “Hire Learning,” which started Monday, Sept. 16, in the student union.

The workshops are designed to help those students who are still looking for employment in the area get the jobs they seek.

The workshop activities include a guest speaker during the second week and a panel discussion of local employers on the third week.

For more information about the workshop, students can contact the office of career development (816) 271-4205 or e-mail Matthew Gregg at matthewgregg@missouriwestern.edu.

Gregg has been networking lately with his contacts of potential employers to locate job openings in the area that students can fill.

“I have been working with the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce for years,” Gregg said. “They are a great source for businesses and employees to get together.”

The once congested hallways and lounge area of the union, formerly teeming with students, barely resemble the area today.

Greg Nikes, the manager of the bookstore on the first floor of the union, has noticed a big change in the union.

“You can tell the difference,” Nikes said. “It’s a lot quieter…for better or worse.”

The lack of noise and congestion is the result of an extensive construction and renovation process that is currently taking place within the union.

Aspects of this plan include the construction of a student information desk on the first floor, a re-design of the school cafeteria doors and windows, the creation of a side opening to the staircase and the construction of a new office for Student Development on the second floor.

The process first sprung out in the spring of 2008 when the Administration decided to implement an overhaul on the way the space is used.

Harold C. Callaway III, president of the student government association, explained that the construction was designed in order to make better use of the union.

“What we did is try to break the union up into sections,” Callaway said. “[We’re] taking out the leisure furniture [and] putting that in the food court where it could be accessible to students; we tried to replace it with some other stuff that would make it more of a study-type atmosphere and also break it up with an informational desk.”

The purpose of the information desk is to help give students, primarily first-year students, a more direct way in which they can get help finding their way around the university and accessing information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Callaway stated that other avenues could be explored in the future.

“There [are] some other ideas that are being thrown around,” Callaway said. “We’re just working on a plan right now for that.”

Kathy Kelly, the administrative coordinator for student development, feels that this renovation will make the building more accessible and efficient not only to students and faculty but to anyone else who comes into the union.

“We would like to be able to answer all questions and not send people to several different offices to get questions answered,” Kelly said. “I believe [this process] will keep a positive environment in the union.”
Lonnie Johnson, the director of facilities for the physical plant, is overseeing the construction/renovation of the union.

He currently estimates that the downstairs construction will cost $40,000 and the upstairs construction will fall somewhere in the area of $28,000 to $30,000, making for an estimated grand total of $68,000 to $70,000.

The re-design of the school cafeteria doors and windows in the union is intended to clear the lounge area as much as possible.

Construction is currently underway in the hallway between the food court and the cafeteria, where the tile floor is being replaced with carpeting and the cafeteria doors are to be moved around the corner.
Duane Bruce, associate dean of student development, explained what is being done in those areas and why.

“The cafeteria doors are being moved from here to around the corner right down the hallway,” Bruce said. “The hallway is being carpeted. We’re doing that because we want to move the traffic from the cafeteria out of the reception. “

Bruce is also involved with the construction of a new office for student development, which started in June. Bruce feels that the current office, located at the back of the union, lacked accessibility for students.

“I didn’t feel like the…office belonged in the back of the union,” Bruce said. “I feel like it belonged in a place where students would have access to it. Obviously, visibility for this office is going to change dramatically.”

Other changes that have been made or are being made include the reconfiguration of the second floor into a study lounge, the addition of artwork in the area, more greenery in the building, and painting of the school colors in the hallways.

Bruce hopes that this new design will make the union more inviting and friendly to students and make them want to use the area that was designed for them.

The overall construction was supposed to be completed during the summer, so the students could have these new opportunities available to them in the fall.

However, Callaway explained how a few problems came up and put the project on hold.

“The project was put off for university administration issues that we had to get worked out with contracts…just typical stuff, nothing real big,” Callaway said. “They…are supposed to be done with it before the end of September. We’ll see if that comes to fruition.”

Regardless of these minor issues, the construction and renovation of Blum Union will ultimately serve the better interests of Missouri Western State University.

With a more accessible information center, student development office and more study-oriented lounge areas, these re-designs will make the union a friendly, more inviting place for students to study, be with friends and get help with student-oriented issues in a way they never could have

Lately, a number of students and faculty have been having difficulty logging in to their e-mail or accessing the P and O-Drives.

Frequent and extreme activity on one of the Novell servers has been causing it to crash, making the network drives inaccessible until the server reboots.

Library Director Julia Schneider explained some inconveniences of the outages.

“It has affected my staff and some of the technical operations they have to do,” Schneider said. “And, of course, students are affected by it.”

It is during peak usage times that Information Technology Services (ITS) has been experiencing these server outages.

The outages seem to transpire from noon to 1 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., the busiest periods of the day, though outages have occurred during other times as well.

Schneider has even noticed outages early in the morning.

“In fact, I think it was yesterday at 8 a.m. that I couldn’t log in,” Schneider said Tuesday.

Network-based drives such as P:, O:, N:, and individual department drives have been affected.
The main indicator of an outage is when network-based drives become inaccessible.
Jason Michael, a student technician who works the night help desk, said ITS has been getting a lot of calls regarding this issue.

“It causes a panic; if a professor has a power point prepared, it affects the class because they can’t get to their data,” Michael said.

Right now, computers are having to support both the Novell and Microsoft Client environments, though ITS is working on switching over to the Windows Client.

“The server has to work extra hard to support both of those,” Michael said.

Amanda Hash, a technician in Lab 2 of the English, Foreign Languages and Journalism department, is frustrated by these outages.

“The P-drive being down and the P-drive server being down is the biggest issue because students can’t get to their homework,” Hash said.

She said this tends to be an issue in most Technical Communication classes.

Schneider made the point that students and faculty are used to fast Internet, so when a page doesn’t come up, people tend to get impatient.

“None of the outages have been super long,” Schneider said. “We’re just so used to having [pages] come up in two seconds. It is aggravating.” Nonetheless, ITS is taking steps to fix the problem.
A Microsoft server and desktop client environment will replace that of the inconsistent and difficult Novell server and desktop. The Microsoft desktop client exchange began last January, and additional disk drives are being purchased to increase the obtainable shared disk drive space. Originally, this project was scheduled to be completed during the upcoming Winter Break, but because of such a regularity of outages, the ITS staff is working diligently to complete this project right away.

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

The announcement was long awaited for students eager to hear who would be at the Spring Concert, when and if it would occur this year.

“I was just wondering if they were going to get somebody. I Think I’ll go now that I know who it is,” said Joseph Franklin, Missouri Western student.

WAC co-chair for music and entertainment Olin Kinsey explained that the delay had to do with time constraints, rather than irresponsible planning.

In the past, WAC adviser Stan Sweeney assisted in bringing the Spring Concert acts to Missouri Western by dealing with agents and booking issues.

This year WAC student organizers coordinated the event; unfortunately the students found many obstacles in booking artists, despite attending a NACA conference last summer which concentrated on concert production and organizing.
Issues of reliability and positive crowd interaction were factored in when selecting the artists.

Kinsey explained that of the artists that were considered initially, many times agents were not receptive to booking and were not returning calls to verify their acts.

“Instead of being a bugaboo, we thought it was better to wait for them to call us. Then it became an issue of time,” Kinsey said, “also with some artists, they ran into legal issues, and we decided it was better not to invite them.”

Other artists considered for the event were T-Pain and Lil’ Wayne.

The concert will be held at the St. Joseph Civic Arena, which accommodates 4,200 and will be open to the public. All tickets are general admission, and at the event alcohol will be prohibited.

The doors will open at 7 p.m. and the concert will begin at 8 p.m.

Tickets will be available starting April 1 in the center for student engagement where each student with valid Missouri Western identification can obtain a free ticket for the event.

The event is open to the public as well, and tickets will be available through Ticketmaster as of April 1st for $27.00 per ticket.

Staff and faculty may obtain tickets through the CSE for $12 per ticket.

Ticket distribution will cease at noon April 10, the day of the concert.

Ross currently holds the number two album this week, following a peak at the number one spot the previous week for his new album “Trilla.” He is known for such hits as his debut single “Hustlin.’”

Yung Joc, born Jasiel Robinson, holds the 66th position currently for his hit single “ 1st Time” which includes collaboraters Marques Houston and Trey Songz. He is also known for the hit single “Its ‘goin down,” which peaked in 2006 at number one on the billboard charts. In 2006 he was nominated in the category “best rap song” for the MTV Music Video awards, and last year in 2007 he was nominated for a “Grammy” in the category of “best rap song,” both of which for the hit single “Its ‘goin’ down.”

Past performers include Switchfoot last year, and Chely Wright and Emerson Drive the previous. The most recent rapper which performed for Western was Twista, three years ago. This is in keep­ing with the WAC policy of rotating Rap/ R&B, Rock and country music artists in a three-year rotation.

For now, maybe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alpha Sigma Phi could still be reactivated again someday.

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

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

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

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

That was the message given by Tay Triggs, the Multicultural Education Director, during the last SGA meeting.

Many of the students involved with the excessive noise, vandalism, vulgarity, and all around bad behavior at the Blum Student Union are African American.

“It is perceived as a black problem, but we don’t want to segregate,” Triggs said.

Triggs brought her message to the last SGA meeting asking that they address the problem because she feels the issue is a student government problem.

Student Senator Tyson Malone agrees that something needs to be done.  “We (SGA) have selected a committee to analyze the problem, and are working to address it.”

The expensive remodeling of the lounge area including computers is beginning to show some wear and tear along with ink doodles on the upholstery.  There are initials written and carved in some of the furniture and walls.

“We spent the money to improve the area, but the job is not done yet, we need to maintain the area,” Triggs said.

The bookstore is right next door, trying to conduct business.  Even customers on the phone 50 feet into the store have reported hearing the commotion through the phone. Employees of the bookstore say the noise of the students peaks somewhere between 11a.m. and 2 p.m.

 Noise and vulgarity complaints have been reported to the book store employees by customers while in the store also.  One employee remembered hearing a customer say “I hope she doesn’t kiss her mom with that mouth” in regard to a student yelling vulgarity across the area.  The official comment from the bookstore is “We live with it, they are our customers.”

The type of pejorative language Triggs reported includes words such as ‘fag, the n-word, bitch and ho.’  These are not anti homosexual or racial slurs “These are friends calling each other these names,” said Triggs.

Trigg’s goal is to work with instructors also to help address the problem. She feels it is a matter of education as well as a student government problem. “We do not need to take punitive action, these students need education,” said Triggs “students engaged in this type of behavior need to be taken aside, one on one, and asked questions like, ‘How is this behavior helping your education?’ that way we are educating versus punishing them.”

“It looks bad,” said Triggs, “ it’s a few people pushing the limit where no limits have been set.”  Limits may be set soon however, if she gets her way.  “This messes with our (MWSU) goals,” said Triggs.

The area is visited frequently by prospective students and their parents during VIP tours sponsored by the admissions office.  Also many prospective employers and faculty can be seen in the area that someday may be evaluating one of these students in an interview or be asked to write a letter of recommendation. 

“Many of the staff and faculty are afraid to address the problem,” said Triggs, “ but, I don’t know why as long as it is done, one on one, and with respect, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

As the Homcoming week wrapped up, besides the annual drenched students who were out to support the Griffons, the tired organizations who have spent night and day working on the floats, and the exhausted steering commitee who have worked hard for months, most students involved with homecoming have a bitter taste in their mouth. “The Best Homecoming Ever,” was this year’s theme… More like the worst.

Before homecoming week even started there were questions arising as to why homecoming was moved. Homecoming was moved one week up in the schedule from last year’s freezing mess because “It always rains.”

“He moved this up a week because it always rains on us and it’s always so cold and we always miss school the next week because we have pneumonia,” says one of the student workers in the CSE who was on hand for the date switch.

The intentions were good, we suppose. But because someone fancied himself the world’s best meteorologist, Homecoming was scheduled on a three day weekend.

That’s not necessarily horrible in itself except that lots of college students see three day weekends as their chance to go home and reconnect with family and friends.

Also, Pumpkin Fest, a known festival for children, was scheduled that same weekend, including a parade on Saturday. So at the slightest hint of bad weather, most parents aren’t going to drag their children out to two parades in pouring rain.

Thats not a great way to show that Missouri Western supports the community by trying to compete with a known community event. Plus, they had advertisment constantly on the television,  we would lose that battle.

So planning Homecoming for this weekend made sense how?

But as Saturday rolled around, and the rain continued to fall on the cursed homecoming parade day, one thing was different. No, it wasn’t freezing rain, it was lighting. And apparently, floats are lightning rods and having people out on them is not a good idea.

So for one of the first times in a long while, the parade was cancelled.

We think most organizations would have taken the freezing rain and letting their hard work be shown, than lightning, no parade and working hard to line up with halfway torn down floats at the library.

That is the other thing. When organization arrived for the parade line-up, with their soggy floats, they were told it was cancelled. They weren’t told until later that they were suppose to meet at 10 a.m. in the library parking lot for judging.

Several organization had already taken parts of their floats down or the water had destroyed important parts. They were told to fix their float and be judged. Because after staying up for 24 hours working on a float, then driving the float in the pourng rain, they want to come back to the float site and work for several more hours fixing something that didn’t have to be fixed in the first place if a phone call had been made 30 minutes earlier saying the parade was cancelled and judging was at 10 a.m.

So, besides the lack of spirit around campus with the no windows (thanks stupid people that don’t know how to clean things off properly or used spray paint), the lack of greek participation for various reasons and the overall bad timing.

This homecoming has to be one of the worst homecomings in a long time. (Not to discredit any of the hard work the steering committee put out)  Thanks a lot Stan… Oh yes, he no longer works here.

Also, if your going to run for homecoming king, make sure you can actually show  up and get your crown. Football players have won in the past and stood out there in their football uniform to celebrate their win.
 
After all of this we would say that we were jinxed from the begining. So never name Homecoming the “Best Week Ever,” you’re  just asking for trouble. 

The play is about a woman named Donna, who is in love with a married man and father of four children. When Paul Devilin decides that he wants to leave his wife and kids to marry Donna, her conscience finally kicks in and she turns to the one thing she thinks will take her out of her misery: get­ting wasted and then killing herself. But in her drunken state of mind, instead of actually jumping to her death, she is taken back to her home by her guardian angel, Charlie Russell who turns out to be the love of her life. The cast only consisted of three characters. Freshman Ashlynd Scott played Donna, sophomore Grant Metcalf played Charlie Russell and senior Jesse Boley played Paul Devilin. Both Scott and Metcalf are theatre and video majors and Boley is majoring in music.

Seniors Candice Schrader, director, and Jennifer George, assistant director, chose to start the season with this romantic comedy. At the end of last spring one of the theatre teachers came to Schrader and George about directing the fall season’s play. George, who had already analyzed this play once before, really enjoyed it.

“I knew this play inside out. I was famil­iar with this play from my script analysis class last year,” George said.
When the teachers asked for some of the seniors to direct the first show of the season, George thought it would be a good idea to put this play on for the beginning of the season.

“Jennifer really wanted to put it on but she knew she was going to be having a baby and she did not want to commit to such a thing should something happen,” Schrader said.

“When I first read this play I wanted to direct it, but I was pregnant and I knew I would not be able to do it all on my own,” George said.
The teachers ended up approaching Schrader, asking if she would mind direct­ing the play with George.

“After reading it, I was like, ‘OK, I like it.’ I think its funny and I decided to direct it together,” Schrader said.
]
With George already signing on as the assistant director, Schrader went ahead to take on the roll of being the director. The two women, whose majors are also theatre and video, found the time to come together and work on this wonderful play.

It’s called the outdoor semester and while it includes classes, you also get to travel to outdoor settings while you are learning.

According to the brochure, students “learn how the land shaped people’s lives. Read their stories. Listen to drums, fiddles and flutes.  Hike, camp, canoe, horseback ride, rock climb and white water raft your way to a new relationship with the natural world.”

Nine students actually participated in the North Trek on Sept. 15-27 and eight faculty and support personnel went along.

There will be a south trek on Oct. 27 to Nov. 7.

Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, co-director of the outdoor semester, has been organizing the outdoor semester for about nine years and every year has been a challenge.

This year six more students wanted to go on the trek but could not, three found they could not afford the $950 additional activity fee and three because of academic problems.

When asked if the additional cost of the semester was worth it, students Bonnie Seaboldt and Jamie Bolton both enthusiastically said that it was, and they agreed it would cost much more to do on their own.

“We read a book in my English class and one of the places it talked about was Hole in the Wall and we actually visited there,” Seaboldt said.

Hole in the Wall is a natural geological structure among the upper Missouri River Breaks and was formed in sandstone by wind and erosion.

It is a large square hole in the top of a cliff where there was a star show.

“I’ve never seen a sky like that,” Seaboldt said.
 
Sawin thinks that traveling in the off-season makes the trip a good value.

The fact that there aren’t many universities doing what this MWSU is does lets the group go places other people don’t get to go.

Over the years the outdoor semester has developed relationships with many sites that want to help the university supply a quality experience to our students.

The students read Fools Crow by James Welch, a story about the Blackfeet Indians, the impact of the settlers and the ultimate change in the customs, ceremonies and traditions of the tribe.

Then the students go out into the environment that the story took place in. Welch used many sources to accurately reconstruct the lives of  the Blackfeet during a transi­tional time in their culture when they would no longer be allowed to roam. 

The students kept journals of their trip and were graded on them.

At campfires they can choose to share their entries.

Russ Phillips, psychology professor, and two community members read poetry and narratives at the campfires.

Amy Saxton, outdoor education administrative assis­tant, and a student both played the cedar flute.

A retired faculty member, Jerry Wilkerson, is the camp cook, supply truck driver and resident astronomer.

He did the star show at Hole in the Wall and will do one at Chaco Canyon on the south trek. 

Sawin said “This kind of learning is interdisciplinary learning with interconnections and field experience, being in the landscape of the novels, you’re on the river Lewis and Clark would recognize as their own and it gives them multiple points of view.

They get a taste of what the pioneer experience was like.”

Student Jamie Bolton said, “I learn better hands-on, it was way better than just being in a classroom.”

Students get credit with outdoor semester for being in the field as well as being in the classroom.

Students see the geography, actively participate in outdoor physical education and write about their experi­ences.

Students realize that settlers had 2000 mile to travel and they walked from sundown to sun-up accomplishing about 15 miles each day. 

Even in a van with air-conditioning and padded seats, a day’s travel lets them learn as Sawin said,”from the seat of their pants,” just how broad the plains the settlers trav­eled are.

James Grechus, co-director of outdoor semester as well as professor emeritus of health, physical education and recreation, said that part of what he teaches is how to live in a natural environment.
 
He schedules the itinerary for the trips. 

Most years the students have to choose between the north and south trek but this year they can go on both trips.
 
He said, “We talk a lot about how the land is being uti­lized and how it is being protected.”

They also get to see the real results of a conservation act signed by President Clinton that saved the upper Missouri Breaks. 

This is the scenery that Meriwether Clark called “a scene of visionary enchantment.”

Grechus said, “They learn about themselves through the physical experience.

They become immersed in nature.
It prepares them to move through the natural environ­ment and have fun doing it.
 
We live in such an artificial environment, that often­times we exclude ourselves from nature. 

We try to develop an appreciation for it, so we can learn to protect it.”

The psychology of group dynamics and dealing with a group is also part of the trip.  Grechus said, learning about “an individual’s responsibility to the group and the group to the individual is a very intense thing when you are around someone twenty four- seven.”

It teaches the students about themselves in an applied application of psychology.

The professors also learn from the outdoor semester and each other.
 
Ken Dagel, associate professor in Geology, and Sawin co-wrote a paper last year on how physical geography impacts the novel Fools Crow. 
He presented it at a conference in Denver this year.

The students will be developing a interpretive program for the community that they will present on Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Spratt Recital Hall.
It will have exhibits on their travels and experiences.

MWSU Student Government Association spon­sored partnership, which was first introduced in April of 2007, is a service for all students, faculty and staff free of charge.

 “With college expenses on the rise, every dollar counts,” Ashley Dobson, program manager of the Student Savings Club, said in a press release. “We’re just trying to help students save a little money.”

The Student Savings Club features discounts and special offers with national and Saint Joseph restau­rants, lodgings and various personal services.

Offers include a buy one, get one free bowling game at Belt Bowl and a free Ergoline 600 tan with the purchase of a month’s unlimited tanning at Fun Tan.

“I didn’t even know about the Student Savings Club,” Philip Behan, a MSWU student, said. “I’m definitely going to try use them now. Maybe it will make my life even better.”

In order to redeem these offers, students must only present their Missouri Western Griffon iden­tification card upon placing orders at participating businesses.

All offers are good until April 30, 2008.

For convienance, a complete list of participating merchants can be obtained in a printable pocket guide form at www.studentsavingsclub.com.

Other services on the website include opportuni­ties to win a free Ipod Nano in a monthly drawing, a virtual mall to find promotions at all your favorite retailers, and a list of new advertisers and their offers.

In order to request a business you would like to see become a member in the future, students should send the businesses’ name, phone and address to offers@studentsavingsclub.com.

The Student Savings Club is a Chicago based national discount program with over 170 colleges and universities registered nationwide.
 
Missouri Western is one of four Missouri schools currently enrolled in the program.

The service is provided free of charge to all regis­tered schools.

Businesses pay a small fee in order to advertise to college students in hopes of encouraging patronage, and their fees cover the cost of providing the site’s service.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The series will begin with two showings of “Light Years from Andromeda,” on Oct. 1 and 2.
This show was selected to start the series in order to coincide with the St. Joseph News-Press
Newspapers in Education: Stories and The Stars.

For the week of Oct. 1 the Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics Department will
sponsor the section of the newspaper on Andromeda.

The last two shows are “More Than Meets The Eye” and “Lewis and Clark” on Oct. 8 and 9.
Mr. Jerry Wilkerson will present all shows.

The planetarium shows not only appeal to Western students, especially those taking astronomy,
but many community groups are showing an interest.

Public schools, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups, and others have attended these shows.

Linda Flesher, administrative assistant for Computer Science, Math, and Physics Department,
said that due to the success of past series they began a summer series in 2007.

“We ended up adding about three or four shows,” Flesher said.

“I think summertime is a good time to do this because in the fall and winter people get really
busy. In the summer it worked out great.”

There are also plans for a new show to be brought to campus. “MarsQuest” is planned to premiere
in the Spring. Dr. Chris Godfrey, technical producer, says the show was added due to interest
in Mars exploration.

“Mr. Wilkerson suggested that one because of the past and current Mars expeditions: the sort of
robotic rovers that are crawling around Mars, both in the last few years and now again as we
speak,” Godfrey said. “He thought that would be a good one to generate public interest.”

Each show costs an average of $1,500 including the soundtrack and slides. Funding for the planetarium comes from two sources.

They receive an operating budget through Western and they have a revenue account from the attendance fees.

This money is used for maintenance and materials.

The planetarium was opened in the fall of 1969 and was not updated until 1998 to keep up
with the computer generation. Wilkerson has been the shows’ presenter from the beginning.

“Just about everything in here is computer controlled and before that was not the case,” Wilkerson said. “Actually we used to change the things you see by hand.”

The planetarium is located at Agenstein 105. The eveningshows start at 7 p.m., are about
an hour long and cost three dollars per person. To reserve your spot call 816-271-4370.

Since June 5, construction paid for by TIF (tax increment financing) funds from American Family Insurance has inconvenienced many Western students and staff.
 
Casey Patton, Bartlett and West Engineers Inc., location manager, has been supervising the construction all summer. 

“It’s been a long summer and we wish we would have been done sooner, but the construction ran into some unknown conditions,” Patton said.  “We’d like to thank everyone for their patience and we are glad it is almost over.”

Patton said the curb work is almost finished and the rock base has been set for the asphalt to be laid this week. 

“Hopefully we’ll see some blacktop down and the road will be open,” Patton said.

Rain is the only concern the crew is worried about.  Patton said that when weather becomes an issue, one day of rain could equal almost two days of delay.  If rain becomes a factor, Patton said the rest of Mitchell would re-open by the first week in October.

 “This is a win-win for American Family and Missouri Western.” Lonnie Johnson, Missouri Western’s director of facilities said.

Johnson said there have been mild concerns by students and staff but he feels for the most part everyone has been very understanding.

Missouri Western has been working along side as partners with American Family during the construction.  Western, though, has not had to pay for any of the construction improvements. 

Johnson said during the planning phases, Western insisted American Family place a temporary stoplight at Faraon St.ing along side as partners with American Family during the construction.

Western, though, has not had to pay for any of the construction improvements.  Johnson said during the planning phases, Western insisted American Family place a temporary stoplight at Faraon St. and James McCarthy Dr. Johnson said Western put in a request for the city to place a permanent traffic signal at this location, but currently there is not enough traffic flow.  Johnson hopes they will take another survey and re-evaluate the intersection after the construction is complete.

Mitchell Ave. was completely closed from Woodbine Rd. to 50th St. while the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) took advantage of American Family’s construction to resurface the Mitchell Bridge.  The bridge was repaved and expanded to include barricaded sidewalks for pedestrians to cross the bridge.

Elaine Justus, the community relations manager for MoDOT said, “We believe it is a great improvement over what was there before.”
Construction will continue along the sides of Mitchell after the street’s re-opening, but impact on traffic should be minimal.

Dr. Paul Shang is one of the members of Missouri Western’s staff that suddenly left over the summer. His position and responsibilities as dean of student development, has now been split to several faculty members and Dr. Judy Grimes, Dean of Student Services will take over as interim dean of student development.

“I don’t believe that Dr. Shang was actively looking for another position,” Grimes said. “But this one happened to come along and it seemed like a great opportunity for him. It evolved early in the summer, after classes for the spring were over.”

Dr. Shang took the position as Asst. Vice Chancellor for Student Development at UMKC. The new position began the middle of July.

“Dr. Shang was very involved with the strategic planning process, particularly in the applied learning area,” Grimes said. “He also worked to bring in some excellent staff, enhance the residential life, provide opportunities for students to be engaged on campus and participated in events on and off campus including conferences across the country.”

Grimes looks at this change as an opportunity to look where Missouri Western is and where it’s going. The group that is taking over for Dr. Shang, includes Grimes, Cynthia Heider and Don Willis, they will collaborate and find Western’s greatest needs.

“It is always difficult when good people leave an institution,” Grimes said. “We greatly appreciated his energy and his dedication to Western.  He was a very student-centered administrator and worked hard on the behalf of students. Fortunately, he built an excellent staff and I know they will carry on many of the programs he believed in.”

Dr. Shang’s leaving came as a surprise to most, though Grimes believes that changes are not always a bad thing.

“When there is change, people who aren’t in the loop always worry what is going on,” Grimes said. “That is why I am happy to talk to students or groups that have questions or concerns.”

A search will begin for a new Dean of Student Development later in the year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Though the idea of recruitment has stayed the same, many new features have taken effect, which will allow more students the opportunity to go through the recruitment process without affecting too much of their daily lives.

“The best part about the new system, especially for the Panhellenic women, is that it is more flexible,” Panhellenic officer, Natalie Bailey said. “This will allow more women to go through because they don’t have to take an entire week off of work and away from studying.”

Panhellenic recruitment will begin Tuesday, Sept. 4, with a sorority fair. This will give potential members the opportunity
to learn about each of the four social sororities on campus. Recruitment for the women will continue the rest of the week. Wednesday, Sept.5, women interested will learn more about the process and meet the Rho Gamma’s, disaffiliated member of each sorority, who will help them through out the week. Thursday, Sept. 6 to Saturday, Sept. 8, potential members will visit the different sororities, and Sunday, Sept. 9, bid day will conclude the week.

This will be the first year that the recruitment system went from being a formal structure to a partially-structured recruitment. “This means that each potential has to meet with each chapter, but she can spend as little or as much time with each chapter as she wants,” Bailey said. “Also, there are two nights to meet the chapters, and the potentials can come one or both nights. This will hopefully make it easier for women to participate in recruitment.”

Fraternity Recruitment will also begin on Sept. 4, with several events as a whole, then individual rush events beginning on Sept. 10.

“Inter Fraternal Council, Panhellenic Association, and National Pan-Hellenic Council Recruitment are all very different,” Bailey said. “For IFC, each organization conducts its own recruitment activities. For PA, each chapter coordinates together and holds recruitment together. For NPHC, each chapter holds membership intake at different times, and it is a secret process until the new members are revealed.”

Those interested in joining a Greek organization can contact the center for student engagement. To sign up for Panhellenic Recruitment, go to www.missouriwestern.edu/engagements and click on the link. Any girl interested in going through formal recruitment must sign up online to participate. To sign up for Inter Fraternity Council Recruitment attend the Greek informational meeting, and to sign-up for National Pan-Hellenic Recruitment, contact the organization you are interested in.

Practicing during all hours of the night isn’t anything new for Kirk, a 2003 graduate of Emporia High School.

“I try to practice between three to five hours a day, but I split it up between the morning and most nights,” he said. “I go back and stay late at Potter. Practicing 5 hours straight is not possible in my mind.”

However, he hasn’t always been this passionate about his music. It wasn’t until he changed piano instructors during his freshman year of high school that it became a big deal to Kirk.

“My new teacher was ‘get serious or don’t waste my time’, so that’s when I started practicing around an hour and a half every day, which was much more than I had ever practiced before,” he said. “Before that, it was just a hobby.”

So, when it came time for him to graduate from high school, naturally, he didn’t want to give up four years of piano study.

“That’s why I chose the double major in Music Education with am emphasis in Piano Performance,” Kirk said.

Kirk was drawn to Western after a competition here in October of his senior year. He won Honorable Mention and studied in a master class with Western music professor David Bennett.

“I was in a class that day with him, and I really liked his approach to teaching,” Kirk said.

Consequently, Bennett set up some scholarship interviews, and Daniel came back up for another visit and applied for admission.

“After lots of deliberating between Kansas State, the University of Kansas and Western, I chose Western because of Dr. Bennett and the scholarship opportunities available to me here,” Kirk said.

Bennett has seen Kirk progress much in their time together.

“He’s grown a lot over the last four years,” Bennett said. “He now has a much deeper understanding of the music, and he possesses a very disciplined approach. He also understands that is preparation necessary for a senior recital. Daniel has developed into a fine pianist, and I hope he doesn’t give up on that. He is at the point to do such great things with his music.”

Bennett said that Daniel has been a challenging, wonderful, inquisitive student because of his ability to take ideas that he has been presented, ask why, and apply them to a multitude of situations.

“He has been a joy to teach,” Bennett said. “I can’t stress enough how conscientious he’s been in preparing for his recital and how diligently he’s worked in his time here.”

Though he was concerned with campus culture in comparison to the University of Kansas, he was excited for his studies and decided that those would be the focus of his stay here at Western. But Kirk is the first to say that the piano isn’t his entire life.

“Of course, I have to keep my priorities straight,” Kirk said. “In order to function, I need the therapy of being with my family and wonderful friends, just relaxing or doing spontaneous things.”

As a peer and fellow music education major, Chris McDonald has also been able to witness to Daniel’s lighter side.

“He’s a great character, so outspoken and witty,” McDonald said. “But he’s also honest, a great person and a great friend.”

For sure, Daniel is a multi-faceted college student. He was part of a group instrumental to organizing and implementing Missouri Western Pride Alliance and was a member of Beta Chi Delta, in addition to Missouri Western Marching Bands and being a drum major in the fall of 2006. He was also a member of the Madison Scouts Drum Corps during the summers of 2004 and 2005 and has performed in crowds larger than 25,000.

The day after his junior recital last May, he immediately began auditioning pieces for what would ultimately be played at his senior recital this Friday night.

“This recital is really a culmination of a year’s worth of work, and really a culmination of my entire undergraduate studies,” he said. “It does signify an end to my learning at Western, but I want to continue with learning later on, and focus on my teaching.”

Though he doesn’t graduate until December, this semester ends his regular studies here on campus. In the fall, he will begin his student teaching at Blue Valley West High School.

“The caliber of the instrumental music program at that school is unprecedented, and I’m happy and very lucky to be a part of that and do my student teaching there,” Kirk said.

As someone who has spent a good amount of time with Kirk, McDonald has high aspirations for his fellow student and friend.

“He is so incredibly goal-oriented and just focuses and achieves those goals,” McDonald said. “I see him progressing so much more than he already has as a musician, becoming an amazing teacher and achieving great things with his groups. He expects a lot from the people he’s working with, so I know they’ll go far and achieve much with him as their leader.”

After graduation, Kirk will begin searching for a position in education. Due to the many connections he has made with other music educators in the Kansas City area, this should prove successful. He also hopes to continue with his studies and hopes to pursue a graduate degree and doctoral degree in music.

Though his career and focus in the future will be educating tomorrow’s youth, Kirk recognizes that piano will always be a part of his life.

“I’ve spent too much time behind the piano for it not to be a part of me,” Kirk said. “I’ll continue to teach and learn and hopefully perform. Piano will no longer be the focus, my teaching will be, but it will always be a part of me. I’m definitely ready to close the doors on my stay at Western and move into a successful career in music education and graduate study.”

Those around him have no doubt about that.

Daniel’s senior recital will be held in Potter Hall on May 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Construction will begin along Mitchell Avenue shortly after the graduation ceremonies conclude. Every entrance to Missouri Western from Mitchell Avenue will be closed for the entire summer. The Missouri Department of Transportation will be making improvements to the I-29 bridge, again.

While MoDOT will be working their magic on the bridge, another project will be underway just a hop, skip and a jump to the east.

Casey Patton and his colleagues at Bartlett and West Engineers, under contract with American Family Insurance, are constructing plans to widen Mitchell Avenue to three lanes. The construction will close Mitchell Avenue from the main entrance at Downs Drive to the eastern-most entrance at 50th Street.

The only way to access campus will be the entrance at Faraon and McCarthy. A temporary stoplight will be erected until the construction on Mitchell Avenue is completed.

One of the main aspects of the construction plans is to add a turning lane to Mitchell Avenue, widening it to a three-lane road.

A stop light will be added at Southeast College Drive when American Family aligns their main entrance with the campus entrance. Southeast College Drive is the entrance just east of the campus’s main entrance.

The entrances to the campus on Southeast College Drive and Southwest College Drive will also be converted to three-lane roads. Traffic will no longer be able to turn left out of, or onto, Southwest College Drive after the construction is completed. Turning the intersection into a right-turn only intersection is an effort to elude the congestion of cars that backs up Mitchell Avenue at peek driving times.

While the construction to widen Mitchell Avenue will be completed by the beginning of the fall semester, the construction to widen the entrances is not projected to be completed by that time. Bartlett and West Engineers plan to have the entrances completed by December.

Construction will take place on one entrance at a time to ensure that campus is accessible from Mitchell Avenue.

“It will be a little bit of an inconvenience, but it will be accessible,” Patton said.

The construction will also include adding curbs, gutters and sidewalks to the north side of Mitchell Avenue.

Missouri Western will have to relocate the large “Missouri Western State University” sign with the Griffon perched on top of it at the main entrance. The sign is in line with the construction plans. Officials at the Board of Governors meeting discussed keeping the sign in the same relative location, just moving it north along Downs Drive. Ultimately, they did not come to a conclusion and the sign could end up anywhere on campus.

“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.

For those students who completed research projects during the last academic year, Western offered an opportunity to display their hard work in the 17th semi-annual Multidisciplinary Research Day.

On April 30 in the Blum Union, students from all different studies crowded in show off their posters to faculty or students. About 45 students participated, representing most departments at Western.

Students like Mignon Wilkins, a senior majoring in psychology, said that the whole thing was worth it.

“All in all, it wasn’t as bad,” Wilkins said. “I know now that I can go somewhere else and do quality research.” It took Wilkins close to four months to get everything put together for her poster.

“This project separates the women from the girls,” Wilkins said.

This program originated in 1994, when four professors decided to develop a forum for biology and psychology students who had done research projects, which consisted of a lot of work, but their talent was left unnoticed.

Originally, they named it Interdisciplinary Research Day. The change to Multidisciplinary came about when the professors noticed other students from different majors were interested in participating in the program.

This Forum is an opportunity for students to present their work in poster form; this forum generally falls into the category of research and creative activities, both inside and outside of classes. The Forum in the past years brought together between 50 and 70 students. The forum consists of no judges or oral presentations – just students presenting their posters.

Biology professor Todd Eckdahl said that a student who participates or that has participated in the past has great opportunities ahead of them because this is the way to get started in giving presentations.

“Students will present their posters here, and once they’ve got it put together, then they may go present it at a state level meeting and then maybe next fall they’ll go present it at a national meeting, which then may lead to publishing it in a paper,” Eckdahl said.

Eckdahl also mentioned that this was the purpose of developing this program because there are opportunities waiting, and it’s not competitive and all-inclusive. If students want to present they can.

“This is a celebration of student achievement in applied learning,” Eckdahl said.

Psychology major Adrienne Pierce has participated in this program for two years now, and she said that it might be a little harder for first-time students.

“It is a lot of work, but it will definitely help students in the long run,” Pierce said.

Another point of this program is so that students can see what other students are doing in their courses.

The program is open to any students who have done a research project and is interested in forming it into a poster. The research presented on the poster does not have to be scientific research; it can be literature reviews or a timeline.

There has been discussion about oral presentations, but that would not work because it would take more time to develop and students would have only a limited amount of time to speak.

Psychology professor Brian Cronk said that they have not done oral presentation in the past for logistical reasons.

“It’s just harder to get more rooms, schedule times and find an audience to listen, so we just stuck with the poster session,” Cronk said. This program introduces applied learning in another method.

“It’s an opportunity to develop professional communication skills,” Cronk said.

Biology professor David Ashley said that he thinks this Multidisciplinary Research Day stands out because students are able to do research projects and present them in a formal way.

“When students get to the end of their time at Missouri Western and they start applying for jobs, they need something on their resume that is beyond the classroom, and that’s what this program is,” Ashley said.

Cronk has developed a Web site for Multidisciplinary Research Day for students who are interested. Ashley calls the website innovative.

“I’m very impressed with the Web site that Dr. Cronk has developed; it is very effective in helping us organize this Research Day,” Ashley said.

Any students interested for next fall can visit the Web site at www.missouriwestern.edu/psychology/mrd/.

Over 50 Western students participated at Saturday’s ping-pong tournament in the Blum Union.

Yellow shirts, which were given to all participants, came and went as students played the game, mingled with friends and enjoyed the food.

Still standing at the end was Brian Munson, who was the winner of the tournament and received the Nintendo Wii.

“I’m definitely happy,” Munson said. “It was a fun experience. There were a lot of people – a lot more than I thought. Anytime you can win a Wii playing ping-pong, that’s pretty awesome.”

In second place came Drew Newhart, who received a $100 Barnes and Noble gift certificate, third place belonged to Dustin Strickles, who was given a $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificate and fourth place was Jacob Schoonover, who won a $25 Barnes and Noble gift certificate.

The top 16 players were given a second shirt and a trophy. These individuals were Craig Wolfe, Mark Ryder, Luke Ackers, Brian Munson, Dustin Stickler, Dustin Dendleton, David McDowell, Brian James, Drew Newhart, Jimmy Daugherty, Marcy Sullwold, Ben Lee, Ray Yeomans, Larry Pendleton, Adam Wood and Jacob Schoonover.

Anyone who attended the tournament could sign up to win an XBox 360. Elaisha Mattie was the winner of this year’s Xbox 360 drawing. She was surprised and happy to have won.

“I really don’t win anything at all,” Mattie said. “I get into drawings and never win.”

Student Courtney Slater plays ping-pong in her spare time and was happy to participate in the competition.

“I play everybody for fun over at the LLC and Leverton,” Slater said. “It’s fun to see all of us together and see who’s the best. It’s normally just played for fun, but it’s also fun to get competitive.”

Wonda Berry, recreation services and facilities director, feels this tournament was a success. She was proud of all the hard work that went into lifting the event off the ground.

“As a person who runs tournaments, I think this one ran smoothly,” Berry said. “It was because of all the help that we had. Everyone pulled together and knew what to do.”

Residence Council supported the tournament. Traci Haug and Charles Howell were the two members who handed out shirts to all those who attended.

“It turned out great,” Haug said. Howell echoed her sentiments.

“It really did turn out great,” Howell said. “We did not know what to expect.”

Kathy Kelly, dean of student affairs, was pleased with the turnout and the support shown by Western’s community.

“I am so happy to see everyone come out here and play,” Kelly said.

Daugherty and his unit are scheduled to leave during the summer to go to Kosovo; this will be his second major deployment.

Missouri Western’s librarian Michelle Diaz said that Daugherty’s absence would definitely be noticed.

“He is one of the main public service librarians here,” Diaz said. “He is a great person to collaborate with when there are computer-related issues that need to be worked on.”

Daugherty is no stranger to having to be away from his family and country. He was deployed in early 2004 to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom for 13 months. His unit was in charge of perimeter defense. He said he was proud to serve in such a historical point of time.

And others are proud of Daugherty’s service, too.

“I feel proud that someone local is going out there to fight for us,” Western student David Wyble said. “It just makes things more real when someone close to home is leaving.”

During his time in the Army National Guard, Daugherty has been called on many occasions besides fighting in the war. He helped out in one flood in Minnesota as a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard. He was also called upon again when the events of Hurricane Katrina happened. He and 15,000 other soldiers were able to help coordinate and give support to the needs of the locals.

Daugherty was a sophomore in college when a recruiter and a friend came by his house to talk about joining. When he decided to join, Daugherty probably didn’t realize the ripple effect of that one decision.

“Being able to travel has been one my most unique experiences,” Daugherty said.

He’s been to Norway, Singapore, Thailand, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar. In July of 2005 was when he was able to go Singapore, which he said he enjoyed.

“They have a good economy there,” Daugherty said. “And it was nice being around that culture, even though people were speaking different languages there, English was still the most prevalent one.”

He also enjoyed Thailand because he was able to train with the same army personnel that also staged a military coup in that country.

Daugherty isn’t the only one in his family that’s been able to serve his country. His dad joined the Air Force and stayed for 20 years.

While Daugherty was away in Iraq he also received letters from his uncle, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

In 1991 Daugherty was doing ROTC at the University of Kansas, where he has been able to take the leadership skills he has learned and apply it to his everyday life.

“I’ve been able to help supervise student workers more effectively,” he said.

Student librarian Charly Wells agrees that Daugherty’s skills have helped him supervise.

“He works really great with the student workers,” Wells said. “He always takes the extra mile to help out and answer questions for students. He is like the go-to guy.”

Musicians from all around the globe will be coming here to compete and perform. The festival offers lectures, master sessions, jam sessions, concerts and over $8,000 in prize money, ranking it in the top four classical guitar competitions in the U.S. And it only costs $5 for a student ticket – less than a twelve-pack of Bud Light.

“We have world-class performers in a setting where you can see and watch them play that you would pay five to ten times as much in an urban area,” said Mark Mikkelson, professor of philosophy and board member for the festival.

Anthony Glise, festival founder and director, has been called the true soul of the festival by many of his contemporaries.

“The festival is my baby,” Glise said. “Dr. Gilmore turned me loose to design my idea of a ‘perfect festival’ and frankly, it has become exactly that.”

Mikkelson has been going to the concerts for the last two years and feels that many people do not know the significance of this event.

“It is sort of strange, but St. Joseph doesn’t quite realize how large this festival has become,” Mikkelson said. “We have people that fly in from Tokyo, Amsterdam, Paris – you name it – just to be in St. Joe for the festival. In the past it has been a display of virtuosity beyond imagination, and it is all here in Saint Joseph.”

Mikkelson is eager to see the performances at this year’s festival.

“We were looking for unique signature-like events that could be used to enhance the community, and the level of talent that Tony is able to bring to this community because of his connections internationally in the guitar circuit is phenomenal,” he said. “What we get is a set of the best guitar players in the world.”

Matt Gilmore, director of Western’s music department, helps coordinate the festival for the department, and said that repeat performers like the community of St. Joseph.

“It’s wonderful that it brings people from all around the world to St. Joseph, and after spending time here, they don’t mind coming back,” Gilmore said. “They have always been very impressed with their reception in this community.”

Gilmore has a few suggestions on the shows that students won’t want to miss.

“Don’t miss the Friday show of the Flamenco or the Saturday show of the Hungry Monks,” he said. “These will be really good. They were partly selected to bring in a wide-based audience.”

Sophomore Edy Offner sees the festival as an enormous opportunity and credits Glise with it.

“I think that we are so lucky to have the kind of fantastic international guitarists that come to this festival,” Offner said. “It’s the fourth largest festival of this kind in the U.S. this year, and the fact that it’s in St. Joseph, MO, really says something. I don’t think anyone realizes how lucky we are to have Anthony Glise on our campus, because without him, none of this could have happened.”

A free opening party and jam session will start the five-day event at 7 p.m. on May 16 at Café Acoustic, 2605 Frederick Ave.

For more information on the guitar festival visit www.missouriwestern.edu/guitarfestival/ or call the music department at 816-271-4420.

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Concerts to be held:

• Aleksandre Tsiboulski, solo classical guitar, at 7:30 p.m. May 17 in Leah Spratt Hall, Kemper Recital Hall
• Val and Lucia, Flamenco and Iberian-Celtic music with guest dancers, at 7:30 p.m. May 18 in Thompson E. Potter Hall Theater
• Hungry Monks, historical and Celtic folk music, at 7:30 p.m. May 19 in Potter Hall Theater
• Final competition rounds and awards ceremony at 3 p.m. May 20 at The Dome, 12th St. and Felix

After each concert, the performers, competitors, masterclass participants, local guitarists and audience members are invited to attend the four free post-concert jam sessions to relax and share different styles of music. Jam sessions are as follows:

• 9 p.m. May 17 at “La Dolce Vita” at 36th Street, 501 N. Belt
• 9 p.m. May 18 at HiHo, 1817 Frederick
• 9 p.m. May 19 at Magoon’s Saloon, 632 S. 8th St.
• 6 p.m. May 20 at Terrible’s St. Joseph Casino, 777 Winners Circle

All masterclasses are held in Leah Spratt Hall, Kemper Recital Hall.

Except for one Western student, Selma Barbosa, who will soon leave Sweden to spend the summer closer to Western.

Barbosa has been doing double dribble this past year; she has been a college student while also playing professional women’s basketball in Sweden.

“Basketball is my passion, and I knew I was not ready to stop playing it after my senior year,” Barbosa said. “After I got my first major, I got myself a basketball agent and told him I wanted to keep playing basketball in Europe, where I knew I would have an opportunity to show my basketball skills.”

Barbosa recently slam-dunked her first year playing for The Comets, a European women’s basketball team.

While in the paint in Sweden, Barbosa has been attending UMEA University, a large university with a total student population of 30,000.

“The classes I am taking are related to my major, Spanish,” Barbosa said. Barbosa is taking 16 points, which will match the hours that she will need to be able to graduate from Western this summer.

Barbosa’s game schedule dead balled in March, as the season ended. She played games twice a week, playing in the highest-Elite league in Sweden. She helped her team control the boards all over Sweden.

“Every team had their foreign players, and most of the foreign players were from the United States,” Barbosa said. “I think I was the only South American player in the league. I got to know most of the American players.”

Barbosa said her practice was similar to that of when she was in college. Most of her teammates, including her coach, were also studying. She practiced mostly at night, after 6 p.m. everyday, only having one day to rest.

“My opinion is if a person really wants to accomplish something, she or he will find a way and time to do it,” Barbosa said. “I never had a problem with my homework. I always took my homework on trips with me or I would wake up earlier and do it.”

While Barbosa has been palming classes at UMEA, the support of her team at Western have been a tremendous help.

“Judith Grimes has been an angel in my life, since I decided to take my last courses here in Sweden,” Barbosa said. “The head of the foreign language department, Dr. Hennessy, also helped me tremendously, especially when she found a way to translate all my course descriptions. They were all in Swedish, and she had to read it to be able to approve it so she found someone that was able to translate it.”

Barbosa has communicated with Grimes, Hennessy and the registrar’s office almost daily in trying to complete requirements for
her summer graduation.

“We e-mailed sometimes five times a week,” Grimes said.

While e-mail correspondence worked to solve some questions, paperwork and other important documents, such as transcripts, were often faxed between the University in Sweden and Western.

“Mechanics were the main challenges, mostly paperwork,” Grimes said.

Passion drove Barbosa to Europe to play basketball. Rebounding after a two-year leave of absence, Barbosa charged to Western
in search of what she wanted to do after her basketball career.

After three years of college, Barbosa needed a fastbreak because she still couldn’t decide for sure what she wanted to study. That was when she heard about the idea of a PTA degree.

“I fell in love with the idea of a physical therapist assistances degree,” Barbosa said.

Washburn University and Missouri Western were only two of the few universities in the country that offered the major.

“The coach from Washburn and coach Keister – at that time he was still the assistant coach for Missouri Western – knew me from Bacone Junior College, so I took a visit to both schools and I decided to play for Missouri Western and also study physical therapy,” Barbosa said.

She left her family and her home in Barretos, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil at the age of 15 when she had the opportunity to develop the man-to-man defense with her basketball skills by playing in other cities in Brazil.

“My parents always taught me that education always should come first than basketball because my education, my diploma and knowledge cannot be taken away, but basketball can be taken away anytime with a serious injury or something else,” Barbosa said.

Realizing that it would be difficult to scrimmage both: playing basketball and further her education, Barbosa soon made the choice to come to the United States where she could do both.

“I had a few ex-Brazilians teammates playing in the states, and also my Brazilian coach at that time knew a coach in the USA, so I told him I would like to go to the United States to study and play basketball,” Barbosa said.

Speaking not a word of English, Barbosa attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., where she would play basketball, learn English and complete a degree.

Barbosa’s three-point fiend goals at Bacone earned her a position at Fort Hays State University, where she played only one season. Barbosa plans to take her PTA board exam after graduation and get her license.

“I would like during the summer, to get a job as a physical therapist assistant and get some experience on this field,” Barbosa said.

When the season starts again in September, Barbosa plans to travel to Europe to return to basketball.

“I always tell my good friends that I will continue to play basketball until no team wants to hire me anymore – until they tell me that I am too old to play the game,” she said. “That’s when I will stop playing serious, but I will still play for fun.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nicoson said that campuses will continue to assess communication options.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The annual Spring Concert, which is organized by the Missouri Western Campus Activities Board, featured the Grammy nominated alternative rock band, Switchfoot. The San Diego natives put on the type of energetic and entertaining performance for which they are known.

Some students, like Lauren Shroyer, were excited about getting the chance to see Switchfoot.

“I would consider myself a fan,” Shroyer said. “I really like the movie ‘A Walk to Remember’, and they played a lot of the music for that movie. I was excited to see them, but I had to drag my boyfriend there.”

Other students, however, were not impressed with this year’s act. Northwest Missouri State University featured the bands Papa Roach and Hinder at their spring concert, and many students around campus expressed that they would have rather gone to the show in Maryville. And some did go.

Many students missed the opportunity, stating they were too busy to go to the concert due to homework or work. However, other students took advantage of the chance to put the books down for a night.

“It was really fun, and a good break from homework,” senior Kalee Vertin said.

One student even admitted laziness for a reason. Still others said they didn’t even know there was a concert going on, even though an online student vote took place in the fall and
numerous announcements were published on Goldlink.

However, as the concert neared, many scrambled to get their tickets. If you were one of the 763 students who got their tickets, like freshman Nick Blackburn, it was definitely worth the time.

“It was a free ticket,” Blackburn said. “You can’t beat that.”

In the concert, Switchfoot rocked so hard, that at one point drummer Chad Butler actually broke a bass drum.

Switchfoot performed such hits as, “Oh! Gravity,” “Meant to Live” and “Stars,” but the most memorable part of the concert might have been an encore dedicated to the people of Virginia Tech. Switchfoot front man Jon Foreman gave some heartfelt words and was like millions of other people, searching for reasons.

“You wonder why things like this happen,” Foreman said.

The finale included the band’s cover of Bad Religion’s “Sorrow,” followed by their smash hit “I Dare You to Move.” The vibe from the crowd was like a “campfire sing along,” as Foreman  put it.

Opening up for Switchfoot was fellow San Diego natives Reeve Oliver. They did their own rendition of Hinder.

Seeing Reeve Oliver’s comical impression of “Lips of an Angel” was almost as good as seeing Hinder. Reeve Oliver did their job as an opening band of getting everyone excited about Switchfoot, but they were very entertaining as well.

“For not knowing who Reeve Oliver was, they weren’t bad,” Western student Steven Jones said. “I kind of liked them.”

The concert was a treat for the Missouri Western students in attendance.

“It turned out better than what I thought it was going to be,” Western student Austin Bailey said. “It was also a lot of fun for the bands, as well.” This made it even more fun for the crowd.

“It went good,” Sean O’Donnell of Reeve Oliver said. “St. Joe was cool, and we had a lot of fun.”

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Student Senate and Partners in Prevention will sponsor this event. The ping-pong tournament will take place in the residential halls and in Blum Union. Students must play in the hall they reside in. Non-traditional students and students living off campus must play in the Blum Union. Faculty and staff may take part as well.

The top 16 players will receive trophies and will compete in Blum Union for the grand prize of a Nintendo Wii. Second, third and fourth place winners will receive Barnes and Noble gift certificates. Everyone who participates will receive a free t-shirt.

Kathy Kelly, Wonda Berry and Jen Kacere were the initiators of the event after Residence Council purchased ping-pong tables for the halls.

Berry, recreation services and facilities director hopes this will become an annual event on campus.

“I’d like to see a lot of students get involved,” Berry said. “This is something we’d like to do every year.”

Kacere, residence hall director, feels that students are excited about the competition, and she hopes that many students will show up.

“Students have really been practicing and getting ready for this tournament,” Kacere said. “Students are wanting to know the fine details of the rules. They have their own paddles and balls they want to use. This is becoming a huge deal in the residence halls.”

Kelly, administrative assistant to the dean of student development, welcomes all students to join in the contest.

“We want this to be a student based tradition,” Kelly said.

An Xbox 360 will be given away as a door prize to anyone who registers for the drawing. Registration information will be available on Saturday. You must be present to win.

Student Senate approved $1,500 and Partners in Prevention donated $500 for the tournament. Partners in Prevention are a coalition of Missouri universities whose goal is to “prevent high-risk drinking” among students.

Harold McClellan, member of Partners in Prevention, is happy to be involved in this activity.

“We want to help the ping-pong tournament be a success,” McClellan said.

Students interested in more information about Partners in Prevention can contact McClellan at hhm6057@missouriwestern.edu.

Individuals interested in playing in the tournament may sign up at various locations on campus until April 25. Students residing in the halls may sign up at the Commons Building, LLC, Vaselakos or Leaverton front desks. Non-traditional students may sign up in the Non-Trad Office in Eder Hall, room 200. Students living off campus can sign up at the Dean of Student Development Office in Blum Union, room 228 or the Recreational Services Office in Looney Complex, room 147.

Partners in Prevention will provide refreshments.

The Student Government Association at Missouri Western has recently launched a program to help college students save some money at many area restaurants and retailers.

“The Student Government Association initiated this program,” SGA President Natalie Bailey said. “It’s a national program, and we were able to bring it here. I think it is a really good thing. It offers discounts to all students and faculty with a current ID. It’s a good deal because it can also be used at Maryville and UMKC.”

The program is called the Student Savings Club and is now available to all students, faculty and staff at no cost. By simply showing a current school ID when making a purchase, the cardholder will receive the discount or a special that is being offered at that certain establishment.

“We give 10 percent off of all menu items excluding alcohol,” said Jeremy Leer, manager of Uncle D’s Sports Bar and Grill. “We haven’t noticed much feedback so far, but we hope to get the word out to get more students in here.”

Many businesses see this as a win/win situation for the customer and the business.

“In the bowling area, we offer the buy one game and get one game free during open bowl, and in Legends we offer the buy one entrée and get one entrée free,” said John Inscho, general manager at Belt Bowl and Legends Sports Bar and Grill. “Not many students have taken advantage of this deal yet, but we are hoping to get more business from the college students.”

The SGA is doing what they can to get the word out about the Student Savings Club.

“I think if students don’t know about this program by now, they will know soon,” Bailey said. “We are really pushing this with flyers, facebook and e-mails to the student body. Once it warms up, we will be writing on the sidewalks with chalk to let students know about the discounts available to them.”

The students who have already gotten the word are excited to have this program working in their favor.

“I think this is a great program to offer to college students,” freshman Mickey Lindsey said. “Being a broke college student sucks sometimes, so just knowing there are some places to go where you can show your ID and get a discount is pretty cool.”

Students can get a list of all the retailers and discounts offered by going to www.studentsavingsclub.com. Some around St. Joseph include: Ground Round, Houlihan’s, Legends Bar & Grill, Nelly’s Mexican Food, Rib Crib, Uncle D’s Bar & Grill, Belt Bowl, From You Flowers, Bliss Salon, Drury Inn, and Holiday Inn.

The students went to the Portobello Road Market, which is one of the world’s most famous markets; it’s internationally renowned for its second-hand and antique sections. The antique shops begin at the top of the road and are fairly pricey. As you move down the road, there are more general stores, and then it eventually becomes a food market. Further on, there are places where people are making and selling their own stuff. The market ranks in the top-ten most visited tourist sites in London.

“One of the coolest parts of the trip was talking to the locals and gathering their opinions about America and the rest of the world,” Western student Christopher Shove said. “And after being there, it’s definitely broadened my general perspective.” One of his favorite parts of the trip was going to Stonehenge.

“I actually got to touch the stones,” he said. “If you call ahead of time and setup a reservation, then you’re able to touch them.”

Some students were even able to see the sunset inside the circle, which was every exciting for them.

Shove said that one thing he noticed about London is that it’s a lot cleaner because they employ a lot more people to keep it clean. For example, they have sidewalk sweepers and street cleaners that go by a couple times a day.

Western senior Matt Baylor agreed with Shove. Although he didn’t go on the trip to London this time, he has been before.

“What’s weird about it is that it’s really clean, but there are no trashcans anywhere, like they’re really hard to find,” Baylor said.

The class also went to two museums. One of them was The Charles Dickens’ museum, which was Charles Dickens’ actual home. The trip to this museum was a nice touch for the students, as they are currently reading “A Little Dickens” in class.

The other museum they went to was Shakespeare’s Globe, and while they were there, they got to see a rehearsal production of “The Merchant of Venice” being put on by children between the ages of 10 and 11.

The class also went to a Restoration Comedy called, “The Man of Mode” in modern dress and setting, and they saw the musical “Billy Elliot,” which is based off an English film.

“That was a musical that the students and I loved,” said Karen Fulton, the instructor of the “Literature on Site” course and director of the study away program at Western.

If you didn’t make it to London this spring, keep your eyes open for it the next time the class is offered.

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

At 4 a.m. on March 11, Shaffer said goodbye to her friends and family and met the bus in the parking lot at Western, which would take her to her ultimate spring break. She soon boarded a plane in Kansas City and headed for the tropical island of Belize.

And in the tropical paradise, students spent an ample amount of time swimming and snorkeling. Students who were dive-certified had three opportunities to join in on dives, including the first dive at Cypress Tunnels and another during the evening at Hol Chan Marine Preserve. Many in the group had underwater cameras to capture the memorable experience during these dives. Shaffer said that this was her first ocean scuba dive.

“It’s hard to describe,” Shaffer said. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was so amazing. I held a shark and saw an eel. (The eel) was behind me. I felt a tug on my vest. My dive master pointed it out to me. It was the most surreal experience ever.” Shaffer said that later her dive master told her that the shark might have bitten her if it felt threatened by her turning around really fast.

On her first journey outside the U.S., Shaffer traveled with 11 fellow students, two alumni and three Western faculty classmates enrolled in biology professor David Ashley’s BIO 220 class: Field Natural History of Belize. Students are required to participate in lectures and also give their own presentations on the natural history of the country. In addition to course fees, students are responsible for the additional fee of $1750 to cover travel arrangements.

Once in Belize, the exchange rate of 2-to-1 was really on the side of the American students. “I felt like I was shopping at the half-priced store the whole time,” Shaffer said. “I brought so much stuff back. I ended up checking two bags coming back.”

Students also enjoyed tubing down a waterfall, but some only tubed down half the waterfall, as it was a long way back to the top.

“I went all the way down,” senior Michelle Scherder said. “It was 291 steps back to the top.”

They visited the Mayan Ruins, which also had many steps to climb to get to the top.

“I pretty much fell in love with the Mayan ruins,” senior Nicole Shiflett said.

During the early morning hours when most students were still sleeping, Ashley was able to get some photos of unique birds in Belize.

The students traveled to a butterfly farm and canoed through a cave. Each student had a responsibility going through the cave.

At one point in the trip, the students crossed over the same river they tubed down in order to get to the ruins. Their vehicle had to be hand cranked on a platform to get across.

“It was 70 cranks; I counted,” Western alumni William Gilbert said. “To think they do that 90 times a day is unbelievable.”

Shaffer is looking forward to April 23 when she can share her experiences, along with those of her classmates, with the public at a show-and-tell night. “You were there and you saw the same things, but you didn’t know what they were feeling,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer said that the class was paired off into groups prior to the trip and assigned days to report about.

“Each group had a day to document,” Shaffer said. “We wrote down things that were said that day, what the classmates were feeling – it was neat.”

The class returned from their trip to Belize on March 19, and Ashley was already thinking about the next trip.

“On the flight back, I was trying to tell myself to never do this again, and at the same time, I was thinking through the next one,” he said.

Ashley, who follows a three-year trip cycle, alternating locations, said that he would like to plan the next trip for next year.

“There is a camaraderie that develops among the crowd,” said Ashley, who has been taking trips with students for the past 11 years. “It’s always very close. Whenever you have intense interaction between faculty and students outside the typical classroom setting, it ends up being positive.”

Shaffer agreed and said that the trip was much more than what she thought it would be.

“The trip has changed us,” Shaffer said. “I will miss the group; we got really close.” Shaffer said that before the trip, she had a good idea of what she wanted to major in at Western. “I had been looking into marine biology all the time,” she said. “(This trip) was going to make or break my goals.”

She said that going there and having the experience that she did concreted her decision. Shaffer encourages other students interested in participating in a Study Away course to do it if it as all possible.

“Do anything you can to go,” she said. “It was life changing for me, as I had never been out of the county before. The culture was intense. I’d always dreamed of going somewhere like that – not using cars, no traffic – never thought I’d get to do it. Now I have the travel bug, and I am eager to go again.”

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Growing concerns about the spread of human papillomavirus may lead to a vaccine, now available for women, to be administered to men.

Due to the popularity of Gardasil, the HPV vaccine for women, its manufacturer is now researching a male version of the vaccine. The male option, which would be identical to the current vaccine, may be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as early as 2008, said Janet Skidmore, director of Merck media relations.

“There are currently clinical trials being conducted around the U.S. that are sponsored by Merck,” Skidmore said. “The initial results are promising.”

The vaccine is currently offered to men by some doctors under “off-licensed” status, as reported by BBC News.

While generally considered a benign virus in men, HPV can cause genital warts and possibly lead to penile and anal cancer, studies say. The vaccine would be marketed toward gay and bisexual men, who are particularly at risk, according to Skidmore.

Gardasil has been encouraged in women because some HPV strains can cause cervical cancer. Every year, about 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and almost 4,000 women die from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Every year, about 6.2 million Americans acquire a genital HPV infection. Among sexually active men, 1 percent are estimated to have genital warts, but often the symptoms of HPV are not visible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say.

Currently, there is not even a public test for HPV available for males with the disease.

“It would be wonderful if a test [for men] was made available for public use,” said Alli Matson, the University Health Center’s sexual health program coordinator, who added that a public vaccine for men would help prevent the spread of HPV.

The health center, which has provided Gardasil since October, has immunized less than 100 female students as of February, the most recent record of vaccination, Matson said.

The main reason for the small student interest has been the vaccine’s high cost, Matson said. The vaccination is a three injection process, offered at the health center for $150 per injection.

Currently, the vaccine is only offered to female students ages 9 through 26, and it is not covered by the university-sponsored insurance program.

“Since the health center doesn’t take insurance [for the vaccine], a lot of girls get it done by their home doctor,” she said.

Despite the lack of immunizations, there has been a large amount of interest in the vaccine.

The high costs of the vaccination have led Maryland lawmakers to kill bills that would have required vaccination for schoolaged girls, a measure taken in Texas.

Matson said male students have expressed interest in the HPV vaccine only for their significant others.

“I have not had a single man ask about HPV testing or vaccination for themselves,” she said. “One man once asked why there was no test or vaccine for men, but never said he would consider taking it.”

An official at Planned Parenthood in Silver Spring said she had never heard of a man wanting the shot. Lack of interest for the HPV vaccinations has led the clinic to discontinue the service.

“My understanding is that it is for females only,” she said. Student opinion on the issue was mixed. Senior criminology major Sean Foster said he would gladly take the vaccine. “I wouldn’t want the girl to get cancer because of me. I care about others,” he said.

Others were not as receptive. Richard Lukasik, a sophomore criminal justice major, decided that the risks for men were too low to justify getting the vaccine. “It doesn’t really affect me. I don’t have [HPV],” he said.

Angela Gentile, a freshman letters and sciences major, said she supports males getting the vaccine. “I’m going to get the vaccine — just to be safe,” she said. “I’d like it if guys got it too, just to be considerate.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone that didn’t like it,” said assistant professor of art George Sipp, who accompanied the students. “They were all just exhausted because they’d taken in everything they could in four days.”

Sipp discussed how different it was to watch non-art majors take in the sites of New York.

“It is interesting for business or nursing majors and how they respond to Manhattan and its huge cultural diversity,” Sipp said.

As for the the annual trip, New York doesn’t change much for the Study Away trip. Missouri Western generally patronizes one hotel, the Newton, where they have a standing reservation, and one airline. This makes the rest of the trip more flexible and less stressful.

Although the trip doesn’t change much, the main variable is always the students.

“[The trip] is unusual because it is generated by mostly non-art majors,” Sipp said. “This makes the sights they see as a group different from year to year and why many students decide to make the trip consecutive times.”

For Jennifer Smith, a senior graphic design major, the trip went perfectly except for one thing: not enough time.

“I wish we would’ve gotten to do more, like Broadway, but the trip itself was great,” Smith said.

She was also a fan of New York at night.

“Times Square was awesome at night and there were just more people out,” Smith said. As a design major, she also enjoyed the Times Square ads. “Just to see the ads I’ll be making one day blown up so big was amazing.”

But Smith’s favorite attraction was an unexpected one.

“I loved the subway system,” Smith said. “That’s when I had the most fun. There was more entertainment than you would think, and it was very cool.”

Nathan Glynn, a senior studio art major, thinks the trip went better than he expected.

“I expected to go as a spectator, but we got involved in a project in Brooklyn, and we painted barrels that will be on the pier and the beach at Coney Island this year and will present them when it opens for the season,” Glynn said. “That was the highlight, just becoming part of the city for a while.”

Sipp was also pleased with how everyone interacted.

“There is so much for us to do and see; there is just no time for cliquishness,” Sipp said. “They are always so accommodating to one another.”

Sipp is pleased with the way the trip seems to always turn out.

”I think New York is one of the most successful Study Away Programs at Western,” he said.

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

While in Paris, students visited between two to three different sites every day and were usually done by 3 p.m. This allowed them some free time to explore the city on their own.

Susan Hennessy, associate professor of French at Western, accompanied the 18 students on the trip, which cost $1045 per student, plus tuition fees.

“The nicest thing was that the sites we had studied in class we were able to visit firsthand,” Hennessy said. “Since the students had done presentations and studied the sites, it brought things to life for them.”

Western student Alyssa Smith was able to visit the subject of a presentation she gave for the course, putting the assignment into a new perspective.

“I especially enjoyed visiting the Rodin Museum because I created a presentation on Rodin and Camille Claudel for the colloquium class,” Smith said. “At the museum, I was able to see all of the sculptures that I had studied for class.”

Western student Anthony Egbert studied the work of Haussmann, who helped shape the urban layout of Paris during the mid-to-late nineteenth century.

“I was amazed at how much Paris had still retained many of Haussmann’s innovations and styles,” Egbert said. “It was wonderful to actually be able to go to Paris and actually witness firsthand many of the things that these people had talked about.”

Among Smith’s favorite stops was the Paris Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic chapel known for its ornate stained glass. Also, she enjoyed the neighborhood of Montmarte, known for its cabaret district, most famously, the Moulin Rouge. She and some of the other students also went to the Catacombs.

“They were tunnels underground that included walls and walls made of human bones,” Smith said. “It was definitely very different, but really interesting.”

The students also visited the Eiffel Tower, a must-see for any visitor to Paris. And Egbert, who visited Notre Dame during Sunday Mass, said it was the closest thing to a spiritual experience he has ever had.

“It was quite humbling to walk around the sanctuary and look at the magnificent vaulted ceilings, the sparkling stained glass windows illuminated by the full morning sun and all the while listen to one of the most beautiful hymns that I have ever heard reverberating throughout la Notre Dame’s sanctuary,” Egbert said.

Regardless of what was visited, Smith said that she thinks the students understand better the history and how important the sites are to the French.

“I think that by experiencing another culture, we also learned more about our own,” she said.

Students were also able to compare French culture with that of the U.S.

“A lot of students were surprised to see how important fashion is in Paris,” said Hennessy, referring to Parisian style. “Men and women alike pay close attention to their appearance, and to the typical American, it can make you feel out of place.”

Smith said she discovered that many of the negative stereotypes about the French were untrue.

“I was surprised by the fact that many of the Parisians that we spoke with in Paris were very nice,” Smith said. “We also met some Parisians that were not as welcoming or willing to help us, but they were outnumbered by the nicer Parisians.”

While the students shared many of the same opinions of the culture clash, not all opinions were universally held by the group.

“Everyone had different ideas about what was strange or unusual,” Hennessy said.

Hennessy has seen that since the group has returned from Paris, learning about French culture through the trip compared to in the classroom has made all the difference.

“I think it just makes everything real, to be able to get within six inches of artwork you’ve studied in books or seen on a computer screen makes it so much more real,” Hennessy said. “It’s very hard to appreciate something from a distance, I think. That is the heart of applied learning.”

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

Missouri Western has teamed up with Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman to help students prepare financially for college with the MOST program and Legacy Initiative.

“It’s going to be great for Missouri families to be rewarded for opening college savings
accounts and saving for their child’s education,” Steelman said.

The MOST scholarship program is 10 scholarships for $500 for students attending Western full time, have had MOST accounts for five years and who demonstrate financial need.

According to documentation on Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan, eligible students for the MOST program are students of families who have invested for college through MOST for a minimum of five years prior to applying for the scholarship. The MOST scholarship is 10 scholarships of $500 for students attending Western full-time and gave had MOST accounts for five years and demonstrate financial need. Students also must be in good academic standing and have a completed FAFSA.

“I want every student in Missouri to go to college,” Steelman said.

President James Scanlon is pleased to be a part of this partnership.

“It is a great pleasure for me to stand and be in support of the MOST program as it helps students gain access to higher education,” Scanlon said.

Steelman explained how the MOST program would work. She said that Upromise and Vanguard Investments manage the program.

“(Upromise) offers a loyalty network that you can become a member of,” Steelman said. “Through that membership, which is free of charge, when you purchase everyday needs, a percentage of those purchases go into your college savings account.”

She said that participants can save up to an estimated $600 a year through this network.

“We want to increase participation by making sure that people are aware of this program,”
Steelman said.

They have started a new partnership with Parents as Teachers to make sure that parents and educators who work with families of young children know that this program is available to them, so that they can start saving for college early.

She also mentioned that the General Assembly is working on another initiative called the Legacy Initiative. Legacy, if it is passed, will set up a matching grant for low-income families to help start a college savings account.

“Each year you put in a certain amount of dollars, the state will match up to a certain
amount, which will be determined in the legislation requirements when it passes,” Steelman said.

Families that wish to be a part of the Legacy Initiative will be required to open the savings account with at least $25.

Steelman’s speech was followed by a question and answer session. She was asked how many MOST accounts are active now.

“There are about 88,000 [accounts],” Steelman said. “We have surpassed billion dollar mark for assets invest in the program. Growing rapidly since July.”

Another question directed to Scanlon was in reference to if more than 10 students are eligible for the MOST award, what Western’s response would be.

“I think the decision we will make is to give more than 10 [scholarships],” Scanlon said. Steelman summed up her speech by listing the benefits that students will receive with these new programs.

“The main goal is to save money so the student can go, but the intangible benefit is showing the child that they are believed in regardless of how much money you put in,” Steelman said. “The idea to the child that someone believes in them is a huge benefit.”

The MOST program and the Legacy Initiative are not the only programs headed to Western to help offset the financial burden of paying for college.

Gov. Matt Blunt came to campus and spoke on March 21 about the new Access Missouri scholarships that he is trying to push through legislation.

With the Access scholarship, Missouri Western estimates to raise the number of students who will receive aid from 196 to 1747 students.

The Access Missouri scholarship program bill summary states that it is established to provide assistance to college freshmen who are not eligible for the A+ Program or who have chosen institutions not covered by the A+ program. This new program will have the same renewal qualifications that Bright Flight, Guarantee and the Gallagher scholarships have: a 2.5 grade point average.

“My goal is to make sure that every child has the opportunity to go to school and achieve their dreams,” Steelman said.

Campus Acitivites Board presented An Enchanted Evening spring formal with the theme, “A Night Under the Stars,” on Saturday in the Fulkerson Center.

The formal started off with soft jazz music from a band called Intrigue. Students and faculty filled the place with elegant attire, looking to have the memories of prom back.

The tickets for this formal went quickly. The formal dance committee chairman Olin Kinsey said that this turnout was pretty big, more than he had expected.

“We had originally 175 tickets ordered, but we had given them all out so we had to get more, and overall, we gave out 225 tickets,” Kinsey said.

Kinsey said that this formal was supposed to be April 21, but they could not find a venue because they were all booked due to high school proms. Kinsey also said that it was hard to find a band, and then three weeks prior to the formal, they had to find another band for various reasons.

“Overall, it wasn’t that hard because CAB has a great committee of seven students and one advisor, Sandy Rogers,” Kinsey said.

CAB planned this event in February. Students may remember The Ebony Collegians putting on this event in past years and CAB co-sponsoring. But this year TEC president Mallory Paines said that they didn’t have enough manpower, and all of TEC members were not available this year.

Kinsey said with planning this event, CAB had a set budget of $6,000 for the food, band, DJ, security and souvenirs.

In addition, for those who were interested, there were pictures available taken by Foster Fotography of St. Joseph with a star background to fit the theme for the night.

Tiana McDowell, director of major attractions on CAB’s committee, said that she agreed with Kinsey on the great turnout.

“I didn’t think there was going to be a lot of people, but a lot of people showed up,” McDowell said.

A member of McDowell’s committee, Latashia Alfred, said that this year’s formal was open to faculty.

Tieranni Potts, a sophomore who was grooving on the dance floor, said that she thought the event was different.

“This event was a very great turnout because it’s different and not like a regular party; it is classy,” Potts said.

As the night was coming to an end, students like sophomore Quianna Pope were still full of energy, mingling in the crowd on the dance floor.

“I had a real good time,” she said. “It was a good turnout because there are more diverse people here and everybody looks presentable. I think it was nice.”

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – He gave in to peer pressure and illegally took a Lortab. He couldn’t  sleep well, so he bought Xanax from another student. He had to stay up to study for finals, so he got Adderall from a friend.

During his college career, he has abused prescription drugs about 30 times, a University of Alabama senior who asked to remain anonymous, said.

He is not an isolated case.

Illegal prescription drug use is widespread at the university, he said, and he has seen an increase in the abuse of these drugs among UA students.

His personal observations correspond to a recent study which found a dramatic increase in prescription drug abuse on college campuses from 1993 to 2005. The study, “Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities,” was released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Nearly half of full-time students binge drink and/or abuse prescription and illegal drugs, according to the report, and 1.8 million full-time students meet the medical criteria for dependency of a controlled substance.

Abuse of prescription opioids, or pain killers, increased 342.9 percent; abuse of prescription tranquilizers such as Xanax and Valium rose 450 percent; and abuse of prescription stimulants such as Adderall was up 93.3 percent from 1993 to 2005, according to the study.

Mike Conway, a freshman majoring in political science, said he thinks the abuse of prescription drugs has increased because of the ease of getting a prescription.

“You can doctor shop,” he said. “It’s so easy to fake symptoms, and pharmaceutical companies are pushing doctors to prescribe their drug so they can get their name out.”

David Roberts, a physician at the Student Health Center, said he thinks the increase can be related to the growing medicalization of controlled substances.

“There are many more students who are legitimately prescribed medication,” he said. “We know from other studies that perhaps 15 percent of people who are legitimately prescribed medications will share them with others or divert them.”

Diversion of medications to others is by definition a form of abuse, he said.

He said he also thinks there has been a shift from treating the disorder to maximizing the patient’s potential.

Roberts said he thinks the increase can also be attributed to the use of prescription drugs for recreational purposes.

“I believe that diversion of prescription drugs and inappropriate use of prescription drugs occur among university students both on and off campus,” he said. “But I have no reason to believe that [the number of students] is any greater than other schools of its comparable size.”

Conway said he has been prescribed an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication  since he was 6 years old and said he thinks Adderall is the most commonly abused prescription drug on campus because it is liberally prescribed.

He said he has been asked five or more times to share his Adderall and said he thinks students take the drug without a prescription to make school easier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Beer pong, flip cup, bar crawls, Thirsty Thursdays, pre-gaming, postgaming… For some college students, drinking has become a way of life. But for many, it may be hard to distinguish between social and binge drinking.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “binge” or “high-risk” drinking is defined as consuming five drinks for males and four drinks for females in a span of two hours.

A drink is equivalent to a 12-ounce beer, four ounces of wine or a one-ounce shot of 100 proof liquor.

Dangerous situations can result from binge drinking, when a person consumes too much alcohol in too little amount of time and his blood alcohol concentration, the percentage of alcohol in blood, spikes above .06.

“There is something called the point of diminishing return,” said Caitlin Knotts, a health educator in the Office of Health Promotion at the University of Virginia and Hoo Knew social norms marketer. “The diminishing return is the high that you feel when your BAC is between .00 and .06. This is when you are relaxed and your inhibitions are a little bit down.”

Knotts said people with a BAC above .06 “don’t get that same high,” and often experience more negative side effects.

Yet when a student is already intoxicated, it can be difficult for him to determine his current BAC. The Office of Health Promotion, a division of Student Health, has provided BAC cards in libraries and gyms. These cards take a person’s weight and the number of drinks he or she has consumed in an hour and give the resulting estimate of BAC level.

“Anytime that your BAC is reaching dangerous levels then you have to look out for impairment of judgment, loss of coordination, [and] nausea,” Knotts said. “If you get really high BAC then there is possible alcohol poisoning and that eventually could lead to fatality.”

Besides the medical dangers of having a high BAC, reaching a state of extreme intoxication can also expose the individual to other risks.

According to Dr. George Tran of Burkeville Medical Group in Burkeville, Va., “Binge drinking could indirectly kill you. Car accidents, homicides, violent crimes and other injuries are all associated with binge drinking.”

Tran noted these dangerous indirect results of alcohol could be more frequent threats then direct effect.

“The actual toxic effect of binge drinking is different,” he said. “It would take a lot of alcohol to kill a young healthy person, although it is still possible.”

Binge drinking not only has physical effects but psychological effects as well.

“Some people may end up having a bad experience and hurt themselves or someone else due to binge drinking,” said Richard Heisterman, Student Health substance use clinician and licensed clinical social worker. “If this happens, they may have to take a step back and reevaluate. What did they do different to cause them to hurt someone else? … If they can learn from their mistakes, it will help them not repeat them next time they drink.”

Despite the negative effects of binge drinking, many people, especially college students, still engage in this risky practice.

“A lot of it is atmosphere,” Heisterman said. “If the people around you are doing it then you tend to mimic that behavior.”

Heisterman added that some people also binge drink in an attempt to deal with their problems.

“They might do it to try to manage or solve problems that may need to be addressed in a more direct way, in which binge drinking does not help,” he said.

Though heavy drinking has many drawbacks, there are ways to drink safely and responsibly while still having fun. Knotts advised students to monitor their BAC and limit the number of drinks they consumed.

“Some good safety precautions are to eat beforehand,” Knotts said. “That will lower BAC. Staying in groups and alternating alcoholic with non alcoholic drinks — preferably water — to make sure you are not getting dehydrated are always good ideas.”

Knotts recommended students take a limited supply of cash when they go to a bar to limit the number of drinks they can consume.

“Also, keeping track of your drinks serves as a really good check on yourself and making sure that you are within your own limits,” she added.

In addition to maintaining individual safety, students should keep a close eye on other drinkers.

“If a friend is showing signs of alcohol poisoning — blue, clammy skin, breathing trouble or no response to a pinch — then take them to the emergency room,” Knotts said.

Though no one will deny drinking is a serious issue on most college campuses, several students said they believe the university does not suffer from a serious drinking problem.

“Although binge drinking is probably an issue for all universities, I don’t think U.Va. is worse than most universities,” second-year student Phillip Sukys said.

First-year student Danielle Johnson expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “Binge drinking is a problem at many universities but not so much at U.Va. It only becomes a problem when it gets out of control and leads to serious injuries.”

The statistics gathered by the university’s Health Promotion Office also offers insight into the drinking culture at the university. According to these statistics, about 60 percent of university students consume zero to five drinks per week. In addition, 15.4 percent do not even drink.

Knotts said the Office of Health Promotion emphasizes the fact that most university students are making healthy decisions by taking precautions when they drink.

“Most people look after their friends, make sure they eat beforehand” Knotts said.

Keeping in mind safe drinking practices enables students to avoid the potentially dangerous consequences that can come with alcohol and focus on ensuring the safety of themselves and others.

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.

Senior Mark Koncevic graduated from Harold L Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Ill. in 1974. He attempted his first semester of college at 19, only to discover some hard core days of partying. After two years at Moraine Valley Community College, he dropped out, receiving no more than three hours.

Koncevic began drinking at the age of 13, and he tried cocaine at 17. This led to the experimentation of other drugs, which landed him in trouble.

“I wanted to have fun and party all the time,” Koncevic said. “It was more important to me at the time than school. I experimented with every drug, but cocaine was my favorite.”

The consequences of his actions included being arrested for the first time at 17 for driving while intoxicated and twice more within the next 10 years. He was into drinking and drugs so intensely that at 27 he was only 120 pounds. A cocaine overdose led to a heart attack which caused permanent damage.

He found himself in the courtroom often. The judge had no choice but to give Koncevic an ultimatum: get clean or go to prison.

“I made the choice for my life; I had to clean up my act and get my life together because face it, I would not have made it in prison…I would have ended up someone’s bitch,” he said.

In 1988, Koncevic met a girl. She was living in Arkansas while he was still living in Illinois. Their lives ended up in Lake of the Ozarks. Here, Koncevic got a job as a Substance Abuse Clinician, and having been an addict, he specialized in cocaine. He worked there for 22 years.

Koncevic is no longer married; however, the relationship produced three children McKinzi, 13; Dillon, 11 and Trevor, 10.

In 2002, he returned to college, this time as a full-time student. He has been a student at Western since and is planning on graduating in the summer of 2009. He will graduate with bachelor’s degrees in both graphic design and business administration with a minor in economics.

Other accomplishments include making the Dean’s list with a GPA of 3.5, and the following year, maintained a 4.0 and made the President’s list. In the same year, he was the president of the Non-Traditional Student Association and a senator in the Student Government Association. Because Koncevic is a hard worker, three out of five days a week he has class at 8 a.m. and doesn’t leave campus most days until 8 p.m. He resides in Cameron and drives back and forth everyday.

“I have lots of time to clear my mind and think about the shit going on in my life,” Koncevic said. “The drive actually isn’t that bad…it’s so expensive though; I pay $75 a week on gas alone.”

The faculty is impressed with Koncevic’s constant hard work and dedication to his education.

“He is such an active student,” said Ellen Kisker, director of the Non-traditional Student Services. “Not only does he engage in class, but he also participates in several organizations outside the classroom.”

He has faced many obstacles in his life, but through it all has had the strength to keep his head high. Two years ago, his mother passed away, and two days later he lost his brother. Last March, Koncevic found out he had bladder cancer. Last year alone he has had three different operations: one in March, again in June and most recently in September. In December
surgery was done on his left hand and elbow due to carpel tunnel syndrome.

As if these situations weren’t challenging enough, his work hours have been reduced from 20 hours a week, down to five, and back up to seven.

“There’s not enough work-study money to go around to the student workers and imagine having $35 a week to survive on,” Koncevic said.

The challenges in life don’t intimidate him.

“What are you going to do, sit around and whine about it?” Koncevic said. “I get out there and do what I can.”

Professors speak up for him and recognize his strengths to pull through the challenges he has faced.

“He has got good coping mechanisms and keeps plugging along,” Kisker said. “I think all he knows is to keep going. He wears lots of hats and somehow manages to keep them all organized.”

Currently, Koncevic is enrolled in 14 credit hours, and believes that keeping priorities straight will lead to a successful path.

“Don’t take school lightly the first time around,” he said. “The second time is way harder. I have basically had to do everything over again, so I would tell students not to party their asses off.”

For the next three weeks, senior psychology major Lindsey Barnes will be continuing a group session based on everyday relationships. Her group meets every Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Counseling Center, located in room 203 of Eder Hall. Anyone is welcome.

Barnes began her seven-week practicum in February and has had a steady turnout of three women.

“I was glad to have a small number, but I wouldn’t mind a higher turnout,” she said.

While the counseling does include relating to a significant other, that is not the entire purpose of the group. The session focuses on relationships of all kinds, such as friends, parents, children and in-laws.

The main theme that Barnes instills in her group sessions is the idea that people need to recognize and overcome the barriers between one another.

Barnes felt that focusing her practicum on relationships made sense considering it is a topic that everyone has to deal with on one level or another.

“We all have relationships we would like to improve, myself included,” Barnes said. “I thought I could help myself and others by putting a group together.”

Barnes has a different faculty member sit in on the sessions each week. Each faculty member brings a different topic, merely as a guideline.

Body language was a topic discussed by Director of the Counseling Department Dave Brown. He concluded that body language is a telling sign of a person’s receptiveness.

One of the attendants, a junior elementary education major, joined the group session after seeing a flyer. She felt that the sessions could help improve the relationships with her husband and children, and she has taken a lot from the counseling.

“I leave here on Wednesdays thinking a lot about what we discussed,” she said.

One of the other attendants decided that a little relationship counseling would be a good idea before marriage. The freshman social work major learned of the sessions through her psychology class and felt it would be a good idea to enhance her relationship skills, considering her engagement.

“(The sessions) help quite a bit, (they) open up things that could have been a problem later on,” the freshman said.

The summit will introduce women to Global Sisterhood and controversial issues that deny true unity among women. It will start with the introduction of the staff, which is a combination of professors and students.

Connie Brown, senior in sociology and CME intern, said that the topics of interest are sisterhood, feminism, womanism issues that deny sisterhood and global women’s issues.

“I will start the discussion by asking definitions from the audience and the panel about the topics about sisterhood, feminism and womanism,” Brown said. “Then for the topic – Issues that Deny Sisterhood – I will show clips of “The Way Home” by Shakti Butler to spark questions from audience. I will ask the audience how it makes them feel, their thoughts and let the audience ask the panel questions.”

Brown also said that she will show clips for the topics of racism, socioeconomic status and ethnocentrism, which relates to the Issues that Deny Sisterhood.

Then Brown will ask questions regarding Global Sisterhood issues to the audience and panel.

“Why do we need to be concerned with what is going on with women around the world?” Brown said.

Also, Brown will give brief information on reproductive rights in China and One Child Policy, female genital mutilation, acid throwing and bride burning, and then ask the audience for their input.

Close to the end of the Women’s Summit, around 7 p.m., the audience members will break up into discussion groups without the panel, but the panel would be welcome to join in. The topics that will be discussed are Global Sisterhood, women in the workplace, what can be done to expand Global Sisterhood and why there aren’t more women’s groups on campus.

The discussions groups will last for thirty minutes.

Janell Banks, one of the panelists, thinks that women students should come out and make new friends and build on a sisterhood connection.

“I think all the different women will be able to educate each other, and everyone will benefit greatly,” Banks said. “I think it’s important for women to attend the summit, to come and connect with all sorts of women and be able to all come together and see each other as equals.”

Students like sophomore Divine Adams agree with Banks, wanting to come out and see what the Women’s Summit is all about.

“It will be nice to hear the discussions that they will be talking about and see how women interact with each other from different race, backgrounds and religion,” Adams said.

Another female student, sophomore Michaela King, said that she would like to attend the Summit as well because she found interest in the title.

“‘Controversial Issues that Deny True Unity’ I was intrigued by,” King said. “It just seems like an interesting topic, and I just wanted to know what the reasons were that separated women from becoming united.”

Don’t let this tragedy happen. The main reason most college students don’t go anywhere on spring break is because they think it is too expensive. Spring break is just around the corner and right now is the perfect time to start planning your trip. Hopefully, you’ve been setting some cash aside in a special fund for your trip, even if it’s only a few dollars a week. It all adds up quickly enough and gives students control over their finances. Spring Break planning should start months before the actual date because you need to do your research to find
the best deals.

Try checking out the vacation packages offered by travel agents that target students. The packages often include hotels and transportation however; be careful when booking packages that say they are cheap, because sometimes they are more expensive than buying everything separate. It’s best to book and pay ahead of time so financial arrangements can be made well in advance.

South Padre Island would be a good place to go for spring break on a budget. Florida would be fun, but it’s too far away. New Orleans is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Becky James, MWSU student, works for a company that helps people book the best deals for spring break. She works for studentcity.com. She said they offer good deals because they have partnerships with vendors at each of their locations, and they offer lower prices and sometimes free drinks and meals to the customers.

If the packages still seems too expensive, don’t worry there is still hope. Sleeping arrangements are probably one of the biggest expenses. There are many ways to make it cheaper. You could always stay in a hostel. Bet you never thought of staying on a campsite? Campsites are one of the cheapest places to stay. But, if staying in a hostel and camping isn’t your thing, you can find the cheapest hotels by pricing at Biddingfortravel.com.

In South Padre Island you can stay at a name-brand hotel located right on the beach for $159 a night through biddingfortravel.com. If you have four people staying in the room, it would only cost $39.75 a night.

The cheapest way to get to south Padre Island is to drive. To travel to South Padre Island round trip from St. Joseph, it would be about 2253.3 miles. With gas being $2.23 a gallon, it would cost $167.49. But if you are traveling with four people and you split the gas, it would only cost $41.87 per person. Also, it’s a huge benefit to have a car at your destination. That way you don’t have to spend more money on buses and taxes when you get there. The drive there would be about 17 hours. It may seem like a long time, but when you are with your

friends, it can make time go by more quickly. Also, everyone can take turns driving, that way no one gets tired.

Food is another big expense on a trip. Don’t forget to use your common sense. We all know but tend to get lazy… buying from a grocery store is always the cheapest way to go for food. Also, the more people you have travel with you, the more deals you can get. Lutfiee Atieh, graduate of Missouri Western State University, took a group of about 35 students to South Padre Island last year. He said it cost about $700 per person. But with spending cash it ended up being about $1,200 to $1,500, depending on what you wanted to do.

Atieh said that if you have over 30 people, you should call around to bars and restaurants because they will give you some good deals on food and beverages.

Spring Break can be one of the most rewarding experiences in a young person’s life – but it can also be one of the most expensive. But with a little foresight and planning, you can not  only have the Spring Break of your dreams but also even have some money left over after the trip is done.

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.

Administrative assistant Angie Beck said that the vaccine is so expensive that they don’t have the money for it.

“We’ve had some inquiries, but we don’t have the vaccine in stock yet simply because we have to have a feel as to how the students will pay for it,” Beck said. “And since we don’t file insurance, we would have to put the cost on their account.”

However, junior James Williams said he sees advantages for women if the vaccination were offered through the university health center.

“I think having the vaccine on campus would be useful for a lot of students on campus; because it’s right on campus,” Williams said. “Some students don’t want people to know that they have anything, so they would rather go to the health center than an actual clinic where they might see someone they know.”

According to the CDC Web site, the cost for the series of three vaccinations is $360 dollars at $120 dollars per dose. Following the initial dose, the second dose is given two months later, with the third dose to be given within six months of initiating the vaccination.

The Gardasil® vaccine that is currently on the market protects against four types of HPV, which together cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts.

“Studies have found the vaccine to be almost 100 percent effective in preventing diseases caused by the four HPV types covered by the vaccine – including precancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina and genital warts,” according to the CDC Web site. “The vaccine has mainly been studied in young women who had not been exposed to any of the four HPV types in the vaccine.”

However, the CDC warned that the vaccine does not treat existing HPV infections, genital warts, precancers or cancers. However, other treatments exist for the health problems that HPV can cause, including genital warts, cervical cell changes (precancers) and cancers of the cervix.

In addition, the vaccine is recommended for women and girls ages 9-26 who have not contracted HPV because it was less effective in young women who had already been exposed to one of the HPV types covered by the vaccine.

According to the CDC, there are more than 100 known types of HPV, and more than 30 are known to be transmitted through sexual contact.

Most HPV infections don’t cause symptoms and sometimes go away on their own, but lingering infections can sometimes cause high-risk HPV types that can cause cervical cancer in women. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, every year in the U.S. about 10,000 women get cervical cancer and 3,700 die from it.

Family Nurse Practitioner Della Taylor-McIntosh McIntosh said that students need to be vaccinated even if they are not sexually active to limit their chances of being exposed and possibly developing genital warts and cervical cancer. She also said that women should receive pap smears annually to check for cervical cancer.

Some Missouri Western students differ with McIntosh. Freshman Emily Ferger has mixed feelings about the vaccination.

“I think that the whole concept is a good idea, but I believe that more research should be done before the vaccine is taken widespread,” Ferger said. “The scientists say that it will take another 23 years to develop well-substantiated research about birth defects and reproductive organs, so I am somewhat leery about the whole idea. I would not take it because I do not feel that we have enough evidence of long term effects of the vaccine.”

According to the CDC Web site, the vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women.

Sophomore Jason Bryan believes the HPV vaccine to be a positive development for women.

“I believe that the HPV vaccine is a good thing and should be useful in helping to prevent cervical cancer and other diseases,” Bryan said. “Being a male I see no reason to take it, but if I were a woman I would definitely be vaccinated.”

According to the CDC Web site, studies are now being conducted to find out if the vaccine works to prevent HPV in males.

“When more information is available, this vaccine may be licensed and recommended for boys/men as well,” according to the Web site.

Sophomore Ivory Duncan said that this whole issue could be prevented through safe sex.

“I would not take [the vaccine] because I don’t have unprotected sex; so I have a slim chance of being affected by it,” she said.

But, according to the CDC Web site, the only sure way to prevent HPV is to abstain from all sexual activity because it is not known how much protection condoms provide against HPV, since areas that are not covered by a condom can be exposed to the virus.

Junior Donnell Roberson said he’s all for vaccinations that can help prevent cancer being available to students.

“I think it’s a great idea to get the vaccine if it helps prevent cancer,” Roberson said. “As a male, I would not take the vaccine because I would rather for women to use the vaccine because the disease is shown to be more common in women than men.”

The CDC Web site states that at least 50% of men and women who are sexually active will become infected with HPV sometime in their life. In addition, by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection.

Junior Kevin Dahlman also thinks the campus should offer the vaccinations to students.

“I would take the vaccine shot because I rather be safe than sorry,” he said.

—

HPV Vaccine Facts from the CDC

Q. How long does vaccine protection last? Will a booster shot be needed?

The length of vaccine protection (immunity) is usually not known when a vaccine is first introduced. So far, studies have followed women for five years and found that women are still protected. More research is being done to find out how long protection will last, and if a booster vaccine is needed years later.

Q. What does the vaccine not protect against?

Because the vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV, it will not prevent all cases of cervical cancer or genital warts. About 30% of cervical cancers will not be prevented by the vaccine, so it will be important for women to continue getting screened for cervical cancer (regular Pap tests). Also, the vaccine does not prevent about 10% of genital warts—nor will it prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). So it will still be important for sexually active adults to reduce exposure to HPV and other STIs.

Q. What kind of government programs may be available to cover HPV vaccine?

Federal health programs such as Vaccines for Children (VFC) will cover the HPV vaccine. The VFC program provides free vaccines to children and teens under 19 years of age, who are either uninsured, Medicaid-eligible, American Indian, or Alaska Native. There are over 45,000 sites that provide VFC vaccines, including hospitals, private clinics, and public clinics. The VFC Program also allows children and teens to get VFC vaccines through Federally Qualified Health Centers or Rural Health Centers, if their private health insurance does not cover the vaccine.

Some states also provide free or low-cost vaccines at public health department clinics to people without health insurance coverage for vaccines.

The HPV vaccine is given through a series of three shots over a 6-month period. The second and third doses should be given 2 and 6 months apart.

Q. Can HPV and its associated diseases be treated?

There is no treatment for HPV. But there are treatments for the health problems that HPV can cause, such as genital warts, cervical cell changes, and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and anus.

By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.

Q. Should females be screened before getting vaccinated?

No. Females do not need to get an HPV test or Pap test to find out if they should get the vaccine. An HPV test or a Pap test can tell that a woman may have HPV, but these tests cannot tell the specific HPV type(s) that a woman has. Even females with one HPV type could get protection from the other vaccine HPV types they have not yet acquired.

Q. Will sexually active females benefit from the vaccine?

Females who are sexually active may also benefit from the vaccine. But they may get less benefit from the vaccine since they may have already acquired one or more HPV type(s) covered by the vaccine. Few young women are infected with all four of these HPV types. So they would still get protection from those types they have not acquired. Currently, there is no test available to tell if a female has had any or all of these four HPV types.

Recommendation: The HPV vaccine is recommended for 11-12 year-old girls, and can be given to girls as young as 9. The vaccine is also recommended for 13-26 year-old girls/women who have not yet received or completed the vaccine series.

Q. Why is the HPV vaccine only recommended for females ages 9 to 26?

The vaccine has been widely tested in 9-to-26 year-old girls/women. But research on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy has only recently begun with women older than 26 years of age.

The FDA will consider licensing the vaccine for these women when there is research to show that it is safe and effective for them.

One unplanned expense can often snowball into a major financial disaster with little or no recourse other than using credit cards with high interest rates or taking out loans, both of which only provide temporary relief. While there are no easy answers to this dilemma there are some fundamental things students can do to stabilize their finances.

Everyone who uses a checking account needs to understand some basic missteps.

“Some of the biggest things we see with our student accounts are overdraft charges as a result of improperly balanced checkbooks and students not taking personal responsibility for their actions,” said Casey Sterling, branch manager of U.S. Bank. “A lot of people get into trouble with their debit cards by not keeping track of and recording their purchases, basically using the card until it stops working. This kind of impulsive spending leads to trouble and usually results in overdraft fees. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep a record of purchases when using a debit card.”

Another issue affecting students at Western are payday loans.

“Payday loans are almost universally a bad idea,” said Larry Lawson, associate professor of finance. “People write checks against their next payday for often up to 100 percent interest, digging themselves into a hole they often cannot escape from. Or people hard up for cash get a loan against the title on their car often for as much as 300 percent interest. Failure to pay on time results in the vehicle being confiscated and often sold at auction to satisfy the debt. Though it seems like no one would agree to such terms, many people do everyday in desperation.”

Probably the biggest student missteps happen with credit cards. Credit card companies market to students to establish a brand allegiance they hope will be for life. Paying the balance in full each month is a good idea because paying the minimum balance will likely take 18 years to repay.

“A lot of students have trouble with credit cards and view the credit limit as an invitation to spend what they consider to be their money,” according to Forbes.com. “The credit comes from the bank – not Grandma. For many, this is a revelation: Banks are in business to make money, and customers have to pay interest on the balance if they miss the due date.”

Three next generation systems are out at the same time, the Nintendo Wii, Sony’s Playstation 3, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. In the world of gaming at this time, this is the
Console War and you decide who’s winning.

The Xbox 360 was the first next generation console to come out. Released November of 2005, the console was so popular it remained sold out for the rest of the year. The 360 came out in two models for gamers to choose from, a Premium system, which can be purchased for $399, and a Core system that’s available for $299.

The major difference in the two is that the premium system comes with accessories that the core doesn’t come with; a 20 GB hard drive, which is required to save games, a media remote controller, a wireless controller (the core has a wired controller), and a 360 headset which can be use to communicate with people when using Xbox Live to play multiplayer games. Both systems contain different video cables; the core comes with composite cables, the premium comes with composite and component cable. Some of the highest rated multiplayer games for the 360 are Halo 2, Call of Duty 3, and Rainbow Six Vegas.

“I enjoy the Xbox 360 because there is so much that you can do with the multiplayer on it.” said MichaelDeFelice, a Missouri Western student.

It was nearly a year later before the next gen system came out. In November of 2006 Sony’s Playstation 3 was unleashed upon the U.S. It also can be purchased in two  forms, one being the Premium system that contained a 60 GB hard drive for $599, and it comes with a memory card reader for digital cameras. The Basic system that has a $20 GB hard drive is priced at $499.

The Playstation 3 consoles are the only ones that come with Blu Ray technology, which delivers the ultimate in high-definition entertainment, offering more than five times the storage capacity of standard DVD.

“The Playstation 3 is pretty fun, the graphics are cool on it.” Missouri Western student Christopher Shove said.

However, Sony didn’t have much time to celebrate the release of PS3. Two days later after the launch, Nintendo released the Wii. The Wii includes a console, a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment and a copy of Wii Sports, making it the only next generation console to include a game. The Nunchuk attaches to the Wii remote which provides motion sensing capability, allowing the user to interact with, and manipulate items on screen via movement and pointing. The Wii can be purchased at the retail price is $249.

“If I was looking for something with graphics I would buy a compter. But I like the Wii because the player becomes more interactive with the game.” Missouri Western student Andy Allee said.

During that month of November alone, Nintendo sold 476,000 units of the Wii console in the United States, more than twice the number of PlayStation 3’s. Out of all the systems to find, the Wii is still the hardest to get as they are always sold out at retail stores.

“On the day that we get Wii’s in they are instantly sold out, never lasting more than an hour when we sell them. I believe that they’re the most popular video game system right now.” Circuit City associate Andrea said.

Even though they’re the most advanced systems to date, they do have their share of problems. The Xbox 360 had reports of overheating in its first month of release, and the
Wii had trouble with the controller strap. But rest assured, both problems were quickly dealt with by manufacturers.

Students were never so happy to see the lights out in the Blum Union lobby as they were last week.

It was not an electrical outage, rather an electrical game.

Thirty-two Western students competed in last weeks XBox competition sponsored by CAB. Approximately 100 spectators were there to witness the event or watch their friends play.

Cheers, laughter and sighs of disappointment could be heard with each move the players made. It was hard to hear anything but the game and the players.

Nevertheless, students found the competition to be entertaining and were glad to be there.

They all had their hands on the prize, but only one set could win. The student left standing would receive an XBox 360.

Cutting Edge Entertainment offered MWSU the chance to get the video game equipment at a reasonable cost.

“This kind of came out of the blue and landed on our lap. They contacted us and we thought it was a cool thing for the campus,” Janell Banks, CAB president, said.

X-Box seems to be a popular gave and has gotten the attention of the student body. They nailed the interesting factor.

“X-Box is something everyone enjoys. Why not bring it here?” student Divine Adams said.

Halo 2 was the game of choice this semester. However, X-Box has many other options that would attract in an even larger crowd if brought in. Due to the positive feedback,
CAB is thinking of continuing this activity in the future. Banks hopes to make the next competition kingsized by changing some things around.

“We might bring something back on a bigger scale. If not, then a different selection of games,” Banks said.

The winner of the tournament was Beth Murphy.

According to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, a government-funded study that researches student aid impact, the average undergraduate student will leave college with a student loan debt totaling $11,600.

Missouri Western students who are living on campus are expected to cover roughly $2,600 in out-of-pocket costs, based on examples from the Missouri Western financial aid department Web site.

With students having to cover expenses like this, saving money is tough.

Some students approach this problem by looking at expenses that will come once college is over. David Williams, a married junior, explained his financial situation and what he does to help ease the financial impact of college, both during and afterwards. Williams and his wife both attend Missouri Western.

“My wife and I actively put back money when we get paid,” he said. “Regardless of what we have to pay for that month, we always try and save what we can. If it is for a house after college, unexpected bills that can pop up, or maybe for something fun… it is nice to have something to fall back on just in case.”

Randy Marshal, branch President of United Missouri Bank, explained how banks help students establish savings on an already tight budget.

“We encourage every student that we work with in any aspect to open some sort of savings account with us,” Marshall said. “We work for students to help ensure that they are on top of everything they need.”

United Missouri Bank actively works on campus during the Fall Activities Fair to help inform students about the different programs that they offer for students.

They roughly open 50 new accounts via the fair.

“(The activities fair) accounts are usually kept open throughout college and beyond.” Marshall said. “Because of our close proximity to campus, we are able to be there for students and address any concerns they have. We want them to be able to save any extra money they can for any emergency that comes up unexpectedly.”

Marshall said that students who keep active accounts seemed to be more fiscally responsible than most people would assume.

“Our rate of overdrafts and bad checks written are actually quite low for students,” he said. “Students who are on top of their finances tend to be responsible. They don’t want to actively get the penalties  assessed on accounts that go bad. We tell every student that comes in to figure out how they can save more, to actively track what they spend for a month and then figure out what they can cut out so that they can save a little more.”

In addition, Marshall’s experience has shown that parents usually feel at ease with helping their children financially when they show that they are actively saving money.

“We can set up joint accounts with parents and their students so parents can have a way of helping out their kids easily,” he said. “[They] seem to be more willing to help out if they see that their kids are actively trying to save money and just happen to fall short.”

“It is more than likely – a 90 percent chance – that they will be our Spring Concert,” CAB President Janell Banks said.

Students voted this semester from a list of choice performers.

“That was a long time ago, and I can’t remember who I voted for,” Junior Danielle Richards said. Banks said that they went through the top most voted for performers and went down the list, saying that all votes were very close. She also said that because the concert date had been set, they had to choose a band that was not on tour, or else on tour in our area.

“We picked the first available band,” she said. Western junior Kylie Stewart is pleased with the prospect of Switchfoot coming to town.

“Sweet. I like that; I’m excited,” she said.

Banks explained that CAB has a process on a three-year cycle, rotating between rock, rap and country.

“Last year’s group was a country group, which drew less of a college crowd but more from the St. Joseph community,” Banks said.

Banks also said that that was a result of a lot of publicity for Chely Wright and Emerson Drive on local television and radio. She said that the rap groups have drawn a bigger college audience in the past, as Twista did in 2005. And the year before, the MTV Campus Invasion Tour drew a huge crowd. Banks is expecting to see a crowd this year.

“I am excited about meeting [Switchfoot],” Banks said. “That’s the awesome thing about being in CAB; you get to meet someone you’re inspired by.”

She said that CAB members try to take the band out to dinner and take them on a tour of St. Joseph. The projected cost of a night out with the band was not available.

Banks said that because this year they had a little more money to play with for the Spring Concert, they are looking at adding an opening act.

“We’ve thought about Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, but we have to get permission from Switchfoot to perform in their show.”

Junior Kylie Stewart said she was hoping for a different backup band.

“I was pushing for Relient K; that makes me sad,” she said.

Banks said that they are still in the contract phase with Switchfoot, and although things appear to be set, the final contracts have yet to be signed. As such, the cost of bringing the concert here is not yet available.

The idea of a raffle is also being considered, Banks said.

“We’re trying to work out something where maybe the first 10 people who enter would get an autographed item,” she said. “Something like a poster or a backstage pass.”

According to their Myspace page, Switchfoot is originally from San Diego and has a new album, Oh Gravity, available in stores now. The band is currently performing in Europe and will come to the States next week to begin their U.S.A tour on April 16.

According to their Web site, the alternative rock band is made up of five members: Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboard) and Drew Shirley (guitar).

Four of the band’s songs were featured in the 2002 Movie, A Walk to Remember, which led to a major label debut, The Beautiful Letdown, featuring two of their best-known singles: “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move.” It sold over 2.6 million copies, according to Wikepedia.

The band’s name is reflective of the members’ lifestyle and a metaphor of life and their music.

“We all love to surf and have been surfing all of our lives so to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It’s about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music,” Foreman said on their Web site.

More information about the concert and tickets will be available after the contract has been signed.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, many couples will be heading out to embark on that perfect date, whether it’s the first or fiftieth. And unfortunately, most college students at Missouri Western will not have access to a sandy beach with instant luaus. In most cases, their funds will be limited to less than a green bill with the face of Andrew Jackson.

For those who tend to spend less than $20 on a typical date, there are several options in St. Joseph. David Carlile, who works in Information Technology Services, often takes his wife to the campus cafeteria for a lunch date.

“It’s the best buffet you can get for $4.75,” Carlile said. Carlile puts $100 on his flex card occasionally, so that he can enjoy an inexpensive date during his lunch hour.

Students who live in the dorms can take advantage of the meal plans they already have, as can other students who have purchased flex dollars, so that they can spend their real dollars on a movie and popcorn.

Sophomore Shena Huse likes to go to Chu’s Restaurant with her boyfriend.

“It’s great, you get three different buffets and a drink for real cheap, and all the fortune cookies you want,” Huse said of Chu’s, where she enjoys the intimate atmosphere with candles on the tables. Chu’s offers Chinese, Mexican and American food in their buffet.

Dinner is nice, but it is less expensive to entertain your date during the daytime. Chu’s is only $5.75 for their lunch buffet, but be prepared because Valentine’s night will cost you plenty extra at $13.95, said restaurant employee Nicholas Radtka.

“We will be having a special on Valentine’s night with all the prime rib and crab legs you can eat,” he said.

St. Joseph dining choices have recently expanded with the addition of new restaurants located on the Belt Highway near The Shoppes of the North Village. If you are planning to dine out at these new hot spots, be sure to call ahead for seating reservations because some places fill up early.

Bryan Seiter, manager of Chili’s, said they will be fully staffed for Valentine’s Day and expects to have a busy evening.

There are several inexpensive choices other than dining for Western students to entertain their special someone on a minimal budget. Plaza 8 theater is one choice, as movies are only $1.50 per person. Bode Ice Arena has many sessions open throughout the week for only $4 for skate time and an additional $2 to rent skates. B&J Skate Center offers reasonable  prices for a Wednesday night skate session at only $4 from 6-9 p.m.

So, whether you are in the mood for Chinese, Mexican, American, a little of each or something special you can stretch your dating dollars in St. Joseph by eating out early and  entertaining with a spin this Valentine’s Day.

In last week’s issue, Margaret Slayton wrote an informative article on the research database: J-STOR.

However, some information was lacking, and I would like to bring to light, the series of events that took place in order for this program to be available. Many members of the faculty have lobbied the Library for years, hoping their efforts would result in the purchase of J-STOR. Our professors recognized the program’s value and realized it would be a valuable asset. The faculty had all but given up though, believing their uphill battle was in vain. Their hopes were rejuvenated last year when the Student Government Association weighed in on the issue. Library Director Julia Schneider and Electronic Services Librarian Darrin Daugherty were invited to a Student Senate meeting, to discuss the potential for Western’s library to attain JSTOR.

The guests made it seem as if J-STOR was only used by doctoral students. After giving the students attending the meeting a barrage of excuses, they left the Senate as if they simply had no intention of purchasing the system. The SGA was alarmed to uncover data showing that MWSU was one of the only schools in the state without JSTOR.

It was even discovered that some high schools had the amazing resource.

The Senate’s Academic Affairs Committee started a petition drive at the end of last year, but fell short of five hundred students by only thirty signatures. It seemed that the supporters of J-STOR were dealt yet another defeat, when Professor Jonathan Euchner met with Director Schneider on behalf of the Department of Government, Social Work, and Sociology.

Dr. Euchner informed members of SGA that he and his colleagues were giving up, as it seemed the Library had no intention of getting the program.

The SGA and some pessimistic faculty members however, still had hope. Despite the defeats, and excuses, SGA continued to lobby the Library. It seemed the efforts paid off last semester when a trial edition was started.

However, something shady seemed afoot after the Library acquired the trial. No one knew it was there. In fact, it was only when an e-mail from the SGA sent to further research the  J-STOR issue, caused the library to inform the SGA Executive Board about the trial. A few mass emails were sent out to faculty and students, to prevent the program from being cancelled because its trial never had enough usage.

J-STOR being an important asset brings journal articles up automatically in PDF format.

For all practical purposes, when researching, there is no need to cite any website, because J-STOR is putting the real journal into the grasps of its users. This resource is a valuable addition to the Library. Students should not be misled though, to believe it was the hard work of the Library staff that resulted in the purchase of the program.

It took the hard work of a few determined faculty members and students to make it through J-STOR’s darker past.

Students could order culinary delights from the menu such as fried catfish, southern-style spare ribs, collared greens, black-eyed peas and corn bread.

“I wanted more awareness with the students – students of all colors,” said Ivory Duncan , the Western senior who was responsible for bringing the dinner together .

“The dinner – I know it seems cliché with the menu, but it was the only way I could connect the dinner with the heritage of back in the days when we put together these foods to eat, to celebrate our culture.”

At the entrance of the cafeteria there was a power point slide show that displayed scenes from the heritage of the African American people.

Black-and-white images flashed across the screen of signs in windows of shops with platitudes labeled “no coloreds allowed,” along with profiles of various heroes of the civil rights movement, as students rounded the corner of Eder hall and strolled through the doors toward dinner.

Even students who did not have access to a meal plan were welcome to stop by and have a traditional African American meal.

“The Students for Multicultural Education are paying for the students who don’t have a meal plan, and ARAMARK is paying for the students with meal plans,” Duncan said.

Junior Michelle Allen partook of the traditional down-home cooking. She also offered a reason why the dinner was a good idea.

“Being that the school is predominately white, I think it shows a little bit about what African American heritage is.” Allen said. “This is how we eat; this is our culture.”

And junior Chris Koone, who was eating the southern-style spare ribs, spoke to his table about the idea of many more multicultural events.

“I thought this was cool,” Koone said. “It would be cooler if we also had other heritage months instead of just black heritage.”

Several students were oblivious to the theme of the evening. Senior John Miller was appreciative of the event, although surprised by it.

“I didn’t know it was a special dinner,” Miller said. “It’s cool, though.”

World of Warcraft, also known as WoW is a massive multiplayer, online role-playing game in which players explore landscape, fight monsters and perform quests for which they are rewarded with various items that allow players to increase their skill level and power.

Players may also battle against one another or band together with other players to form alliances within the game.

Western student Emily Redman has been playing World of Warcraft for about six months, after her boyfriend introduced her to the game.

Redman believes there has been an increase in the games popularity recently, due to the release of the first WoW expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, as well as media attention.

“Since The Burning Crusade came out, World of Warcraft has seen a lot of attention through the media,” Redman said. “And there has been a lot of overcrowding of servers.”

With over eight million players registered on the game, Redman finds it hard to get bored.

“Where many-role playing games lack content, World of Warcraft is a very immense world with years’ worth of quests and adventures,” Redman said. “I know people that have been playing since it came out and they still aren’t bored because there is so much to do and discover in the game.”

Redman and her boyfriend are such enthusiasts about the game, he recently bought his own computer, and she set up her own account within the game, so the two would stop fighting over whose turn it was to play.

“Now we play together, and I think it has made our relationship better,” Redman said. “Some people might think that it’s pretty drastic to get a computer just to play a game, but it’s still easy to balance real life and gaming.”

Because much of World of Warcraft’s upperlevel quests depend on players forming alliances and working together, players often interactwith one another within the game, building friendships as they go along.

“I enjoy all of my friends that I have made in game,” Redman said. “It’s really crazy how you can connect with people all over the country.”

Western student Meghan Downey enjoys the game for a variety of reasons, including its ability to allow users to interact with people miles away.

“It’s a way for me to hang out with my best friend, even though she’s 1,200 miles away, and you still get to interact with real people and even make some new friends in the process,” said Downey, who has been playing the game since November 2006, after being introduced by a friend. On average, she plays about three to four hours a week.

“The longest I’ve ever played would be somewhere around the 10-hour mark,” Downey said. “Yeah, I know a complete waste of 10 hours, but if you’re being cheap and have nothing better to do, you might as well play since you’re already paying for it.”

WoW is subscription based, meaning in addition to buying the actual program, players must subscribe to the game, paying a monthly fee to remain on the server on which they play.

The games come with one month of free game play. After a month, players must purchase additional time using a credit card or prepaid game card. Prepaid game cards are sold for
$30 and provide a user with 60 days worth of game play.

With members paying for the service, addiction to the game cannot be only time consuming and unhealthy, but expensive.

“There was a time I became so obsessed, I spent $100 to have a character power leveled so I could join my friends in another server and explore outland with them,” said Shane Braco, a Western student who has been playing WoW since its release. “This was recent, and I’m ashamed of what I did, because I consider it cheating.”

Braco has several friends he says put the game before anything else in their day, and it’s gotten worse since the release of the expansion pack.

“My friend from work got into it, and within less than a month, he got so obsessed he bought a bot, which is a program that plays the game for you, and spent over a $1,000 on accounts,” Braco said.

Much of the media coverage WoW has received lately is due in part to many of the users who have become addicted to the game, including reports of alleged child neglect and death, due to excessive playing of World of Warcraft. Meghan Downey doesn’t know anyone personally who is addicted to the game but has heard stories of addiction.

“I think that some people seek a certain kind of refuge in the game, a place where no one can judge you on how you dress, or look, or what kind of grades you get,” Downey said. “But I also believe that if you have friends that invite you to go party, or play some basketball, you should get off your butt and go.”

While Downey enjoys playing the game, she doesn’t think it’s worth damaging the relationships that exist outside of cyberspace.

“You can log off the game, and it will be right where you left it when you get back,” she said. “But your friends will drop you if you constantly blow them off to level up your toon [character].”

Downey doesn’t consider herself a hardcore gamer, and World of Warcraft is the first role-playing game she’s ever been a part of.

“I never thought that I could really get into the whole online gaming thing, but curiosity got the best of me, and needless to say I enjoy playing World of Warcraft,” Downey said. “But I do believe that if World of Warcraft ever gets taken offline, I won’t pick up another game to take its spot.”

Western student Katie Penland created the Facebook group, “WoW, when does it end?” It is a sort-of support group of WoW players, and WoW widows – the forgotten significant others of WoW junkies. She doesn’t play WoW herself, but she often finds herself surrounded by avid players of the game, including her boyfriend and several friends.

“It’s crazy being on the outside looking in,” Penland said. “I’ve never played, but I’m frequently around people that do. It’s like they have their own language between one another that makes no sense unless you play. It’s quite funny to sit and listen to them carry on about the game sometimes.”

Penland started the group as a joke amongst her friends, both WoW players and non-players alike, as a way to bring people together and share their opinions on the game.

“At first I hated World of Warcraft with a passion, because of how addicting I saw that it could be,” Penland said. “But I realized that it wasn’t fair for me to try and come between someone and [his or her] hobby.”

While Penland doesn’t know anyone personally who qualifies as a full-fledged WoW addict, she has heard stories about people who tune out of reality, preferring to live in the fictional
world provided by the game.

“I think there is a fine line between playing a few times a week to hours everyday,” Penland said. “It can get pretty scary when someone chooses to live their life through the game.”