Pet Parade Princess - Webster Journal Online

Progression of Punk
Power Over Panthers
he Mondales produce its
second album, “Crescent
Fresh”and inds its sound.
he women’s basketball
team inds itself in second
place in the SLIAC ater a
pair of victories.
5
7
The Student News Source For Webster University
the journal
Volume 66 Issue 18
websterjournal.com
Feb. 6-Feb. 12, 2013
Pet Parade Princess
Webster Groves
passes bill, prohibits
sexual orientation
discrimination
By Tierre Rhodes and Gabe Burns
Staf Writer and Multimedia Editor
A new ordinance unanimously passed by the
Webster Groves City Council makes it so no one
can be discriminated against because of their sexuality when purchasing property.
he cities of Clayton, Creve Coeur, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights and University
City have passed similar ordinances over the past
few years.
Webster Groves proposed Bill 8785 at the last
council meeting on Jan. 22, to amend Article 3,
When we saw the opportunity to
“
ofer this kind of encouragement ... we
decided to come forward.
David Denoon
”
Reverend
First Congregational Church
JULIA GABBERT / he Journal
Dogs dressed in costumes walked through the streets of Soulard at this year’s Beggin’ Barkus Pet Parade on Sunday, Feb. 3. Dog owners tossed beads to the parade
patrons. The parade is an annual Mardi Gras celebration for people and their dogs. Registration to walk in the parade cost $10. The parade also featured food and
drinks, games, a “wiener dog derby” and music by actor Kevin Bacon’s band, The Bacon Brothers. Beggin’ sponsored the parade. Dogs received free bags of Beggin’
Strips. Water stations were set up throughout the parade. See page 5 for an additional photo.
“Fair Housing Code,” prohibiting discrimination
of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Webster Groves will be one of the most recent
cities to adopt ordinance 8785.
“We did it now because other communities are
doing it,” said Webster Groves Mayor Gerry Welch.
“It was brought to our attention that it would be a
good ordinance to pass; that’s why we are doing it.”
he issue was brought to Webster Groves City
Council’s attention last year when other St. Louis
municipalities were passing these ordinances.
Although Webster Groves has not had complaints about discrimination, according to Mayor
Welch, it is still an ordinance they feel they should
approve. Welch said she does not feel as if there
See Equality
Page 2
Student leaders will request Webster phone app
App receives most votes at Oicers’ Summit; ive issues chosen
By Sheren Khalel
Staf Writer
Applause, snapping and cheers broke out
twice at the Oicers’ Summit on Friday, Feb. 1
in the Sunnen Lounge. First when a student suggested a Webster University smartphone application. And the second was when the Webster app
idea made the list of ive issues for Delegates’
Agenda with 41 out of 52 votes.
he Oicers’ Summit is held every semester
and gives student leaders a chance to voice problems or improvements they would like to see presented at the Delegates’ Agenda. he Delegates’
Agenda is a platform where students present
Webster administrators with the top-ive issues
voted on at the Oicer’s Summit.
Carolina Dueñas, campus activities program
manager, is already working on a mock-up of a
smartphone app for the University Center. Dueñas has been advocating for a Webster app for
some time now, and is excited it could inally be
coming to fruition.
Dueñas, who is set to graduate this spring,
said she isn’t leaving until Webster gets an app.
“Now basically everybody has a smartphone,” Dueñas said. “If you can get notiications
for all the events they’re having on campus, or if
you just want to know what’s going on with Webster, it’s there. It’s a helpful way to keep in contact
24/7.”
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri
State University, Lindenwood University, St.
Louis University and University of Missouri- Columbia already have apps. he University of Missouri-Columbia even has separate apps for some
of its diferent schools and sports teams.
Dueñas said she’d like the Webster app to
have access to Connections, a call directory, and
he Journal, but nothing is set in stone yet.
get notiications for
“allIftheyouevents
they’re having
on campus, or if you just want
to know what’s going on with
Webster, it’s there. ... It’s a helpful
way to keep in contact 24/7.
”
Carolina Dueñas
Campus Activities program coordinator
he ive issues he Oicer’s Summit voted
on to bring to he Delegates’ Agenda are as
follows:
—Procuring a Webster app.
—Increasing lighting and safety measures
around Webster.
—Enhancing the natural spaces on
campus.
—Creating a system that would allow
students to charge textbooks to their Webster
account.
—Introducing a December graduation
ceremony.
Tayler Kinner, Webster University dance
club member, said she was relieved the Delegates’ Agenda would address campus safety. Kinner said someone smashed the large center panel
of Webster’s dance studio on hursday, Jan. 31.
“To some people it’s not a big deal, but it
would be like someone coming into one of those
very expensive computer labs and smashing a
monitor,” Kinner said.
DAN DUNCAN / he Journal
Carolina Dueñas uses her smartphone in the Campus Activites oice in the University Center. She suggested student
leaders request the administration create a Webster University app at Oicers’ Summit on Feb. 1 in Sunnen Lounge. Students could check upcoming events and their connections accounts with the app. Dueñas works for Campus Activities.
Kinner said two dancers presented the issue
of building security at the Delegates’ Agenda last
year but it was not one of the top issues the administration decided to take action on.
“here have been times when I’ve felt uneasy
practicing at 3 o’clock in the morning, but what
can I do? I have to get my stuf done,” Kinner
said. “It’s a little unsettling.”
he Delegates’ Agenda will be held Feb. 21
and responses from the administration will be
announced March 21.
Editor’s Note: Carolina Duenas is a photographer
for he Journal.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Page 2 Feb. 6-12, 2013
NEWS
NEWS BRIEFS
Webster’s endowment sees growth in 2012
Students opt for
nonacademic
aspects of college
A National Bureau of Economic Research study on Feb.
4 found that 4-year colleges
spending more money on athletics or living facilities may be
more likely to attract potential
students, despite an institution’s
educational investment.
This study is based on college spending patterns and student preferences in the classes
of 1994 and 2002.
The study shows that only
students who consider to enroll
at highly competitive schools
value high academic spending
enough to inluence schooling
choices. The study concludes
that the majority of 4-year universities will not see an increase
in applications by investing
more money into academics.
Scholars from the University of Michigan conducted the
study.
“This is an important inding given that quality assurance
is primarily provided by demand-side pressure,” the study
stated.
“The fear of losing students is believed to compel colleges to provide high levels of
academic quality. Our indings
call this accountability mechanism into question. However,
our indings do not speak to the
normative issue of whether consumption amenities are good or
bad for students and taxpayers.”
Congressman asks
Higher One for
more information
U.S. Rep. George Miller
sent a letter to Higher One
Holdings Inc. on Feb. 5, asking the company to give more
information on student spending
through the company’s ATMs
on California campuses. Miller
asked the company to view a list
of the ATMs that they maintain
across the country, particularly
in California, and the refund
policies for when the machines
are not functional.
Miller is worried that students who use Higher One debit
cards will have to pay unfair
fees to the company, which has
recently been under investigation. He also stated he was
worried about larger campuses
and colleges for non-traditional
students.
City named a
‘Missouri Most
Creative Community’
websterjournal.com
By Sheren Khalel
Staf Writer
Webster University’s projected endowment investment
returns for the 2012-2013 iscal year show a signiicant improvement ater 2011-2012’s
loss. Endowment investment
returns increased 9.9 percent
this iscal year and Webster’s
total endowments increased by
almost $8 million.
Endowments sit at $94.5
million, an increase from the
$86.5 million reported last year
in Webster’s Accountants’ Report and Consolidated Financial Statement done by the accounting irm BKD.
“We’re inally reaching the
point where I think we’re seeing
this economy turning around,”
said Greg Gunderson, vice president and chief inancial oicer
for Webster University.
Last year Webster experienced around a $4.9 million loss
on its endowment investment
returns according to the BKD report.
Gunderson said the loss was
typical for the market due to the
debt-ceiling crisis in 2011 and
the collapse of the European
market.
“here was nothing you could
have invested in over that timespan that would have yielded positive results,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson said Webster’s
total endowment fund outperformed Webster’s own benchmarks by an average of 0.7 percent over the last 5 years, and
By Alex Wilking
Staf Writer
consistently outperformed its
peer group.
Webster’s endowment fund is
made up of monetary gits from
alumni and other contributors.
he endowment fund is eventually invested, but irst a risk portfolio is created.
Some investment types are
riskier than others, so Webster
hires a third party, Brian Buchholz, to create a risk portfolio.
Riskier investments yield higher
returns when the market is up,
and bigger losses when the market is down.
he risk portfolio Buchholz
puts together advises Webster
on which sectors it should invest
in to gain the highest amount of
returns, while still balancing and
absorbing the risks the best it
can.
he investments are made by
dozens of diferent money man-
aging irms that meet the needs
of each portfolio. Each irm ills a
role in Webster’s proile according to what kind of investments
were decided upon in the risk
portfolio.
Webster’s investment proile
consists of:
—55 percent Global Stocks
—25 percent Fixed Income
—10 percent Inlation Hedging
—10 percent Alternative Strategies
Gunderson said that Webster’s portfolio doesn’t change
much regardless of the market.
Both last year’s loss and this
year’s gain are simply relections
of the economic climate.
“We invest for the long term,
we invest with partners that have
high national reputation, and
that have a consistently high performance,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson declined to say
where Webster’s endowments
have been invested, citing the
competitive nature of the market.
In order to continue to increase its endowment funds,
Webster has a policy of pulling
out only 4.5 percent of investment returns, according to the
BKD report. Webster reinvests
the rest so that its total endowments are still up, even if investment returns are negative.
“Most of it (investment return) is invested so that it will be
here 100 years from now and still
be producing value. hat’s our
motivating factor; we are here for
the long haul,” Gunderson said.
By 2015, Webster plans to
have $100 million in endowment
funds.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Downtown campus director appointed to state position
By Katelyn Gosik
Staf Writer
Nicole Roach said she is passionate about
volunteer work for the St. Louis community and beyond. When she is not fulilling
her director duties at Webster University’s
downtown campus, chances are she is doing
some form of volunteer work. Last December, Roach received news that the Missouri
Senate had approved her application for a
three-year term on he Missouri Community Service Commission (MCSC).
“Even today, this is totally out-of-body,”
Roach said. “I don’t think that I have digested
the magnitude, the level of responsibility.”
he MCSC is a state-level, federally funded
organization under the economic development department of the Missouri government
and is comprised of 19 appointed members.
he MCSC pays special attention to informing
Missouri’s youth about the need for community service, with the intention of spreading
news about the importance of volunteerism.
Members of the MCSC have the power to
either approve or deny propositions for grant
money made by various Missouri nonproit
organizations. AmeriCorps State is a federal
organization that provides grant money, volunteers and funding for nonproit groups.
Members of the MCSC make additional
evaluations ater a visit to the speciic location ater reviewing the propositions.
Roach said members of the MCSC are
given the opportunity to present awards to
volunteers and organizations that are making a positive impact on the community.
In order to be a part of this state-level
department, members must meet speciic
criteria concerning educational experience
and volunteer history. Members must also
undergo a thorough background check.
“(MCSC) knows everything about me, except for my garment size,” Roach said.
“hey check everything from ingerprints,
criminal record, inances and employment
history to make sure you’re representing the
Webster Groves will be
named Missouri’s Most Creative Community at the 30th
annual Missouri Art Council’s
Arts Awards tomorrow. Webster Groves, along with 7 other
recipients from diferent artistic
categories, will receive original
artwork created for the Missouri Arts Awards by KennethMarineGlass.
he Missouri Art Council
said in a press release that Webster Groves “has a strong tradition of arts involvement that
has accelerated over the past decade.”
he Missouri Art Council
cites Webster Groves arts education institutions from Webster University to the O’Faolain
Academy of Irish Dance, art
festivals such as Art & Air and
Paint Webster, as well as performing groups from the Repertory heatre of St. Louis to the
Missouri Chamber Music Festival.
FROM PAGE 1
he 30th Annual Missouri
Art Council’s Art Awards ceremony will be held at the Capitol will be any change to the community because there have not
Rotunda in Jeferson City.
been previous problems.
he LGBTQ Alliance of
MISDEMEANORS Webster University is not
closely associated with the area
AND MISHAPS
of Webster Groves. he group
oten travels to areas around
St. Louis City, he Grove or
Jan. 27
the Central West End to spend
2:35 a.m.
time together.. LGBTQ is not
H. Sam Priest Center
purposely detached from Web—Faculty member
ster Groves, but feels as if it is
an upscale neighborhood and
needed assistance.
the city is more open to their
lifestyle according to LGBTQ
Jan. 31
President Lana Williams.
10:00 a.m.
“I don’t think it will afect
Music Building
the community here at Webster,
because we are pretty detached
—Faculty member
from the Webster Groves comiled a report to
munity as a school,” Williams
Webster Groves Police
“We don’t really need anyDepartment of a misuse said.
thing … If we need anything
of his oice computer.
from the city, we go to he
Closed, referred to
Grove or to the Central West
Webster Groves Police
End where everyone is very
open and accepting.”
Department.
Reverend David De-
Students
question
lack of
WVA Wi-Fi
MEGAN FAVIGNANO / he Journal
The director of Webster’s downtown campus, Nicole Roach works at her desk at Webser’s downtown
campus on Feb. 5. Roach is a Webster alumna and has been the director downtown since 2009.
state of Missouri in the most positive light.”
Roach meets the education experience
requirements from her position at Webster
University. But it was her dedication to volunteering at United Way of Greater St. Louis
that got her recommended for the position
on the state-level commission.
Roach started her volunteer eforts with
United Way in 2011.
She is part of an allocations panel with
United Way, which is a volunteer department.
he panel is under the direction of Cassandra Kaufman, vice president of Community
Investment. he volunteer work Roach does
for United Way is similar to what she does on
the MCSC — primarily reviewing agencies.
Kaufman said this is her second year working
with Roach and she is excited to work with
her again this year.
“here is so much going on in the world
Equality “
We did it now
because other
communities are doing it. It was brought
to our attention that it
would be a good
ordinance to pass.
That’s why we
are doing it.
Gerry Welch
”
Webster Groves mayor
noon of First Congregational
Church spoke to the council
before voting commending
them on behalf of his congregation on their moving forward of equality laws.
“When we saw the opportunity to ofer this kind of
encouragement because of the
contact we’ve had with PROMO (Promoting Equality for
all Missourians) we decided
to come forward,” Denoon
said.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
right now that is bad, that is depressing, that
can make you want to throw in the towel and
give up,” Roach said. “But when you see the
impact that even an hour of volunteering can
make, its mind blowing.”
Roach believes that everyone should engage in some sort of community service, no
matter how small the contribution.
“Getting everyone to understand the diference they can make, even in their small part of
the world is important,” Roach said. “As they
say, it takes a whole bunch of little victories to
change the world. I see that with this commission already and I’m just getting started.”
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Webster University sophomore Meghan Steineker is enrolled in classes which require
her to access the Blackboard
website for notes and homework. Steineker may also take
an online course this semester.
But because Steineker is a resident living in the Webster Village Apartments (WVA), she
does not have access to Webster’s
campus Wi-Fi in her room.
Residents of the WVA either
have to purchase an additional
device for Internet access in
their apartments or log on at another campus location to use the
Webster Wi-Fi network.
“he apartments have everything else,” Steineker said.
“hey’re fully furnished, so why
not have Wi-Fi? I think it’s ridiculous. We’re paying for the
apartments. hey may as well
have Wi-Fi in them. I mean we
have a dishwasher.”
Webster University ofers WiFi service to all residents in East,
West and Maria Halls. Housing
and Residential Life Director
John Buck said Webster’s Wi-Fi
is not directly connected to the
room and board rates of campus
residents.
“he Wi-Fi is an expense that
is absorbed by IT (Information
Technology), and is an amenity
that is not directly connected
to room and board rates,” Buck
said.
Locations such as the WVA
Clubhouse and Emerson Library
are within walking distance of
the apartments and have Internet access. But some students in
the WVA have purchased routers or Ethernet cables to avoid
leaving their apartments. Students who live in West, East and
Maria halls are prohibited from
setting up their own routers.
“I bought a wireless router,
which was $50 out of my own
pocket, just so I could have WiFi that was fast enough for me to
inish my homework,” Steineker
said. “If you want to work in the
living room you have to buy a
long Ethernet chord, which are
harder to ind.”
WVA and Maria Hall Community Director Chris Rice said
IT would like to extend Wi-Fi
access campus wide. Rice recommended he Journal contact
IT for further information.
he Journal contacted Webster University Chief Information Oicer and Vice President
Kenneth Freeman for an interview. he Journal scheduled an
interview at the closest available time, two weeks in advance.
Forty-eight hours before the interview, Freeman said the interview would need to be rescheduled for the next week. Freeman
did not comment in time for
publication.
“It’s deinitely frustrating
because Internet access is necessary for college,” sophomore
WVA resident Abby Dorning
said. “I’d rather not buy a router
then use Webster’s Wi-Fi because it’s free.”
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Opinions
Feb. 6-Feb. 12, 2013
Page 3
Chinese millioniare starts selling cans
of fresh air in Beijing to help people
breathe from the pollution and smog.
The Journal weighs in on the issues
Donald Trump sued Bill
Maher over a promise in which
Maher said he would give $5
million to a charity of Trump’s
choice if he could prove he was
not “the spawn of his mother
having sex with an orangutan.”
Chris Carpenter won’t
pitch for the Cardinals in
2013 and possibly never
again.
A report released by the Open
Society Foundation found that
54 countries have participated
with the United States and the
CIA to use secret prisons to
house suspected terrorists for
torture and interrogation.
Remains found underneath a car parking
lot a year ago were inally conirmed to be
those of England’s King Richard III.
GRApHIC By DAN DUNCAN AND TONy LAURENCE
he best defense is a good ofense: Build
responsible drinkers by drinking younger
A typical Friday night at one of the big state schools like Mizzou
means the bars are full and there is a party on every block, depending
what street you are on. And I can almost guarantee all of these parties
and bars have patrons under the legal drinking age of 21.
While it is not as big here at Webster University, the parties are still around and there are plenty
of minors drinking illegally.
I’m not saying we need to crackdown on underage drinking — far from it. he biggest danger
to those minors drinking at college parties is their
lack of experience in drinking responsibly. hey
think drinking involves a minimum of ive beers
and at least that many shots.
he problem is education. Ever since I was 17,
my mom would, on occasion, ofer to let me have
a beer with dinner or maybe a glass of wine. But
Gabe Burns I always declined. Coming to college last year at
the age of 18, I inally decided to try drinking for
the irst time. And like most college students, I was
stupid. I drank way more than needed and thought “to drink” meant
“to get wasted.”
Skip to this past summer when I inally took my mom up on the beer
with dinner. I began to realize that drinking didn’t have to mean getting
drunk every weekend. But instead, drinking became a beer ater work
or with dinner. I was drinking more frequently but more responsibly.
When I was in high school I didn’t understand why my mom would
keep ofering me alcohol when I kept refusing. But she understood that
drinking with her was going to set me up for better drinking habits in
the future.
I should say that I’m from Iowa and not Missouri. he only reason
this is important in this context is that Iowa has a law that makes all the
diference in learning safe drinking habits. Iowa allows minors to drink
with their parents or legal guardians in a private residence whereas Missouri does not.
Each year, over 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from alcoholrelated deaths in the United States, according to the National Institute
for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Many of the deaths were from car
accidents where a driver was intoxicated or in result to alcohol poisoning from just drinking too much. Stupid mistakes like this are because
of a lack of education. his change starts with a change in the law in
states like Missouri. he law needs to allow parents to make the choice
to legally drink with their kids and instill good drinking habits.
he other change is more a paradigm shit for the whole nation. We
can’t let alcohol continue to be as taboo as it is for minors. Teenagers
are rebellious. You tell them not to play with matches, and as soon as
you leave the room the trash can is on ire. So when schools are preaching that if you touch alcohol before you are 21 you are going to die and
endanger everyone around you, they are doing more harm than good.
Instead, schools and parents should be teaching what responsible
drinking looks like and the dangers of irresponsible drinking. But parents hold the inal choice on whether or not they allow their kids to
drink. And it may not be the right choice for every kid. But with our
current perception of alcohol, any parent who allows their kid to drink
while in high school is a bad parent. When really it could be the most
responsible way to prevent bad drinking habits in the future.
While blind to it before, I now see what my mom did for me was
best. And when I sit in my dorm room on Friday nights listening to
the drunken freshmen stumble back to West Hall loudly, I wish more
parents had done the same.
Gabe Burns is the Multimedia Editor
for The Journal.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Editorial: Oicers’ Summit 5 issues don’t
represent major campus issues
Student leaders have the opportunity to bring campus issues to Webster University’s administration twice a year. Ater reviewing the ive issues chosen on Friday, he Journal believes they wasted an opportunity
with what they considered issues worth presenting to the administration.
he ive issues chosen were:
—Procuring a Webster application for smartphones and tablets.
—Increasing lighting and safety measures around Webster.
—Enhancing the natural spaces on campus.
—Creating a system that would allow students to charge textbooks to
their Webster account.
—Introducing a December graduation ceremony.
he Journal thinks the Webster smartphone application and enhancing natural spaces are easily solveable without having to present them to
the administration and a December graduation ceremony is not inancially feasable.
A Webster smartphone application would be beneicial to students.
It would be relatively inexpensive, which means it is a more likely possibility. If Webster does procure an app, it will make student life easier.
his is good for the university because it makes them look better in the
eyes of current and prospective students.
However, while we feel this is a beneicial addition to the university,
we don’t feel it is worthy of the student’s limited time with the administration. Delegates’ Agenda should be used to present important issues
that require the administration’s attention, issues that can’t be solved
in a simple phone call or email. his same principle also holds true for
enhancing natural spaces.
For example, enhancing natural areas on campus is not a serious issue. his can be solved by simply talking to facilities and grounds keeping. he student body doesn’t need to bother the administration with
it. here are student organizations like the Gardening Club or Webster
Letters and commentaries
he Journal welcomes letters to the editors and guest commentaries. Letters to the
editor must be fewer than 200 words. Guest commentaries must be between 450 and
750 words, and guest writers must have their photograph taken to run with their
commentaries. All letters to the editor and guest commentaries must be signed. he
Journal will edit all submitted pieces for grammar, style and clarity. If there are any
substantial revisions, the writer will be notiied and allowed to edit his or her own
writing.
Submit all letters to the editor and guest
commentaries to [email protected]
by 2 p.m. on Monday.
the journal
The Student News Source
for Webster University
Editorial Oice
(314) 246-7088
Section Editors
(314) 246-7575
Advertising & Business
(314) 246-7538
470 East Lockwood Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63119
www.websterjournal.com
Sverdrup 247
Vol. 66
Issue 18
Students for Environmental Sustainability can help as well.
he administration won’t make many changes regarding the issue
of a December graduation ceremony. We feel December graduates deserve the hype of May graduation. However, he Journal doesn’t expect
the administration to add an elaborate December graduation ceremony
because of the inancial costs.
he Journal feels these three “issues” are wasting an opportunity for
the student body to solve legitimate issues.
On a seperate note, Webster is making budget cuts this semester in
an attempt to avoid not meeting budget. Ater this iscal year, Webster’s
inancial situation is not going to suddenly bounce back. Low enrollment is a national trend and will still be an issue next year. Since 97
percent of Webster’s revenue is from tuition, low enrollment makes a
signiicant impact.
he Journal doesn’t think adding the costs of a December graduation ceremony is inancially responsible for the university at this time.
It might be something the administration can consider in a year with
higher enrollment numbers.
We are disappointed that serious issues such as reoccurring problems in Webster’s Financial Aid Oice were bumped of of the list to
encourage the administration to plant more lowers.
he Journal appreciates student leaders’ request for increased safety,
but we are unsure why the security problem was not ixed ater it was
presented on at Delegates’ Agenda in 2010. We understand this is not
a problem with student leaders, but rather the administration’s halfhearted response to the original complaint.
Student leaders already gave the administration multiple areas for
increased safety such as replacing light bulbs, more card swipe building
access. With the proper pressure, the administration might inally make
changes they promised in 2010.
However,the ability to charge textbooks directly to student accounts
is an issue he Journal feels is worthy of the administration’s time.
Textbooks are expensive. It would be more beneicial for a student to
be able to charge textbooks to their student account and pay it of over
the course of the semester rather than blowing a whole paycheck at one
time.
his issue afects students and the solution involves some research
and collaboration.
Even though we feel only one of the chosen issues is worth the Delegates’ Agenda’s time, he Journal still urges student leaders to follow
through on what issues they have chosen.
hese issues have easy solutions. If members of Webster’s administration can’t ix these “issues,” then they just don’t care.
Editor-in-Chief
Brittany Ruess
Managing Editor
Megan Favignano
Online Editor
Josh Coppenbarger
Multimedia Editor
Gabe Burns
News Editor
Dan Bauman
Opinions Editor
Tony Laurence
Sports Editor
Tim Doty
Copy Chief and Layout Editor
Josh Sellmeyer
Copy Editors
Julia Gabbert
Julie Turek
Photo Editor
Dan Duncan
Business Manager
Casey Hammer
[email protected]
Advertising Manager
Jamie Cook
Marketing Manager
Caitlin Whyte
Webmaster
Kaitlin Hughes
Illustrator/Graphics
Victoria Courtney
Emily Ratkewicz
Staf
Katelyn Gosik
Sharen Khalel
Natalie Martinez
Sam Masterson
Jefrey Mosblech
Tierre Rhodes
Ava Roesslein
Alex Wilking
Photographers
Brittany Ruess
Caillin Murray
Politically Incorrect:
he media misses their
target with Obama
Tragedy continues to loom over the national political
debate on gun control as gun-related crimes continue to
ravage our country without a coherent plan of action to
curtail such violence. his debate has caused Democrat
politicians in pro-gun districts to shy away from President Barack Obama’s plan in order to
maintain their political power. his
then forces the president to go on his
own campaign of gun control-related
speeches and interviews.
During one of these interviews
with he New Republic, President
Obama was asked if he has ever shot
a gun. He replied, “Yes, in fact, up at
Camp David, we do skeet shooting all
the time,” prompting the media to spur
into false outrage action.
Tony
Why haven’t we heard about
Laurence Obama’s
skeet shooting before?
Shouldn’t someone have mentioned
this pastime of his? Why has a photo never been released
of Obama skeet shooting? hese are some of the questions
asked during the onset of what proliically (or embarrassingly) is being called “Skeet-gate.” Jon Stewart had his own
satirical questions, including, “Why won’t the black man
half the country lives in fear of release a picture of himself
holding a gun? I don’t get it.”
Not even a few days passed before the White House
released a photograph of the president in a short- sleeved
shirt iring a shotgun in the glaring August sun with
smoke billowing out from the barrel. Foreseeing what he
thought would be a common perception, White House Senior Adviser David Ploufe tweeted, “Attn skeet birthers.
Make our day — let the photoshop conspiracies begin!”
It’s almost hard to tell what is more pertinent: the ability of the president and the White House to easily shrug
of nonissue conspiracy theories (take, for example, the
releasing of his birth certiicate) or the inability of the media to be a relevant watchdog of democracy. As it turns
out, the media have become gloriied gossipers and the
epitome of little high school girls in the bodies of grown
men and women pretending to be journalists.
hen again, many prominent members of the media
aren’t journalists at all. Al Sharpton, Sarah Palin and Eric
Bolling are clear examples of individuals who steer public
discourse and make a lot of waves by being the loudest
people in the room. In a way, it makes sense for them to
avoid such substantive debates as to what the real issues
are.
As for the gun debate, whether Obama has ever shot
a gun bears no weight on the relevance of his proposed
legislative plans. Even if he had never ired a gun before
and is a lying liar with his lies, it does not delegitimize
his endgame, which is ultimately the reduction of gun
violence. But even with his good intentions, Obama’s plan
won’t curtail violence in a society that embraces a culture
of alpha-male dominance on the one hand and the acceptance of the assassination of American citizens via cruise
missiles on the other.
In any event, not all Americans are policy wonks, but
what they do know is where they stand on the president.
Many Americans clearly do not like the president. Even
more straight up resent him. If this idmittance of skeet
shooting is in any way a matter of trying to get on the good
side of gun slingers, then he should prepare himself to be
surprised by their unchanged opinions. Pandering is one
thing. Trying to befriend people who hate you is another.
Either way, the covering of this issue as if it were actually a story demonstrates the absurdity of the state of
journalism in the United States. he micro-examination
of every move and minutia of politics by its closest spectators would be useful had they actually decided to cover
important issues.
Megan Favignano
Josh Sellmeyer
Hayden Andrews
Carolina Dueñas
Advisers
Editorial
Larry Baden
Photography
Robert LaRouche
General Manager
Amanda Westrich
“Politically Incorrect” is a weekly
column written by Journal Opinions
Editor Tony Laurence.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
he Journal is the oicial student publication of Webster
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copies of he Journal are free; for additional copies, contact
the business oice, located in the Sverdrup building, room
247, on the Webster Groves campus.
Lifestyle
Page 4
Staf Writer
Jonathon Musgrave had the synopsis of his
senior overview ilm posted on a public donation website, http://indiegogo.com, for about an
hour on Sunday, Jan. 27. Ater he refreshed his
Web page, Musgrave was startled by what he saw:
an anonymous donor gave his movie an added
boost of $1,000.
“I was in shock,” said Musgrave, senior ilm
major. “I was actually on the page when it happened. All the sudden it spiked up to $1,000. I
didn’t think it was real.”
Students have posted their donation banks
through a website called “Indiegogo,” a site similar to http://kickstarter.com. hrough both sites,
the public donates to people looking for project
funding. he only diference is that projects on
Indiegogo get to keep a portion of the donations even if the project doesn’t reach its goal. On
Kickstarter, if a project does not meet its goal, the
project does not receive any funding.
Some professors in Webster’s ilm department have strongly encouraged students to start
online donation campaigns to raise money. Pro-
fessors Bart Baker and Juraj Bohus help students
with production and guidance in completing
their ilms. Baker is in charge of pre-production
for the students’ ilms.
Baker recommended Indiegogo to Keith
Lutker, senior ilm production major. Lutker said
Indiegogo has more perks than Kickstarter, like
the requirement to only pay back 9 percent if the
donation campaign does not meet its goal. If a
project does meet its goal, the fee is 4 percent for
every dollar raised.
Lutker’s goal was $2,500 and his campaign
reached $1,140 between mid-December and Jan.
30. He used the donations for food, equipment
and travel expenses.
“It was upliting and nice to see people cared
about what I am going to school for,” Lutker said.
Senior Sean Tiin also said professors have
advised him to use online donation sites.
“Making movies independently — for a career or a hobby — is easier and cheaper now than
it’s ever been,” Tiin said. “Working independently on a small budget will save a lot of money.
Webster’s really encouraged that DIY element.”
With the concept of public donations, students can give back to the people who help
them complete their ilms through a variety of
gits. hese gits range from dinner dates to a
role in the movie to anything the donor wants.
Musgrave’s anonymous donor has not yet come
forward or stated what he or she wants for the
return git.
“he cool thing about this website and these
big donations is that they make you really want
to deliver on what you’re promising,” Musgrave
said. “Someone believed in it that much.”
hough each ilm posts a goal amount to receive, most ilms will only meet about half of the
goal, Tiin said.
“When I have a lot of boundaries, that’s when
I work most creatively with what I do have,” Tifin said.
Andrew Shafer, senior ilm production major, funded his ilm, “Bad Romance,” through Indiegogo. Apart from the site, Shafer said broadcasting a ilm via social networking sites and
blogs is key if a ilm is going to gain a following.
—Brittany Ruess contributed to this report.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
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Webster seniors use Indiegogo to fund ilms
INDIEGOGO FAST
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF SEAN TIFFIN
FAC
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Feb. 6-12, 2013
Students discuss directing senior overview ilm projects
Keith Lutker’s ‘A Mechanic’s Response’
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF NATHAN HUBER
Nathan Huber’s ‘Night Drop’
When Nathan Huber watched the
opening bank robbery scene of “he
Dark Knight,” he started to develop
the idea for his senior overview project. As a fan of the ilm, Huber said
he loves its visuals — an aspect of his
own ilm that he emphasized.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t I just do a
bank heist short?’ But then I thought
it was too ambitious, but I kind of
held onto that idea and started writing it anyway,” Huber said.
With advice from friends and
professors, Huber developed his action/comedy ilm, “Night Drop.” he
ilm focuses on two characters: a nerd
and his bully who become life-long
enemies. Both become bank robbers
and attempt to rob the same bank at
the same time. hen, the two are met
with the challenge of what to do next.
Huber said his mission is to entertain his audience, and, if possible,
change their moods.
“If somebody is having a bad day
and they can watch my ilm — even
if it’s only for eight minutes and they
forget about all of their problems for
eight minutes — then I’ve done my
job,” Huber said.
Huber ilmed in an old Alton, Ill.,
bank, which is now the Riverbender.
com Community Center. he community center still has the bank’s features intact, like its vault. Huber said
he was able to utilize Alton’s landscape and the Mississippi River as a
backdrop in shots. he visuals were
the “No. 1” aspect of the ilm for Huber. He said the cinematographer for
“Night Drop,” Dan Goedeker, played a
major role in creating the visuals.
“For being a student ilm, I feel
like myself and my crew really went
above and beyond to make this the
best ilm possible, going from just the
littlest props to the location,” Huber
said. “We really went out of our way
to make sure every little detail was as
high quality as possible.”
—Reporting by Brittany Ruess.
Jonathon Musgrave’s ‘Goldie & Tom’
A mysterious woman named
Goldie handcufs a suicidal man to
her wrist, one Dr. Tom Griin. With
a gun in her hand, Goldie puts Tom
behind the wheel of her car and they
drive across Missouri. Goldie and
Tom will learn from each other as the
viewer is taken through both of their
pasts.
“he more we learn about these
two, the more we’re faced with issues
of trust, secrecy, friendship and the
freedom to let go,” Musgrave said. Musgrave wants to focus largely
on character development in his ilm.
He wants to make sure deeply held
beliefs and motivations will come
through on camera.
“Because that’s what will make this
movie work,” Musgrave said. “Believing in these characters and the reasons for their actions.”
Musgrave said the ilm was inspired by the idea of two very diferent, seemingly opposite people being
forced together at a turning point in
their lives.
“I wanted to show that everything
we do, we do by choice,” Musgrave
said. “he movie is about the freedom to choose your fate.”
—Reporting by Alex Wilking.
Keith Lutker’s ilm, “A Mechanic’s Response,” tells the story of a young couple
faced with an unexpected and unfortunate situation. Armed assailants attack
the young couple in the ilm, Dylan and
Brooke. In the scule, Dylan tries to meet
the demands of the attackers while Brooke
is more defensive and urges Dylan to protect them.
he incident is loosely based on a situation that happened to Lutker’s parentsin-law. Ater attending a birthday party
in St. Louis City, Lutker’s parents-in-law
walked to their car in a parking lot. Two
“thugs” met them there.
“he situation that followed (for my
parents-in-law) isn’t how my movie goes,
but I based it of of that night and how that
night went. It was a long night because of
the scare,” Lutker said. “It’s a situation you
hear about all the time but never see yourself getting into. So I took that and felt it
and it was real. So I knew I could make
something real out of my writing and turn
it into a ilm.”
In “A Mechanic’s Response,” the situation causes Dylan and Brooke’s relationship to falter.
“he main character, Dylan, is trying
to pull his wife back to him as she remains
distant as she blames the attack on him,”
Lutker said. “I wanted to do something a
little bit raw and real.”
Lutker’s goal for the audience is to
keep them entertained, hold their focus
on his ilm and cause some tears.
“I want (the audience) to take this
ilm in and understand unfortunate events
do occur. And to immediately jump to
conclusions or hold somebody accountable for something they couldn’t control,
(which) isn’t the right way to go about doing things,” Lutker said. “Assess the situation and try to make the most of what it is
and move forward.”
Lutker said he is proud of all the aspects of his ilm, but he said he is especially proud of his actors. In preparation for
ilming “A Mechanic’s Response,” Lutker
contacted Joni Tackette, a St. Louis casting agent, for Lutker’s actors. Tackette has
casted for ilms such as “Up In the Air”
and “Glory Road.” She helped Lutker ind
actors for his three main roles.
“I reached out to her and jumped into
the water feet irst,” Lutker said. “I’ll always take a chance.”
—Reporting by Brittany Ruess.
ART COURTESY OF SEAN TIFFIN
Sean Tiin’s ‘Adam Howard is Dead’
Ater a friend is unexpectedly killed
while ilming a small movie, his friends
ight through their grief, attend his funeral
and give their eulogies. But things go awry
when there’s a mix up with the eulogies.
Chaos continues to ensue through a turn
of events that senior Sean Tiin wants
viewers to see for themselves.
“It’s based loosely on a real dream I
had. he main characters are all real people playing themselves,” Tiin said. “It’s
a (dark) comedy with elements of farce,
and it’s about a eulogy that gets misplaced.
Kyle Krupinski’s the cinematographer; I’ve
worked with Kyle on a number of projects
in the past, including ‘Fit to Burst’ and
‘Montagitek,’ so we have a very comfortable, familiar working relationship.”
Sean Nielsen is producing the movie.
It will star Webster students Jack Klipsch,
Jonathon Musgrave, Brock Russell and
Adam Howard.
Inspired by true events, “Adam Howard is Dead” is a ilm that preaches the
phrase (found on the ilm’s Indiegogo
page), “We all deal with grief in diferent
ways, but most of us just get drunk and
cry.”
—Reporting by Alex Wilking.
ART COURTESY OF ANDREW SHAFER
Adam Shafer’s
‘Bad Romance’
Andrew Shafer, senior ilm production major, said his ilm “Bad
Romance” developed from an idea
he’s had since his freshman year —
a story about a guy who can’t kill
his roommate because he needs the
roommate for rent money.
his idea was more comedic
than what resulted for Shafer. “Bad
Romance” is a dramatic horror ilm
about a high school student, Tim,
who goes back to his girlfriend’s
house ater prom and is faced with
her insanity.
Inspired by his past relationships, Shafer described the ilm as a
“really dark love story.”
“It’s a metaphor for a broken relationship, but in the genre of horror
ilm. … It was an excuse for me to
make a horror ilm out of something
personal to me,” Shafer said.
he character Irene, Tim’s girlfriend, sufers from borderline
personality disorder, and Tim has
anxiousness and OCD tendencies.
Shafer’s background in psychology
(he’s a psychology minor) helped
him develop these two roles. Shafer said he feels the audience will be
able to relate to Tim, despite his psychotic tendencies.
“I wanted to make the character
likeable. You can’t relate to ‘Dexter,’”
Shafer said. “I wanted to make him
an ‘every man.’”
Shafer also said he hopes the
audience will take away at least one
message: to think of people’s motives better.
—Reporting by Brittany Ruess.
LIFESTYLE
Page 5 Feb. 6-12, 2013
websterjournal.com
Webster-based pop-punk band releases second album
Two bandmates in The Mondales have played together since middle school
“
By Brittany Ruess
Bands form in high school,
but they are almost never
serious. They’re usually just
a bunch of high school jerks
getting together to try and
pick up chicks. I was the
same except for the whole
‘getting chicks’ thing.
Editor-in-Chief
As seventh graders at LaSalle Springs Middle School in
Wildwood, Adrian Barnello and
Devin Dessieux met and found
a common bond — music.
“Devin was the only guy
in my whole entire class who
played drums and wasn’t a huge
tool,” Barnello said. “Back then,
the cool thing to do was to be
one of those skater kids, and all
of those kids hated me. So we
decided to play together.”
As middle school students,
Barnello and Dessieux were
both inspired by the band he
Descendents. Dessieux said he
has always liked he Descendents’ drummer, Bill Stevenson.
“I emulate his style quite a bit,”
Dessieux said. “He has a lot of energy, and, live, he is really loud.
hat’s kind of how I see it. I’m not
necessarily as reined as him, but
I tend to be really energetic and
get into it when I play live.”
Barnello said as an eighth
grader, he felt more connected
to he Descendents’ music than
music from more popular bands
like Green Day.
“Some of the more emotional
(songs) they wrote, I felt they
were writing those songs for me,
12 years before I was even born,”
Barnello said.
Barnello said personal connection to he Descendents’
music set its music above that of
other bands.
Barnello and Dessieux continued to practice music as
they moved onto Eureka High
School, but Barnello said they
never took themselves too seriously as a band.
“Bands form in high school,
but they are almost never serious,” Barnello said. “hey’re
usually just a bunch of high
school jerks getting together to
try and pick up chicks. I was the
same except for the whole ‘getting chicks’ thing.”
In high school, the band never found a name to keep.
“All four years of high school
we had terrible band names,
none of which I want to put on
Adrian Barnello
”
Webster student and guitarist/
vocalist of The Mondales
HAYDEN ANDREWS / he Journal
Bassist Zach Paul (left), drummer Devin Dessieux (center) and guitarist/vocalist Adrian Barnello (right) of The Mondales perform at Cusumano’s on Saturday, Jan.
26. Barnello and Dessieux are Webster University students who started playing music together as seventh graders. The Mondales released its second full-length
album, “Crescent Fresh,” on Jan. 8.
the record,” Barnello said. “I
hate them all, so don’t even ask.”
When Barnello and Dessieux
came to Webster University in
2010, the then-freshmen decided to continue their music
hobby, but with more purpose.
“We started playing music
together because we were the
only two like-minded people at
... middle school,” Barnello said.
“hen, eventually, we were the
only two like-minded people at
Eureka High School. And then,
when we started being more serious, we were the only two likeminded people even at Webster
who play the kind of music we
wanted to make.”
With this new sense of seriousness, the band developed a
name for itself. Barnello, junior
political science major, thought
of the name ater researching
presidential elections in 1964
and 1984. In ‘64, Lyndon B.
Johnson defeated Derek Goldwater in a landslide. Barnello
said he Goldwaters doesn’t
make a good band name.
“hen I looked at this election in 1984 and Ronald Reagan
tossed this guy Walter Mondale
around like he was nothing,”
Barnello said. “He only won one
state, which was his home state
(Minnesota), and he barely won
that. hat’s how bad this guy
lost. I was like, ‘Wow, that sucks.
How did he lose so bad?’
“hen, suddenly, the name
came to me. his guy is the big-
Flavor Fave
JULIA GABBERT / he Journal
Mojo, an English Bulldog, was named king of the 20th annual Beggin’ Barkus Pet Parade on Sunday, Feb. 3
in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis. Mojo wore a purple hat and outit during the event, which was part
of the month-long Mardi Gras celebration in Soulard. For a fee of $10, owners registered their costumed pets
and walked in the parade. Money raised from the Beggin’ Barkus Pet Parade goes to the Open Door Animal
Sanctuary, a no-kill shelter for homeless dogs and cats in House Springs, Mo.
gest loser in presidential history
and we’re, like, the biggest losers
ever. So, (we became) he Mondales.”
his “self-bashing humor”
is common in the pop-punk
scene, Barnello said.
“I say oten that we’re huge
dorks and I don’t really mean it,
but it’s somewhat true,” Barnello
said.
On Jan. 8, he Mondales released its second album, “Crescent Fresh.” he album features
the third bandmate and bassist,
Zach Paul. In past albums and
extended plays (EPs) — recordings longer than a single — Barnello said he made many of the
musical decisions and wrote
most of he Mondales’ songs.
But “Crescent Fresh” involved
more collaboration among all
the band members.
“In the newest album (‘Crescent Fresh’), there’s more of a
band feel to it,” Barnello said.
“It’s a natural thing for a band
at irst to be domineered by the
person who has the most ideas.
hen, once everyone gets more
comfortable with each other,
you kind of make music together. hat’s what happened with
our newest album. We make
songs as a band, and I feel that’s
relected in our music.”
Dessieux said he felt in
“Crescent Fresh,” he Mondales
found its sound.
“Instead of doing more grungy stuf, we’ve gotten more to
a pop-punk sound,” Dessieux
said. “Not straightforward poppunk, but it has some complexity to it.”
Barnello said he uses music
as a way to express negativity
he feels. hese emotions come
out in his lyrics. But “Crescent
Fresh” has more of a positive
spin, especially in the songs
“Writing About You” and
“Search, Snake and Destroy.”
“With ‘Crescent Fresh,’ I
grew up a little bit as a songwriter, and I discovered I can write
songs that are a little less bleak,”
Barnello said. “‘Crescent Fresh’
is still pretty melancholy as far
as lyrics go, but the music is a
little more upbeat and fun. … It
ofers a more varied worldview.”
he Mondales have performed at local venues such as
Cicero’s, he Firebird, Fubar and
Cusumano’s Pizza. But Barnello
and Dessieux both said they love
to play basement shows. hese
basement shows, Barnello said,
can attract about 100-150 people.
“In a basement show, you’d
be standing about two feet away
from me as I’m playing music
that I put my heart and soul
into, and I’m spilling it right
onto you,” Barnello said.
Both Barnello and Dessieux
said they will continue to play
music for fun.
“I think still, at this point, it’s
more of a hobby than a career,”
Dessieux said. “If it goes that direction, I wouldn’t be opposed
to it. It’s a good way to pass the
time, and I do really enjoy the
music.”
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Page 6
Feb. 6-12, 2013
SPORTS
websterjournal.com
Athletics standouts take their places in Hall of Fame
Todt, Spinner, Carr react to official induction as the Webster Athletics HOF Class of 2013
By Ava Roesslein
Staf Writer
Webster University’s Grant Gymnasium was packed with fans
in the stands on Saturday, Feb. 2. he fans came not only for the
basketball games, but also to witness the induction of three new
members into the Webster University Athletics Hall of Fame as the
class of 2013. he list includes current men’s soccer associate head
coach Marty Todt, former volleyball standout Crystal (Shelton)
Spinner and women’s basketball star Angie Carr.
he ceremony took place at haltime during the men’s basketball game against conference rival Greenville College (Ill). Ater
the game was over, Webster treated the athletes and coaches to
a private dinner and gathering with their family and friends —
where they sported their new hardware and letterman jackets — in
Webster’s Sunnen Lounge.
“It’s freakin’ awesome,” Todt said. “It’s awesome because you got
all the players over there sitting on one side, and your family sitting over there on the other side. You got your assistant coaches,
(women’s soccer coach) Luigi (Scire), Corey (Haney) and Kyle
(Gamache) — because, in reality, it’s really all about them and
sharing that with them.
“he players, like the captains Josh Sellmeyer, Kyle Leonard,
Shea Vogt and Clint Carder. Talented athletes, but what good people. hey are such good people that really what (it) does is inspires
you as a coach to continue to coach.”
Todt was the men’s soccer head coach for 25 seasons, but has
recently swapped coaching positions with former associate head
coach Michael Siener. During Todt’s time as head coach, he led the
Gorloks to ive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championships and the NCAA Tournament ive times.
Todt is 44th in wins for all current men’s coaches in NCAA Division-III play and has the most wins of any SLIAC coach with 123.
Spinner played for Webster from 2004 to 2007 and was a First
Team All-Conference selection all four years. Spinner was also
named SLIAC Player of the Year as a sophomore, and she holds the
record in volleyball for kills, digs and sets played for the Gorloks.
Spinner said she hoped that she might make it into the Hall of
Fame, but it came as a shock.
“It was very surreal and very exciting,” Spinner said. “(I’m) very
proud because, to me, it’s what I’ve worked for my whole life playing volleyball. Not just what I’ve done here (at Webster), but everything leading up to that. So it’s just very exciting.”
During the private get-together, each inductee got to choose
someone close to them to speak on their behalf. In Carr’s case,
it was her former high school basketball coach at Parkview High
School in Springield, Mo. Carr said she’s like a second mom to her
and that she continues to keep in touch with her.
In Carr’s irst year at Webster, she made an impact on the team
when they made it to the NCAA D-III Sweet Sixteen. Carr said
the game was one of her favorite memories as a Gorlok. he 530
points scored her senior season is the highest point total for Webster thus far, and Carr holds the basketball school record in total
career points with over 1,600.
“I just play because I love the game, so to have this now on top
of it is just incredible,” Carr said.
Tom Hart, director of athletics for Webster, said the three inductees helped transform each of their programs. Hart said there
DAN DUNCAN / he Journal
Left to right: Webster University Director of Athletics Tom Hart, Crystal (Shelton) Spinner, Angie Carr, Marty Todt and Webster President Elizabeth Stroble pose
for a photo during the Webster Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony during halftime of the men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Grant Gymnasium. Spinner, Carr and Todt compose the 2013 Hall of Fame Class for Webster. Spinner is the volleyball program leader in kills; Carr is the women’s basketball leader in
career points; and Todt spent the past 25 years as head coach for the men’s soccer program.
is a ive-year window ater playing or coaching for Webster before
you can be eligible for the Hall of Fame. However, Webster bent the
rules for Coach Todt.
“Every season, my wife and my family has been to every game,”
Todt said. “he grandkids, when you hear them at home and they
go, ‘Go Blue,’ it’s not for the hockey Blues, it’s for Webster University.”
Turn to page 8 for coverage of the men’s basketball
game against Greenville College and a preview of the
Gorloks’ upcoming game against Spalding University.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Page 7
SPORTS
Feb. 6-12, 2013
websterjournal.com
BRITTANY RUESS / he Journal
(Left) Junior forward Lisa Adden (right) works to keep the ball away from Principia College (Ill). forward Jocelyn Shoemake during Webster University’s 64-40 win over the Panthers. (Above) Senior guard Maggie Zehner (center) attempts to dribble around Principia guard Sarah Corbitt
during the irst half. The Gorloks’ win pushed Webster’s St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 9-4.
Gorloks pound SLIAC foes, jump to 2nd in conference standings
Women’s basketball takes down pair of Panthers to keep tourney hopes alive
By Sam Masterson
Staf Writer
he Webster University women’s
basketball team hops a spot to No. 2
in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference. As freshmen shine coming of the bench, the Gorloks have the
chance to ride a ive-game win streak
into the conference tournament.
Freshman guards Alyssa Sapp and
Mia Williams and forward Brittany
Harris-Conway have averaged a combined 6.4 points per game and 32.9
minutes played per game.
Webster defeated the Principia College Panthers (Ill.) 64-40 on Tuesday,
Feb. 5 at Grant Gymnasium to follow
up a 65-48 win over the Greenville College (Ill.) Panthers on Saturday, Feb.
2. he wins put the Gorloks’ overall
record to 12-10 and gives them a 9-4
SLIAC record. Webster sits in second
place all alone, but third place Eureka
College (Ill.) plays on Wednesday, Feb.
6. With a win, the Red Devils would
create a tie for second behind irst place
Westminster (Mo.) College.
his past week — as Webster went
2-1 avenging its earlier overtime loss
to the Greenville and stomping Princpia by 24 points — Sapp, Williams
and Harris-Conway have averaged 11
points and 47 minutes per game.
“Our bench was like the most im-
portant part, more than our starters,”
said senior guard Gwen Williams. “If
they are coming in and scoring just as
well as our starters, then that’s our trigger right there.”
Sapp has been deadly from 3-point
range as of late, shooting 42.8 percent
the past three games to lead the team.
Going into the game Tuesday night
against Principia, she had more intensity than usual because she expected a
few more minutes.
hat led to a career-high 8 points
and 4 rebounds.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Sapp said. “I’m
just glad to be a part of the team and
help out in any way possible.”
Sophomore forward/center Cassie
Endicott was inactive for the Principia
game, so in her place Harris-Conway
received a start against Principia. It was
only her ninth start on the season. She
replaced Endicott by pulling down a
career-high 7 rebounds, four of those
being on the ofensive.
“Anytime a team is going to win a
championship and win games you have
bench support,” coach Jordan Olufson
said. “hey (players coming of the
bench) were phenomenal and were
sparks on ofense and defense.”
Olufson said it was a team decision
to rest Endicott, and she is expected to
play in the next game against Spalding
University (Ky.) on hursday, Feb. 7 at
Grant Gymnasium.
his Gorlok team has built success
on its ability to be smart with the ball.
In nine of Webster’s previous 10 games,
the Gorloks have turned over the ball
only 17 times or fewer giving them the
lowest turnovers per game average in
the SLIAC this season. Against Principia, however, they gave away 22 possessions.
“We came of slow,” Williams said.
“Our energy was slow and that made
everything go down the drain right
there.”
Down to the inal stretch
hree games remain for Webster in
the regular season. All three opponents
Webster plays — Spalding, Fontbonne
University (Mo.) and Blackburn College (Ill.) — have dropped the season’s
irst meeting to the Gorloks.
he inal two games will be played
on the road. Last season, Webster lost
three of its inal four games on the road.
he team hopes to be riding much hotter into the playofs this year.
“All these games are really big, we
have to win all of them,” Williams said.
“Every team we’ve played, we know everything about them and there should
be no reason why we should lose.”
Olufson wants the team not to just
get on a hot streak but to be playing
well, too.
“Everyday we have to get better,”
Olufson said. “We are always working on our small goals to reach the big
goal.”
hat “big goal” is winning the con-
ference championship and earning a
spot in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Standings
SLIAC
Women’s Basketball
Westminster
Webster
Eureka
Spalding
Fontbonne
Greenville
MacMurray
Blackburn
Principia
Conference
Overall
Record
Games
Back
Record
Win %
Streak
11-1
9-4
8-4
7-5
6-6
5-6
3-9
3-9
0-12
—
2.5
3
4
5
5.5
8
8
11
12-9
12-10
12-7
9-11
7-14
10-10
8-12
3-17
2-16
0.571
0.545
0.632
0.450
0.333
0.500
0.400
0.150
0.111
Won 6
Won 2
Lost 1
Lost 1
Won 1
Lost 2
Won 3
Lost 1
Lost 5
*All statistics as of Feb. 5
Track teams see program indoor records fall at Illinois College
Howard, Henkey among Webster record breakers in Jim Green Invitational
By Tim Doty
Sports Editor
COURTESY OF MACKENZIE WILDER
Freshman Charles Whitehead runs in the 4x400 meter relay at the Jim Green
Invitational at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Sophomore Jenny Howard of
the Webster University women’s
track and ield team wasn’t too
happy with her performance in
the Titan Open at Illinois Wesleyan University on Jan. 26.
Howard posted her time of 8.13
seconds in the 60-meter dash,
placing her sixth out of 37 runners in the event.
However, Howard — who said
she had been hampered earlier in
the season with a stress fracture
in her foot which she sustained
over semester break — took the
chance to redeem herself at the
Jim Green Invitational hosted by
Illinois College in Jacksonville,
Ill., on Saturday, Feb. 2. Howard ran the 60-meter dash in a
Webster-record 8.0 seconds and
placed irst among the eight who
participated in the event.
he sophomore also ran the
200-meter dash and set a Webster indoor record with a time of
27.99 seconds, placing her ith
out of 21 participants.
“I was pretty happy, especially in the 60(-meter dash),”
Howard said. “he 60 is probably my favorite race indoor.
My irst meet last week (Jan. 26)
didn’t go very well. I did OK,
but I wasn’t really happy with
it. I was more happy that I ran
a good time in the 60. Winning
the meet in the 60 was an added
bonus. he 200(-meter dash) —
not my favorite race and I didn’t
run it too well, but I guess it’s
nice to break the record my irst
time running it this year.”
Junior Eroica Stackhouse
placed seventh out of 24 runners in the one-mile run with
a time of 5:44:07. Junior Julie
Greenough also participated
in the one-mile run, inishing
four spots behind Stackhouse
with a time of 5:53:82. Freshman Lauren Hoover also broke
a Webster record in the 400-meter dash with a mark of 1:06:66,
which placed her eighth out of
18 runners. In the high jump
event, sophomore Kristen McDowell placed fourth out of nine
participants with a score of 1.47
meters.
Howard said the women’s
team — which inished ninth
among 15 team — breaking the
school records, even this early
in the track and ield season,
displays how much the team has
worked.
“I think it really speaks volumes about how hard we work,”
Howard said. “We all work very,
very hard in practice. Coach
(Kelly) Parsley and our coaches
push us really hard. Everyone
really does give 110 percent. I
think it just shows everybody
how hard we work and how
dedicated we are.”
he men’s track and ield
team also contributed to changing the Webster record books.
On the men’s side, senior Daniel Henkey topped his own
personal and school record in
back-to-back weeks. Henkey set
a time of 4:36:27 in the one-mile
run to place him ith out of 43
runners. Teammate sophomore
Jason Hickson ended the event
in 24th place with his time of
5:00:41.
Henkey attributes his success
to the extra workload he’s put in.
“I’m very pleased with how
I’m running,” Henkey said. “I’ve
put in more training this winter than in past seasons. I feel
it’s showing in my races. It also
shows that we have a young
team and a lot of these records
are going to continue to be broken by me and our other runners.”
Senior Aaron Oberneufemann jumped 1.77 meters in the
high jump to earn him fourth
place out of nine participants.
Freshman Charles Whitehead
also broke a Webster record
with his time of 2:06:59 in the
800-meter run. Whitehead inished 13th overall among 46 in
the race.
he men’s team ended the
day in 12th place overall out of
17 men’s teams.
Up next for the Gorloks is
the DePauw Invitational at DePauw University in Greencastle,
Ind., on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11
a.m. he meet is another indoor
event.
Howard said if the teams
continue their workouts and
practices, the school records
should keep falling.
“Everyone basically needs
to be at practice, keep working hard like we normally do
and really stay focused during
the meet,” Howard said. “If everyone focuses on their race, I
think we’ll do well and continue
to break records.”
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY RATKEWICZ
What happened when the
backboard broke before a Webster
men’s basketball game? Visit
websterjournal.com for a story
on a unique moment in Webster
Athletics history.
Sports
Feb. 6-Feb. 12, 2013
Page 8
Thode sees basketball by the numbers
Jecha Jabber
Golden Eagles’ Defenses
Take Flight
Accounting major impacts men’s basketball team with own stat keeping methods
By Sam Masterson
Staf Writer
Life is a game of numbers for
Dustin hode.
hode, a senior accounting major, works with statistics
every day by making charts in
Microsot Excel, keeping statistics for his online gaming and
being an invaluable member of
the Webster University men’s
basketball team.
A team statistician usually
records points, assists, rebounds
and the stats that can be found
in any box score, but hode isn’t
like other teams’ statisticians.
He records the statistics that
dissect a team’s scoring proiciency and shooting abilities.
And Webster men’s basketball
coach Chris Bunch will oten
look to his stats in the middle of
game action.
“He (Bunch) told me to, during the game, come over and tell
him if there is anything I see that
is not good in my stat sheet,”
hode said. “We have a tendency as a team to come down, not
run the play and maybe pass the
ball once and then we jack up a
three. And if that happens, I can
tell Coach.”
hode records six diferent categories of statistics on
each possession throughout
the game: identifying players
on the court, number of passes,
current score, time on the shot
clock that shot was attempted,
who took the shot and whether
it was a successful basket or not.
hode added keeping track
of time on the shot clock to
his duties. His role started with
simple possession charts, but
ater asking men’s coach Chris
Bunch how to make facilitating
the stats to the team easier, he
revolutionized Webster basketball stat keeping.
“We had issues with what
players call ‘hooping,’ or just
running down the court and
not really running plays,” hode
said. “Running plays and wear-
DAN DUNCAN / he Journal
Senior Dustin Thode records statistics for the previous possession during the
Webster University men’s basketball game versus Eureka College (Ill.) on Jan.
26 at Grant Gymnasium. Thode started recording extra categories of stats for
the team, which helps him in his accounting major.
ing down the defense was as
important as running plays. So
I started entering the shot clock
and (it) turned into me really
getting bored and taking it farther.”
To cure some of hode’s
boredom, he also keeps some
records of the opposing team so
that Bunch can have something
for comparisons.
“hat right there takes up
my full attention,” hode said.
“I can’t do anything more than
that.”
Another job that hode appointed himself requires him
to take the Webster possession
chart and break down each
player’s percentage of times they
had possession of the ball, and
if that led to points. hode said
a few times he has stayed longer
ater games than the coaches to
get those stats complete.
Bunch said he oten calls
upon hode’s stats during halftime in the locker room to lay
out, in better detail, what the
team needs to improve upon.
“Sometimes (as a coach) you
just felt it was that way, but now
you actually have that tangible
proof,” Bunch said.
hode relates his help to the
basketball team to being an accountant relaying numbers to a
company CEO.
“he purpose of accountants
and auditors are to perform
analysis on things,” hode said,
“So, the statements we come out
with can help managers make
better decisions for the company.”
He said he treats keeping
basketball stats similarly to
an accounting internship, and
hode wants to do his part to
earn a victory each night he is
with the team.
“If I can help even in the tiniest bit in helping our coaches in
a decision on who to play, what
to play or how to play their offense, I feel like it’s helpful,”
hode said.
Bunch and players such as
senior forward Roman Robinson and junior center Jarrod
Huskey believe that hode does
give the team an advantage over
many of their opponents. But
that advantage doesn’t end with
just numbers.
he biggest help hode believes he is, besides a statistician, is being the team water
boy. He said he notices Webster
is fortunate to have someone
like him because many other
teams don’t.
“I think to myself, a short 30
or 60 seconds you’re suppose
to be listening to your coach,
you’ve got players walking
back and forth getting water,”
hode said. “Our players have
the chance to sit down on a full
60-second timeout and if they
want anything I’ll get it for him.”
Robinson recalled during a
timeout, hode skipped him on
the round of water and hode
If I can help even in the
“coaches
tiniest bit in helping our
in a decision on
who to play, what to play
or how to play their offense, I feel like it’s helpful.
Dustin Thode
”
men’s basketball statistician
quickly came to Robinson’s aid.
“He went back and got two
waters for me,” Robinson said.
“And I need my water.
“He is happy about it and everyone thanks him and we don’t
take it as a small little job he has.
It’s respectful and it’s all good.”
hode also has a list of players’ personal needs each game,
which include one Gatorade per
half for Huskey, gum for senior
guard Cody Bradisch and last
season for Stephan Wittingham,
hode had packages of Twizzlers on the bench.
“It’s the same thing as the
team: when they try hard, we
do good,” hode said. “When I
try hard in my job, it’s going to
help.”
he only time hode said
he has struggled with his job
is when close games are on the
line. He said, like the rest of the
team, he gets an adrenaline rush
and focuses more on the action than a statistician should.
He recalled the men’s St. Louis
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament last season as
particularly exciting.
“I was, like, into the game,
and we were all getting hyped
up about the calls from the ref
and stuf,” hode said. “I was
missing key things, though, and
I was asking the player next to
me, ‘You remember who shot
that three?’”
He said when he is this close
to the team and when the game
is close at the end, he feels just
like a parent in the crowd rooting on the team.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Men’s basketball prepares for showdown with Spalding
Game against irst-place Golden Eagles may have postseason implications for Gorloks
By Ava Roesslein
Staf Writer
Ater edging out a 81-76 win in
overtime against Greenville College (Ill.) on Saturday, Feb. 2, the
Gorloks weren’t given a chance
to continue their momentum on
Tuesday, Feb. 5. he scheduled
game was canceled because winless Principia College (Ill.) did not
have enough players for the game
to participate.
Principia has only seven players on its roster — two of the
athletes for the Panthers are ill
with the lu, while another is out
with an injury — leaving them
with only four players. Coach
Chris Bunch said the game will
be made up sometime within the
next two weeks.
Senior forward Roman Robinson said he looked forward to
the game.
“I was hoping to play them
(Principia) just to get us prepared
for Spalding (University) (Ky.),
so it kind of was like, ‘Ah, man’
but if they’re injured and sick, we
can’t really do too much,” Robinson said.
Bunch said he didn’t look at
the Principia game as a tune-up
because he tries to get his players
to focus on one game at a time.
“Obviously, we were excited
about playing tonight’s game just
like we are any game,” Bunch said.
“It’s kind of a weird occurrence
(that) doesn’t happen very oten,
but we’ll practice tomorrow and get
ready for Spalding on hursday.”
he Spalding University
Golden Eagles are currently at
the top of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference stand-
DAN DUNCAN / he Journal
Sophomore guard Ahmad Smith readies to pass the ball in the second half of
the Webster University men’s basketball team’s overtime win over Greenville
College (Ill.) Smith scored 29 points in the overtime victory.
ings. hey are currently 14-7
overall this season and have only
one SLIAC loss to this point.
Bunch thinks his team has
played better the last month
Standings
SLIAC
Men’s Basketball
Spalding
Westminster
Eureka
Webster
MacMurray
Fontbonne
Greenville
Blackburn
Principia
Conference
Overall
Record
Games
Back
Record
Win %
Streak
11-1
9-3
8-4
8-4
7-5
5-7
3-8
2-10
0-11
—
2
3
3
4
6
7.5
9
10.5
14-7
16-5
12-8
10-10
10-11
7-14
8-12
2-19
0-20
0.667
0.762
0.600
0.500
0.476
0.333
0.400
0.095
0.000
Won 4
Won 5
Lost 1
Won 1
Lost 1
Won 1
Lost 2
Lost 1
Lost 20
*All statistics as of Feb. 5
— winning six of its last seven
games — but in order to be successful against Spalding, the Gorloks will need to rebound the ball
well. Robinson is currently ith
in the SLIAC with 125 total rebounds. he Golden Eagles are
statistically the best defensive
team in the conference allowing
65.7 points per game, and are No.
1 in PPG with 85.
“hey have a lot of consistency on the team,” Robinson
said. “I think that every team is
beatable. Once you keep winning
and winning, people are kind
of afraid to play you before you
even play, so that helps them to
win the game. here is a lot of intimidation there.”
he last time Webster played
Spalding on the road this season, it started of as a close game,
with the Gorloks only down by 2
points at haltime. But the second
half got away from them, and
they lost the game 79-49.
DAN DUNCAN / he Journal
Senior forward Roman Robinson leaps for the layup against Greenville College (Ill.) at Grant Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Sophomore guard Danny
Zehner said he believes the Gorloks can beat Spalding because
Webster beat Eureka College
(Ill.), and Eureka beat Spalding.
Greenville was able to make
a last second shot at the buzzer
to send the game into overtime
on Feb. 2. Webster was up by 16
points at half but fell apart in the
second half. he Panthers took it
to the Gorloks ater haltime as the
defense broke down and allowed
Greenville to score 40 points.
Robinson thinks Webster
should have not let the game get
out of hand.
“hat kind of was a negative
because that game shouldn’t have
even been that close,” Robinson said. “We just got slipped up
on defense, and got too lax with
where we were and everything.”
But the Gorloks did have some
good fortune in the conference
standings despite not being able
to play against Principia. Webster
is fourth in the SLIAC with an 8-4
conference record, and the top
four teams advance to the conference tournament ater the regular
season ends.
“I know that the team that we
were tied with — they lost — so
now it’s a two-way tie instead of
three,” Zehner said. “So it gives
us a better chance to win the
tournament.”
Webster has a 10-10 overall
record on the season and will
host Spalding on hursday, Feb.
7 at Grant Gymnasium at 8 p.m.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
RYAN JECHA
For the past four years,
the Spalding University (Ky.)
Golden Eagles have competed
in the St. Louis Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference, but not as
a full-ledged member. Spalding had to go through a provisional period for entrance into
the NCAA where its athletic
teams could qualify for the SLIAC and NCAA tournaments.
hat provisional period
is now over. Webster and the
other members of the SLIAC
now have a new foe to fend of,
and it is a dangerous one.
Last April, Josh Sellmeyer
wrote in his column, “he
Sporting Insider,” about the possible threat Spalding could pose
to the SLIAC in its irst year of
tournament eligibility. hat
prophecy’s coming to fruition.
he Golden Eagles will roll
into town on hursday, Feb. 7
to face the Webster men’s and
women’s basketball teams in
Webster’s home inale.
he Spalding men’s basketball team sits atop the conference with a 10-1 SLIAC record.
he only time the Golden
Eagles have been defeated this
season was in a 4-point road
loss against Eureka College
(Ill.), currently third place in
the SLIAC. Spalding has already defeated the Webster
men’s team once this season
and did so in dominant fashion, winning by 30 points.
Led by the top scorer in the
conference — senior guard
Dewhon McAfee, who averages 21.4 points per game
— Spalding has the highest
scoring team in the SLIAC. Its
defense allows the least points
of any SLIAC team. he Golden Eagles steal the ball more
and turn the ball over less than
any other team in the conference. Spalding’s combination
of skill and smarts make them
a force to be reckoned with.
he Spalding women’s team
holds a 7-4 record and would
make the SLIAC tournament
as the fourth seed if the season ended today. Spalding’s
stiling defensively, allowing
the fewest points in the conference. Spalding has one of the
SLIAC’s dynamic players in senior forward Kelly Harrod. She
averages 18.4 points per game
(third best in the SLIAC) and
10.3 rebounds per game (best
in the SLIAC) making her one
of only two players in the conference currently averaging a
double-double.
Webster has long been the
unoicial king of the SLIAC,
winning the All-Sports Award
12 of the last 13 years. However,
neither of the Webster basketball teams have been dominant
this season. Ater winning the
regular-season crown two years
in a row, the men’s team sits in
fourth place with a conference
record of 8-4.
he Gorlok women have
fared better, sporting a 9-4 SLIAC mark and currently residing in second place in the conference. he Gorloks inished
in ith place last season, but
made the SLIAC tournament
as Spalding was still ineligible
for the tournament.
But that wouldn’t happen
this year as Spalding’s ineligible period is over.
Webster will try to protect its
turf and show it is still the elite
program in the SLIAC. With
the season winding down and
both teams clinging to a spot
in the top four, the importance
of each win or loss is magniied
even more. A win could keep
them in the hunt, while a loss
could weaken their chances for
making the playofs.
he last home game of the
regular season for Webster will
be memorable, regardless of
the outcome. We could witness
the beginning of a shit in the
balance of power in the SLIAC.
One night will not determine
that, but one thing is clear:
heir wings are no longer
clipped. he Golden Eagles have
taken light.
Jecha Jabber is a biweekly column
written by Galaxy Radio General
Manager Ryan Jecha.
Contact the writer:
[email protected]
Look for a column by Journal
copy chief and layout editor
Josh Sellmeyer next week.