The PRIDE Alliance has been known by many names in the past. However, students can all agree that they put on one hell of a drag show each spring.

This organization deserves a lot of credit for the amount of work, dedication and community support they bring to the campus. The drag show last year brought hundreds of students and members of the community together for a good cause.

The PRIDE Alliance doesn’t charge the students to attend the event, but they do charge those from the community who attend. It’s a small fee, but  the money they receive all goes to charity.

It’s a great opportunity for anyone who has ever wanted to get out of their comfort zone and see men dressed in long gowns, wigs and lipstick. Though some people don’t agree with the way the event is set up and the sexuality of those who participate, it’s a great way to show the diversity amongst our campus and how far we’ve come.

If you attend the drag show, you will see so much diversity in one room that it’s incredible. No matter who you are or where you come from, the event brings people from all walks of life together. It’s not just a “gay thing”, it’s an event for everyone.

Missouri Western has shown an increase in student support for events, however many organizations aren’t able to keep up with the type of events that PRIDE puts on for the students at Western.

PRIDE has been a developing organization for the past five years and has received much attention recently, considering the latest endorsements, from President Barack Obama supporting marriage equality to Missouri considering a vote for Marriage Equality. The group continues to strive to increase their numbers through fundraising and events. Even though St. Joseph is still a small urban city, it shows increasing support throughout the community.

The drag show is coming up, and it’s for a good cause. The leaders of the group work hard each year and plan all year round for this one night event. It’s a great way to have fun and to show that you stand for all people, no matter who they are.

There’s a huge difference between a professor with tenure and an instructor. Yes, a professor is one who has worked his way up the ranks to receive a doctorate and receive a bigger paycheck.

There are many instructors and adjuncts hired by the university that work hard and tireless hours to ensure that their students are up to date on where they need to be.

Missouri Western has a lot of good examples of instructors and adjuncts that work not just during the school day, but when they’re off the clock as well. Thomas Hanrahan, visiting instructor of Journalism and Mildred Boring, part-time professor of Mathematics work day and night for little money. Why? Because they care for their students and want them to be successful.

It just seems interesting that our part-time faculty aren’t paid fairly. It’s easy to come back with an answer such as they don’t work as many hours per credit or don’t have tenure. The obvious solution is for universities to start paying these individuals hourly, considering their extra hours of help and dedication to the students.

Those who work full-time and are dedicated to the students outside the classroom need to be paid the same as well. If they’re putting in extra time to work with the students then at the end of the day, they should be paid hourly as well.

There will be arguments back and forth on this issue and that’s okay. It just needs to be stated that there are educators on this campus who work just as hard, if not harder than some professors with the highest degrees in their fields.

Real-world experience is what we as a university need. Instructors, along with part-time faculty, have real-world experience as well and have been known to help their students with internships, jobs and discovering where they belong.

It’s time that universities, not just Missouri Western, look at their faculty and see who works beyond the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday. Educators such as the ones mentioned work throughout the night at home and help their students on weekends.

When you have a professor or instructor working with you on a project, assignment or future job, consider the fact that they probably aren’t getting paid for that time. It’s time to open up and find places where we can find funding to help pay our educators fairly.

It’s just sad that when this group of individuals work to accomplish goals and help improve the way of life for students that they can’t even get 30 percent of the student body to vote. I think what makes it even worse is that you have events such as a casino night that brings out over 800 or even 1000 students for one night to gamble fake money to win prizes.

There’s a real problem when you start seeing students care more about a flat screen television than about pieces of legislation that deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars toward programs for education. It’s not a negativity thing toward events for universities; it’s the fact that our student body is not being persuaded to vote for our SGA leaders.

Students who run for senate and SGA do work hard regardless of what the press and student body might think. It takes individuals who are willing to work hard every day to help ensure the best education for students if important issues come their way. Now, there are decisions that the student government makes that are confusing and sometimes out there.

However, the way to get back and elect students into the Student Government is to vote. No, you won’t get prizes for voting for a student in an elected position. But, you will elect a student that you believe will have your best interests in mind when it comes to the hard decisions.

The solution is simple… Either the SGA needs to start having a casino night where students must vote before going to gamble or they need to change their strategy and tell the student body that there are issues that could drastically affect the entire student body, which means each and every one of us.

We’ve seen what the SGA has been through with the budget crisis, alcohol policy and smoking bans. These are issues that affect students, all students. Maybe, SGA should consider scholarships for student senator positions to get more people involved and maybe increase the number of people voting. The more people that run, the more people vote. These individuals have friends, these friends will vote for them and it will increase the voting statistics.

It’s time to wake up and come up with a strategy in time for the upcoming election.

It’s amazing how much a university makes each year from students. They not only have to pay for the classes, housing, and supplies, but they now have to pay tuition for classes that deal with absolutely nothing with their degree.

It seems quite amazing that for students to graduate from college, they must take classes such as canoeing or bowling. The last time there has been a degree for either one of those courses was…never.

So why students must be forced to take these courses in college to earn their degree? The university says that it’s for us to open up new avenues to things we have never experienced. Well, that might be good for some students, but the majority of students who attend just want their degree.

It’s just plain ignorant that these are requirements for graduation. Students who plan to go into nursing are being forced to take classes in history and English. It’s just a huge joke that all four-year universities play to get more funding from students. It’s quite difficult for some students in an area that knows nothing about history or science to take those courses.

Requiring students to take courses in their degree and to chop off the rest would be beneficial. It seems and sounds easier said than done, but tech schools and two-year schools all across the country are doing it.

The solution is simple and the way to go about the process is easy as well. If universities would just require the courses students need for their degree, then the graduation rate would go up because students would be interested and not bored with these unnecessary classes.

Students get burnt out on these courses which they don’t have a greater understanding towards, and to take the load off of them to achieve and learn more from their degree would be the best solution.

Missouri Western has considered a school such as this, but the degrees are minor ones. The huge departments such as business and nursing should not require their students to take a swimming or upper history class because they will never use it.

Something is going to have to change because too many students are giving up and not looking toward that brighter future of earning a degree. These gen-ed courses are killing off the student population each year and are the result of a lower graduation rate.

It seems that the status quo needs to change now.

That analogy is completely untrue. The Griffon News is an organization of student journalists who cover numerous events, meetings and sports events on campus.

We are not out to destroy the reputation of organizations, we are here to cover stories, and editorials that have a major impact on  funding and the basic rights of the students.

The major organization that deals strictly with students is the Student Government Association. We know those involved in past or present SGA are wary to speak to reporters from the Griffon News.

The idea that we are going to bash this organization on a weekly basis is false. We don’t want to report negativity each week on organizations, but we believe that when the organization spends a great deal of funding in a particular place that it should be covered in the news.

As journalists of the Griffon News, we also cover the Board of Governors, administration and Faculty Senate, which makes major policy changes and implements new ones each year; the most recent being the smoking and alcohol policies, which were given strict critiques over the handling of each in our Editorials.

The Griffon News also gives students the opportunity to have their voices heard, and what we cover is what is happening now. Students have their opinions on the handling of their money that is invested into the Student Government Association each year. Students  just want to be told the truth — that is what we’re here for.

We report directly to the students the 5 Ws: who is directly handling this change, what purpose will it serve, when is it being done, where is it coming from and why is it being done. This is just a note to those who believe we are out to get their organization and to let you know we are in fact, not.

If your organization deals with a majority of students and their money, we will report on it without bias. If it is not in the best interest for the entire student body, we will critique it. However, we will continue to work with any group if they are honest with not just us, but with the entire student body.

It’s true, not all students care to vote, but there are those who keep up with how the local, state, and federal government is working for us. We have seen in the last two presidential elections that students have played a role, not a major one but one that has gained attention.

In the 2004 presidential election, Sen. John Kerry, the democratic presidential candidate gained a great deal of support from the young vote, but not enough to win the White House. We saw it again in 2008, when then Sen. Barack Obama worked hard to gain the support of the young vote.

In 2008, he achieved a goal, and won the majority of the student vote ranging from high school to college voters. So it just shows you, that young voters are paying attention to what’s happening in the United States. They are starting to play a major role in the political process, and in 2008 nearly 18 percent turned out to vote.

That number, according to a recent Gallup poll, shows that the young voter turnout for the 2012 election will not increase or decrease with some dissatisfaction between the two political parties. The poll showed that nearly 20 percent plan to vote in the November election.

Students had their voices heard for the first time in the 2008 presidential election, and it doesn’t matter what political party you belong to, just getting out the vote is what students need to do.

The deadline for those wanting to vote in Missouri is soon coming to a close. The deadline is set for Oct. 10, 2012; after that date you won’t be able to vote. The idea isn’t to get you to vote for President Obama or Mitt Romney; it’s for the sole purpose that those who believe students don’t care can be proven wrong.

Students have rallied together in the past to determine decisions that have shocked the country, let’s do it again. Some media stations have even crossed off the student vote and have moved on to other minority groups.

Students have a major role to play, and the issues they face today will affect them in the future — student loan debt, a job market in decline and a lack of leadership from the government. Make the right choice, and get registered.

In the past couple of years we have only seen the “You Can’t Let a Griffon Down” rally form when Western faced budget cuts. The Student Government Association worked to rally a force of students who were not willing to let the budget cuts go to rest. The governor heard their concerns, but nothing really changed.

So for students at Western they have become noncontributory to fight for their rights. There are many issues that students probably don’t even realize have passed on campus and they could have had a dramatic effect on if they would have joined together.

The Constitution Day event hosted by the political science club touched heavily on the issue of student activism and how it has changed from the start of college to today. The fact is, students used to protest over anything they were dissatisfied with early on when colleges began.

There are many issues to fight for here at home. Western has seen a 2 percent increase for educators, but where does that money come from? Western is taking consideration of allowing alcohol in certain areas of the University, but not allowed for students who live on campus. The most recent being the policy passed to ban smoking and any tobacco use on campus.

These are all issues that students are being faced with, but don’t get involved in or even told about these events occurring. When you speak to students over the alcohol and smoking policy they feel as if their rights are being taken away.

So what’s the solution? Well get involved, form a coalition, protest and rally to let your voices be heard. It has been seen many times that students can change not only policy, but the way the Administration takes view of the students as well.

The facts are clear. If students work together and fight for a reasonable cause they can make a difference. It most likely won’t happen today, or even tomorrow. However, it will be in the near future. The changes in policy at Western are headed for a rude awakening, and the students will voice their opinions and concerns.

It’s the right thing for students to do. Students are the university, and without them we would have no university.

Proposition 48 was a regulation voted on by the NCAA in 1986 for Division I schools to force requirements both academic and drug-related for college athletes to continue playing sports. The idea behind this regulation is very similar to the one here at Western which is a Division II school.

The regulation was not to cut any minority group, yet one opponent believed this was its main purpose.

John Thompson was the Georgetown University’s black basketball coach at the time of the new law. He believed the new rules would prevent minority youths from playing. The other interesting fact is that if you read his bio and why he was against this law, it is just so absurd. He believed that his star athletes were unprepared for college.

Imagine hearing this statement from a university coach today. The negative coverage over the Thompson’s statement would most likely cost him his job.

The reality is not everyone can be talented in both sports and academics. We have all witnessed it firsthand. Some of you are student-athletes and know that if you don’t keep your grades up, you won’t play.

The purpose of Proposition 48 is phenomenal. A student-athlete who is being looked at by a university to play at their school should work hard, not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. Even at Missouri Western you find student-athletes that don’t seem to get it.

Some are here on full scholarships which is unfair as well, but that is a story for a later column. The sole purpose of college is getting a degree to further your opportunity in the job market. It’s quite humorous to hear athletes on campus discuss how they don’t have time to study, and that they would rather be on the field.

Well, if they only knew once they graduate life won’t be that easy for them. Today more players are sent to pro-camps and don’t ever get drafted with the hope of making that team.

However, Western has done a great job with their athletic department and staying true to the code.

Players we have seen on the field are now average students like us.  The requirements Western set is being met, and if not, they are gone. Many schools have forgotten the law and have tried in their power to keep players in the game.

Here at Western, they do the right thing. If you don’t pass, you don’t play.

In May of 2012 the student loan debt in the United States exceeded the $1 trillion marker and is exceeding that number as we speak. Students who come to college straight out of high school don’t usually understand how much money it really takes to earn a degree.

Yes, there are some who have worked their way through school and pay their own way, but a large majority of students who don’t might not realize that earning that degree comes with baggage. If you are a student that is fortunate to go to college on a scholarship, then you should be thankful not to be in this category.

Every student can apply for financial aid, but that doesn’t mean that you will receive the same amount of aid as the person next to you. There are so many different ways for students to go about getting funding for college, but as a student there is more than just paying for courses.

Not every student is fortunate enough to live, or have a job where they go to school. Students have so much more on their plates than a person who decides not to pursue a college degree. There are many students that must live in the dorms, and financial aid will not pay for most of this and could well exceed over $10,000 a year.

Universities throughout the country should consider programs that won’t place students in loan debt after they graduate college. One of the best examples is College of the Ozarks where students graduate debt-free through participating in the on-campus Work Education Program. This program has students work 15 hours on campus each week, and students earn scholarships and much more through the program.

The college of the Ozarks may be a private university where not everyone who applies is accepted, as acceptance is based on financial necessity.  In society today nearly every student is financially needy. If universities would consider a program that discourages debt and does not participate in the federal student loan program, imagine how much money students would save and how much our student loan debt would decline.

The reality is that it is too late to forgive the over $1 trillion in student loan debt that has been built up thus far,  but if universities would consider programs like the one at College of the Ozarks in the future, then we could alleviate one of many of the debts that the United States faces today.