Motion detectives focus on details

September 21, 2008
www.unews.com
Vol. 77, Issue 5
Motion detectives
focus on details
Matthew Hicks
H
Contributing Writer
ave you ever
wondered
what causes
sports injuries or why
elderly people are more likely to fall?
Researchers
here
at
UMKC are trying to answer
these and other questions
with the help of some new
high-tech equipment.
The equipment is called
the Human Motion Laboratory and it is operated primarily by professors Gregory King and Trent Guess,
who work in the Engineering
department.
Built with money won
through a $263,685 grant
from the National Science
Foundation, the lab has been
up and running since May.
King said the lab is a
great asset to UMKC – and
not just because it’s the newest and best in the region. It
can be used for all types of
engineering studies, computer science, dance, nursing,
criminology and more.
It can also be used to study
walking surfaces, human
balance (which has special
implications for the elderly)
and what causes injuries.
King said the many facets of the research is what
enabled them to receive the
grant.
“The multidisciplinary nature of this project had a lot to
do with it,” he said.
Ultimately, the idea is if one
can learn what causes problems
in these areas, then accordingly,
the problems just might be prevented.
So how does this thing work?
Imagine an average UMKC-sized classroom, but lining the top of the wall is a
number of infrared cameras,
which don’t look at all like
normal cameras.
These cameras only pick
up certain types of light. In
this case, they use little reflective balls, which can be
fixed to specific points on a
moving object, such as the
joints of a person in motion.
Everything is linked to
a computer that records all
the data and creates an image visible on a large monitor
hanging on the wall, and the
researchers can learn how
these points move in relation
to one another in 3-D.
But there is more to it
than that. In the center of the
room, there are four large
tiles in the floor called force
plates. When stood on, they
can measure the various
forces in action for a movement.
As Guess put it, they are
like a sophisticated Nintendo
Wii Fit balance board.
Furthermore, all of these
tools can be used with electromyography (EMG) sensors. These are little sensors
that can be stuck to the skin
on a muscle group to measure
their activity by recording
the electrical signal muscles
put out when contracted.
In other words, a screen
will show a bunch of flat
lines, with each line representing a muscle group with
an EMG sensor attached to
it. When one of the muscles is
used, the line bounces.
With this system, King
and Guess hope to make positive advances toward the future of medicine.
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2
News
September 21, 2009
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Teeter-totter for the kids
Tyler Allen
Assistant News Editor
You may have seen a giant teeter-totter on campus last week and
thought the administration was installing a jungle gym on campus.
Though it could be fun between classes, there are no plans
for a playground.
“If you donate, you get to
ride the teeter-totter.”
GRANT HEBEISEN
Sigma Phi Epsilon senior
It was all part of Teeters 4 Tots,
a philanthropy event hosted by
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
“All of the donations are going to Children’s Mercy,” Sigma
Phi Epsilon senior Grant Hebeisen
said. “If you donate, you get to ride
the teeter-totter.”
Every day, a different sorority
joined the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon to take donations.
The week-long community service project ended Friday, when
the teeter-totter was moved next to
the J.C. Nichols fountain and all of
the sororities helped collect donations.
[email protected]
Photo TYLER ALLEN
Emily Shaw (left), Chi Omega senior, and Grant Hebisen, Sigma Phi Epsilon senior, ride the teeter-totter.
Sprawling areas, spread no more
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
Sustainability is not a new concept.
But Professor Emeritus Robert Freilich
maintains that it is a key tool that should be
used to shape our future.
Last Thursday, the UMKC School of Law
hosted the 2009 John B. Gage Lecture.
Freilich, who is considered the nation’s
leading planning, development, zoning and
land use litigation attorney, keynoted the event,
speaking about the problem of sprawling communities and how the government can help
make them green through sustainable planning.
In an introduction, Julie Cheslik, associate
professor of Law and editor of Urban Lawyer,
described Freilich as a trailblazer for the environmental movement.
“Bob was preaching the lessons of sustainable growth before most of you upstairs [where
students were seated] were born,” Cheslik said.
“In fact, Bob was green before green was cool.”
With a long-standing reputation for helping
to facilitate green changes, Freilich began his
lecture by explaining that sustainability is a
less-divisive issue than some might think.
“It doesn’t really make any difference
whether you believe the world began 6,000
years ago or whether you don’t believe the science of global warming,” he explained. “But I
don’t think that there is anybody in the world
today that doesn’t believe that global warming
is happening.”
Using an analogy, he said the French philosopher Rene Descartes once said you have a
choice to either believe in God or not believe.
He said if you choose to believe and He
turns out to be real, you hit the jackpot.
But if you choose not to believe and He
turns out to be real, there are pretty hefty consequences.
“We know that we are contributing to this
global warming through human effort,” Freilich
said. “Whatever we can do to stem that is something that is imperative for our society and our
children.”
He asserts the remedy for our society’s current disregard for the environment is in smart
growth, new urbanism and green building.
Smart growth is a concept Freilich has been
advocating for many years.
It is the idea that effort must be put into existing communities to make them more self-suffi-
Photo NATHAN LANG
Professor Emeritus Robert Freilich.
cient.
He has led projects in major cities and counties throughout the country, drafting development plans that focus specifically on reducing
sprawl and creating self-sustaining communities.
A self-sustaining community includes jobs
and shopping within walking distance of home.
He joked that one routine from the Leno show
often sticks out in his memory when he thinks
about sprawling communities.
“Leno said, ‘The one thing that is the biggest
waste is the front yard. What are they used
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for? You don’t spend time in it. You can’t put a
pool in it.’ We used to sit on the porch and talk
to neighbors but now you can’t even see your
neighbor’s from the porch,” Freilich said.
New urbanism is a concept of refurbishing
the inner cities and making them more accessible and livable. Freilich suggests to build up
instead of out.
Freilich sees building to LEED (Leadership
In Environmental Design) standards as both
financially and environmentally responsible.
“Whatever we do, we have to be able to preserve our resources,” he said.
Moving forward, Freilich said we will need
to take a new approach to city living.
“Alternative thinking is really the way that
people seem to come to consensus,” he said.
“We don’t seem to understand that too much in
the Midwest.”
Freilich currently lives in Los Angeles.
He is practicing land use law at his new
firm, Freilich & Popowitz LLP. His new book,
“From Sprawl to Sustainable Growth Management, Green Development and Renewable
Energy Systems,” is set to be published in November.
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September 21, 2009
Calling all job-seeking students
Photo MELISSA COWAN
Students explore various job and internship opportunities at the A&S Student Council Job Fair.
Melissa Oribhabor
Staff Writer
Recent opinion would have us believe this country’s job market has
dried up.
But it seems there are still companies interested in expanding their employee base.
The Arts and Science (A&S) Student Council hosted a hiring and internship career fair on Thursday in
Pierson Auditorium.
There were 35 companies looking
to recruit students for employment in
the Kansas City area.
DaRon McGee, president of A&S
Student Council, explained that this
career fair was for students looking
for part-time jobs, full-time jobs and
internships.
“This was a need I felt, and the
board felt, would be good for students
who are looking for internships that
can hopefully lead to full-time jobs,”
McGee said.
The fair had a great turn out, with
many companies and students finding
the experience beneficial.
Sergeant Ervin Harris from NPB,
an event staff and entertainment safety
service company, said he sees job fairs
as a great opportunity to find potential
employees. He found eight of his current employees through job fairs.
Junior Kristen McMillen said the
fairs are a real benefit to students.
“It helps to get experience talking
to employers and looking for employment early on,” McMillen said. “The
[opportunity for] internships here really stood out.”
This career fair was slightly different from the annual career fair that is
hosted by Career Services.
The Career Services fair is most
beneficial for seniors, recent graduates
and is also open to non-students in the
Kansas City community.
The two career fairs are also organized differently, therefore bringing in
different companies.
Most career fairs on college campuses charge participating companies
between $600 and $1,000 a table.
The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) charges up to
$9,000 per company who wants to recruit potential employees on campus.
The career fair sponsored by the
A&S Student Council hired an inde-
pendent consulting firm and did not
charge employers for a booth.
The UMKC Career Service Fair
only charges $325 per table.
Thus, the UMKC campus is more
appealing to companies looking for
additions to their staff.
If you missed the A&S fair, the
Career Services career fair will be
held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 23 in
Swinney Recreation Center.
There will be 40-50 companies in
attendance, offering jobs and internships.
[email protected]
Student senate fills vacancies
Kelley Kates
Staff Writer
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its first meeting
of the semester last Tuesday.
The first order of business was
appointing a new administrative vice
president, an Executive Board position left vacant by the resignation of
Jasmine Powell.
SGA President Ashley Burress
nominated LaDonna McCullough to
fill the seat.
Burress said she thinks McCullough is the best choice because
“she can really get the job done.”
McCullough has past experience
with the senate.
She was active in the senate during 2007 and 2008, holding the position of president pro tempore and
representing the Minority Council.
In March 2008, during Mc-
Cullough’s term as president pro
tempore, she faced a resolution to
impeach her based upon the grounds
that her job as an administrative assistant at the School of Law presented a conflict of interest.
However, the resolution was dismissed after it was proven that her
job did not present any kind of conflict.
The senate approved the appointment of McCullough to the Executive Board without any discussion.
“We need someone on board like
her,” Burress said.
The same evening, the senate also
unanimously approved Steven Kendrick as president pro tempore.
In other news, some senators
raised concerns that senators will
be penalized if they miss the senate
retreat.
Some senators suggested the
SGA constitution should be revised
making it neither punishable nor
mandatory to attend the retreat.
The students wishing to amend
it were concerned that they are too
busy to find one time at which everyone could attend the retreat.
“She can really get the job
done.”
ASHLEY BURRESS
SGA President
The senate then heard from Jennifer Dehaemers, assistant vice
chancellor of Student Affairs, who
presented UMKC’s Strategic Goals.
Some concerns were raised when
she spoke about embracing diversity.
Dehaemers mentioned the need
for people to be “culturally competent,” achieving that by providing a
diverse learning environment, including hiring a more diverse faculty
to reflect the changing community
demographics.
A few senators voiced offense to
the statements and asked for clarification of “culturally competent”
citizens.
Others questioned why it is necessary to specifically seek out a diverse faculty, instead of simply seeking out the most qualified professors.
Dehaemers responded by citing
statistics from the Census Bureau
of changing demographics all across
the country.
She said by 2040, the Kansas City
Metro area, along with many other
urban areas, will not have a white
majority.
Because of that, the staff needs
to be able to relate to and understand
how to handle some of the issues that
will arise in a changing urban society.
“There is lots of research to back
these views up,” Dehaemers said.
Other goals Dehaemers listed
as objectives UMKC would like to
achieve are advancing urban engagement, promoting research, excelling in the visual and performing
arts, taking lead in life and health
sciences through cross-disciplinary
efforts, making student success the
focus by expanding the SEARCH
program and creating an honor’s college that would be more supportive
than just an honor’s program.
It was noted that to achieve these
goals, students need to be involved
by serving on the committees that
will handle these projects.
[email protected]
4
News
September 21, 2009
Strategic
Goals nears
completion
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
A final draft of UMKC’s Strategic Goals and Objectives is nearing
completion.
Provost Gail Hackett presented
a draft of the six goals and corresponding objectives to the Faculty
Senate last Tuesday.
The senate is the last governing
body on campus remaining to give
the document approval.
Hackett said the Student Government Association, Staff Council
and even UM President Gary Forsee
were pleased with the goals.
“I sat with President Forsee and
took him through the draft of the
Strategic Plan and the feedback and
he was very pleased with where we
were and what we had done,” she
said.
A large number of people have
dedicated a significant amount of
time to the development of the goals,
Hackett said.
A committee was charged with
developing the goals. Then after
each draft, students, staff, faculty
and members of the community offered feedback. That feedback was
used to develop the next draft.
The list of goals Hackett presented at the Faculty Senate meeting
included:
Goal one: Place student success
at the center to provide the optimal
learning environment for all students with outstanding academic
programs and experiences, seamless
student support and a vibrant campus community.
Goal two: Lead in life and health
sciences to attain national recognition for excellence in research,
expand opportunities for clinical
practitioner training and provide
outstanding health care delivery.
Goal three: Advance urban engagement to become a model urban
university by fully engaging with the
Kansas City community to enhance
education, public health, the arts and
economic development.
Goal four: Excel in the visual and
performing arts to create excellent
programs in visual and performing
arts that are central to campus life
and support Kansas City’s initiatives
in entrepreneurship, urban education
and innovation.
Goal five: Embrace diversity to
celebrate diversity in all aspects of
university life, creating inclusive
environments, culturally competent
citizens and globally-oriented curricula and programs.
Goal six: Promote research and
economic development to produce
world-class research and scholarship, encourage entrepreneurship,
foster innovation, increase technology transfer and build relationships
that create economic and workforce
development.
Each of the goals has specific
steps for implementation and a specified immediate action.
I
See GOALS page 20
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Writing the diary of a campus cop
Melissa Cowan
Staff Writer
By day, you can likely find Patrick Fasl in Newcomb Hall, sifting
through the archives.
But by night, Fasl is a university
police officer at UMKC, a position
he has held since 1976.
He attended school at UMKC
during this time and graduated with
a degree in Administration of Justice in 1980.
He started at UMKC as a building custodian right out of high
school. His knowledge of campus
helped him gain a security guard
position soon after.
“[Being a custodian] allowed me
to learn all the building names and
key numbers,” Fasl said.
Security guards are supposed to
be 21 years old, but since he wasn’t
going to carry a gun, it wasn’t that
important.
Fasl, however, wanted to be a police officer.
There were two police officers
he looked up to and wanted to be
like, he said.
“They were saying, ‘No, you
don’t!’” Fasl said with a laugh.
In 2002, Fasl “began putting
pencil to paper” about his experience as a police officer in his online
book, “Diary of a Campus Cop,”
available free on his Web site, www.
universitypoliceman.com.
“An incident came to a head and
blew up,” Fasl said about what led
him to write. “So, I just started writing and I’m going to keep writing.”
It’s a way to “get things off my
Police Officer Patrick Fasl has been at UMKC since 1976.
chest,” he said.
He realized the diary needed
more – it needed a beginning.
He made “cold calls” to past poNow, he is revising his book
His other book, “A History of lice officers’ family members who to make new additions.
the UMKC Police Department,” may have had helpful information.
“Nothing earth shattering,”
which is also on his Web site, pro- He pulled documents from the ar- Fasl said. “Just a couple little
vides that beginning.
things I need to stick in there …
chives at Newcomb Hall.
The book begins with the mergand I’ve got a lot more photo“I
found
the
first
security
guy
ing of the Unigraphs.”
at
the
MU
camversity of KanThe revision will fully ex“An
incident
came
to
a
pus,”
Fasl
said.
sas City and
plain the conflict that motivated
“Then
I
traced
Missouri Uni- head and blew up. So, I
their
security him to write the book. He plans
versity (MU) to just started writing and I’m
people
all the to have it done by Christmas.
form UMKC in
Fasl has also published a howgoing
to
keep
writing.”
way forward.”
1963.
to in the Campus Law EnforceBefore
1996,
“I find it [hisPATRICK FASL
university po- ment Journal titled “Researching
tory] fascinat- University police officer
lice
officers Your Department’s History.”
ing,” Fasl said.
He said his favorite part of his
were
called
The
Fasl gave a
job is just talking to people.
Watchmen
unvoice to those
And if he weren’t a police ofder
Missouri
who “played a
ficer, he would be a genealogist.
Statute
(Section
172.350
RSMo).
role in the development of the [po“[Though] I don’t know how
“One (Watchman) was head of
lice] department [at UMKC].” It
many callings there are in life for
the
janitors,”
Fasl
said.
“The
head
of
also includes a timeline order of
the janitors had the power to arrest somebody to do that,” Fasl said.
“significant events.”
[email protected]
people!”
Photo ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
UMKC Police Officer Patrick Fasl maintains a Web site full of
facts about the history of the UMKC Police Department. His
two books, “Diary of a Campus Cop” and “A History of the
UMKC Police Department,” are available for free on the Web
at, www.universitypoliceman.com. Fasl has been with the
UMKC Police Department since 1976.
Photo courtesy PATRICK FASL
Patrick Fasl when he came to UMKC.
News
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5
September 21, 2009
Cruising through recycling
Alexia Stout-Lang
“The easiest way to do that is by
rail,” he said.
Therefore, Deffenbaugh has rail
A drive through small mountains
of what some might call trash was an lines that run through the recycling
educational experience for students, facility. Box cars are pushed right up
to loading docks and the recycling is
staff and faculty last week.
The UMKC Sustainability Team loaded directly onto the cars.
Aside from being a leader in recysent two groups of team members to
the Deffenbaugh Recycling Materi- cling in the Kansas City area, Deffenals Recovery Facility to get the inside baugh is taking other steps to green
the company – they purchased more
scoop on recycling.
Once on the Deffenbaugh site, the than 100 new trucks that are environgroups loaded on a bus for a guided mentally friendly.
“Deffenbaugh does not just talk
tour. As the driver steered through
mounds of paper, plastic, cardboard about sustainability or facilitate it, we
and glass, Deffenbaugh Recycling are committed to it as a company,”
Representative Jeremy Woolf ex- Tom Cleaver, Deffenbaugh represenplained all of the details that go into tative, said.
The field trip was
running a recyorganized
by Sustaincling plant.
“Deffenbaugh does
ability Team leader
“It’s not someKaye Johnston.
thing you see ev- not just talk about
She said she hoped
ery day,” Woolf sustainability or
it would be a motivasaid. “We move facilitate it, we are
tor for people to cona lot of material
tinue the effort of furthrough our facil- committed to it as a
thering recycling on
ity each month. I company.”
campus.
am always amazed
The tour did spark
at how much we TOM CLEAVER
conversations about
Deffenbaugh representative
move.”
UMKC’s green pracMore
spetices.
cifically, DeffenVice Chancellor of Facilities Manbaugh moves anywhere from 7,00010,000 tons of materials through their agement Bob Simmons noted that
facility each month. Most of it is from many people ask if UMKC makes a
curbside collections in the Kansas profit from recycling.
The short answer is no. But the
City metro area.
The first and most important step university does save some money by
in the recycling process is sorting the reverting tons of materials from the
landfill.
materials that arrive at the site.
Simmons also said discussions are
A special conveyor belt system
sorts the paper from the aluminum always ongoing about ways to further
and plastic based upon weight. From the recycling and overall sustainable
there, employees have to remove efforts on campus.
Katherine Painter, administrative
cardboard and shredded paper by
assistant in the Center for Academic
hand.
Once sorted, the materials are Development, said seeing the recycompacted into bales and then loaded cling facility was eye-opening.
“I learned a lot,” she said. “It was
on trailers or box cars to be sent off to
a good experience.”
companies who will reuse them.
[email protected]
Woolf said they ship a lot of their
recycling domestically.
News Editor
Photos ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
The Sustainability Team visits the Deffenbaugh recycling center.
Freshmen gain leadership skills
Nila Hall
Contributing Writer
Leadership is not always what it
seems to be.
Steven Terry, director of the Institute for Leadership and Services
(ILS), held a presentation Sept. 14
on what it means to be a leader.
The presentation was interactive and allowed students to engage in discussions.
“It was interesting because of
the crowd interaction with Steve
and between each other,” freshman Khitam Jabr said.
The students were asked to
give their definitions of “leader.”
The goal, however, was to give
them a different definition of what
it means to be a leader so students
would have a better understanding.
In the end, many students were
surprised to discover what kind of
leadership qualities they possess.
“Sometimes, we’re surprised
by what we are,” Terry said.
The presentation encouraged
students to explore what kind of
leadership qualities they possess as
well as help them understand what
type of leader they are.
Broken down into learning objectives, first there was a lesson on
how to belong in a group.
Next, they learned how to address important issues facing a
new leader of an organization.
Students gave their examples of
problems they faced while being in
student organizations.
Finally, they were asked what
their personal leadership style was.
Several students admitted they
don’t fit into one specific category.
Near the end of the presentation, the students were placed into
groups and were asked to do some
problem solving.
Each group was given a different scenario of how to solve a particular problem and the students
had to work together to solve it.
Each of the scenarios had been
based on real life situations.
Some scenarios contained racial connotations, such as stories
in which students experienced specific forms of discrimination.
These cases were specifically
difficult to solve for some students.
In the end, the students learned
one important part of being a leader is learning how to be inclusive
and being tolerant while being respectful of the groups they are a
part of.
“Sometimes knowing when
to say something and when not to
say something is important,” Terry
said.
[email protected]
6
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September 21, 2009
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Kick back with the Café Collection
Kelley Kates
Staff Writer
Need a new spot on campus to
relax, take a load off or enjoy some
much needed reading time all to
yourself?
The Miller Nichols Library has
the answer – the new Café Collection.
The intimate setting is located
on the first floor near the library’s
Café a la Cart, where sandwiches,
snacks and cold beverages can be
purchased.
Café a la Cart is open from 11
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through
Thursday.
The Café Collection is in a cozy
corner of the library with plush
chairs, flat screen televisions that
run news updates and a nice bookshelf in the center filled with novels
and fictional classics.
Reference Librarian Rebecca
Power said the idea was inspired by
a question they frequently receive at
the library, “Where can I browse the
fiction?” “Unfortunately, the library’s
collection is not well organized for
browsing literature, so we created
a new area of the library where it’s
easy to find something fun to read,”
Power said. Power added that the Library’s
hope is for students, staff and fac-
Photo ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
The new Café Collection area in the Miller Nichols Library.
ulty to utilize the area as a comfy
place to relax and escape from
classrooms, offices and dorms.
The new collection provides
popular books by best-selling authors that are easily accessible and
available for checkout for up to four
weeks.
Power said the books are chosen
from donations made to the UMKC
Friends of the Library and would
not be possible without those people’s generosity.
Various books of interest are
readily available, from “My Life”
by Bill Clinton to “The Appeal” by
John Grisham.
The Café Collection also offers
novels by famous writers such as
Nora Roberts, Stephen King and
Dean Koontz, as well as mysteries
by Janet Evanovich, Patricia Cornwell and Dan Brown, among many
others.
The new collection seems to be a
hit among students who are already
aware of the section.
“The books have been flying off the shelves so far,” Power
said. “From the desk, we can see students walk by the collection, notice
it and veer off course to go look at
it. It’s very eye-catching and folks
are frequently sitting in the lounge
area.”
Power said they plan on adding more titles to the collection and
would love to have suggestions from
students about what they’d like to see
on the shelves. Suggestions can be emailed to
Rebecca Power at powerr@umkc.
edu. The Café Collection is open
during regular library hours.
[email protected]
Day in the life:
Enrollment Services Coordinator
Tyler Allen
LISTEN AT WWW.UNEWS.COM
Assistant News Editor
The idea of moving out of your
parent’s house to attend college is
not a hard sell.
“Honestly, the idea of college is
persuasion enough,” Scott Ezzell,
Enrollment Services Coordinator
(ESC) at UMKC, said.
Ezzell is one of five ESCs
charged with the task of informing
potential UMKC students about all
the university has to offer.
“There are really a lot of different types of responsibilities, but it
goes in cycles,” Ezzell said.
That cycle starts in the fall
when Ezzell and the other ESCs hit
the road to represent UMKC at college fairs and high school visits.
“I travel to all of the different
high schools, I establish relationships with the high school counselors, which a lot of time includes
sitting down and having conversations about things that are new
about UMKC,” Ezzell said. “A lot
of times I will go in front of college
prep classes, I will do lunchroom
visits where I’ll set up a table in the
lunch room and students will come
up and talk to me. But essentially
what I do is exchange information
about UMKC to all these students
and the counselors and basically
help them make the transition from
high school to UMKC.”
As an ESC, Ezzell also talks
Photo TYLER ALLEN
Enrollment Services Coordinator Scott Ezzell.
with community college students
about making the jump to UMKC
to work toward a bachelor’s degree.
During the spring, ESCs organize and run various campus
events. They host both general
campus visits and visits that target
a specific demographic or type of
student.
For example, Health and Science day brings students interested
in nursing, pharmacy or any medical field to campus to get more information about the programs.
When he’s not on the road, you
can find Ezzell in his office mak-
ing appointments, planning events
or completing a host of other tasks.
Ezzell said communication is
essential to do the job of an ESC.
“Communication skills are key
to this type of position because we
do a lot of presentations in front of
large groups,” Ezell said. “Being
able to build relationships, I think,
is also very important.”
As an ESC, Ezzell needs to be
ready for anything.
“Nothing is ever the same,” Ezzell said, “any day you’re going to
have different things that come up.”
[email protected]
News
www.unews.com
Energy project,” he said. “When they
announced that we’re going to be part
The Volker Neighborhood Council of it, they wanted this campus to be
(VNC) strategic plan got a stamp of included. I don’t know how far it will
approval from Chancellor Leo Morton extend, but it will definitely include
last Wednesday at the council meet- the campus.”
Morton said it is a possibiling.
The plan, which is made up of ity KCP&L might want to include the
short, medium and long-term goals for neighborhoods.
“But if it doesn’t happen, blame
UMKC to implement on the properties it owns in the community, was de- them and not me,” he joked.
Morton also spoke about specific
veloped over the past several months
through a collaborative effort between steps the university can take to improve service to renters of UMKC
residents and university officials.
VNC President Ken Spare said the properties.
He proposed creating a log of
agreement will help mend relationmaintenance isships between resisues that would
dents and the uni“We just all have different
track requests
versity.
for service. He
“We have come ways of getting things done.
hopes to create
a long way to de- And we all have our best
a standard intervelop these goals,”
interests in mind.”
val for service
he said.
depending
on
The goals, which
the nature of the
have an imple- LEO MORTON
request.
mentation timeline Chancellor
“I like what
spanning five years,
we are doing
were developed under a guiding vision calling for Rockh- here because it gives us targets to
ill Crest to be maintained as a healthy, shoot for,” Morton said.
He said the whole community
vibrant residential community.
Morton said they have taken a step wants to be proud of the environment
and wants to provide a good place for
in the right direction.
“The only way to make it happen is students to learn.
“I think we all aspire to that,” he
to make a list of goals,” he said.
Resident Carol Thrane from the said. “It’s a matter of time and money
Crestwood Neighborhood Associa- and resources. I told somebody the
tion noted that she would like to see other day that I have yet to see somemore green practices in the residen- body wake up in the morning and say,
tial areas. She sees it as a collaborative ‘Let’s see if I can mess something up.’
We just all have different ways of geteffort.
“I think there are a lot of great ways ting things done. And we all have our
for us to move forward with a spirit of best interests in mind.”
Moving forward, the VNC and
cooperation,” she said.
Morton noted that one of the large UMKC will work together to form acparticipants in creating greener, tion groups that will be charged with
implementing the goals.
healthier neighborhoods is KCP&L.
[email protected]
“They are talking about their Smart
News Editor
Newshound?
September 21, 2009
THE FIRST KANSAS NEWSPAPER
by ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
The first newspaper was printed in
Kansas in 1835. But it’s unlikely many of
us could ream any news from it.
In March 1835, the Shawnee Sun
– or Siwinowe Kesibwi – became the
first newspaper printed in what is now
known as the state of Kansas. But more
importantly, it was the first paper in the
country to be printed entirely in a Native
American language.
Printed monthly, the Shawnee Sun
was the handiwork of Baptist minister,
Indian missionary and printer Jotham
Meeker.
Meeker developed a phonetic print-
ing system allowing him to print in a
Native American language easily and
cheaply.
He is also known for printing a code
of tribal laws of the Ottawa Indians.
Only two copies of the Shawnee Sun
are still known to exist and one lives in
the LaBudde Special Collections Department at the Miller Nichols Library.
The university library houses a twopage excerpt from the November 1841
issue.
For more information, visit
http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/shawnee-sun.
[email protected]
Photo courtesy LABUDDE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Christians:
Faith under fire?
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Thursday evenings 7 - 9
beginning
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September 24, 2009
at
City Church
1501 West 42nd Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
Parking Lot at 42nd & Wyoming
For bus service times and locations,
call ATA at:
(816) 221-0660
Tr e a s u r e s a r c h i v e d f o r d i s c o v e r y
Chancellor approves
Volker goals
Alexia Stout-Lang
7
8
News
September 21, 2009
briefly mentioned
Campus
by TYLER ALLEN
UMKC chapter of Mortar Board recognized
UMKC’s Delta Alpha chapter of the Mortar Board National Honor Society was recognized at the 2009 Mortar Board Conference
in Chicago.
The Delta Alpha chapter was one of 28
groups that received the Project Excellence
Award.
Mortar Board is a national honor society
that recognizes college seniors for their exceptional scholarship, leadership and service.
The Project Excellence Award is given
to chapters who display excellence in scholarship, leadership, fundraising service,
the national “Reading is Leading” literacy
initiative, alumni involvement or Mortar
Board Week.
Juniors are annually selected for membership to UMKC’s Delta Alpha chapter
based on scholarship, leadership and campus community service.
The Delta Alpha chapter was founded in
1973 and emphasizes university service.
Author to speak at UMKC
UMKC will host the 43rd annual Carolyn Benton Cockefair Continuing Education Series.
The series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Sept.
22 at Pierson Auditorium in the University
Center with a keynote speech by author Simon Winchester.
He will discuss his various works, including his biography of Cambridge scientist Joseph Needham, “The Man Who
Loved China.”
Needham researched the rise and fall
of Chinese science and questioned why the
West took over China’s dominance of science and technology.
Winchester’s other works include “The
Professor and the Madman,” “The Map that
Changed the World” and “Outpost: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British
Empire.”
The event is free, but RSVPs are requested. Call 816-235-6060 to RSVP.
First African-American female astronaut comes to campus
The first African-American female astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison will speak at UMKC’s
Starr Symposium at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at Pierson
Auditorium in the University Center.
Jemison will discuss her experiences as an
astronaut and the importance of women and
minorities pursuing careers in science and
technology.
He attended Stanford University on a
scholarship at 16 and completed medical
school before becoming the first female African-American astronaut on the shuttle Endeavour.
Jemison has also written a book, “Find
Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My
Life.”
Tickets are $5 for adults and free for students. Call the Central Ticket Office at 816235-6222.
Topping-off Ceremony for new Student Union
Construction of the new Student Union
will reach a milestone at 1 p.m. Sept. 28
when the final structural beam is placed
during a Topping-off Ceremony.
The ceremony will include comments
from university officials and others who
were essential to building the new Student
Union.
The final beam will be next to the Stu-
dent Union from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 2224. Students are welcome to write their
names on the beam.
The Project Room, room 157 at the University Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7
p.m. Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.
Students are welcome to come with any
questions and to see pictures of what the
new Student Union will look like.
Tip of the week:
From Michele Taylor, UMKC Crime Prevention Officer
Campus Safety
Campus safety means the protection of people and property to maintain a safe learning environment.
Campus safety depends on everyone. Your attitudes and actions can help protect you, your belongings,
fellow students and the entire campus.
If a crime occurs, report it immediately to the UMKC Police Department at 816-235-1515, or dial 911.
www.unews.com
Police Blotter
Sept. 11
10:27 a.m. Suspicious Party –
A suspicious party was reported in Spencer Chemistry
Building.
11:18 a.m. Hit & Run Vehicular –
A victim returned to his car in
the Rockhill Parking Structure
to find it had been hit.
12:25 p.m. Information –
Residents of Oak Place Apartments reported possible use of
marijuana in a room.
1:02 p.m. Illness –
A student had a seizure in Royall Hall and was transported to
the hospital by her parents.
Sept. 12
12:10 a.m. Disturbance –
A party at 53rd and Charlotte
streets was consuming alcohol and being loud in the front
yard.
by ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
8:56 a.m. Illness –
A student fell ill and fell down
in a Royall Hall hallway.
MAST was contacted and
treatment was refused.
10:23 a.m. Burglary –
A student had property stolen
from her room in Oak Street
Residence Hall. She might
have left it unlocked while she
was doing laundry.
Sept. 15
8:38 p.m. Injury –
A student was injured while
playing football at Swinney
Recreation Center. MAST was
refused and he was transported to the hospital by a friend.
9:03 p.m. Alarm –
Burnt food in the fifth-floor
kitchen caused the fire alarm
to go off in the Oak Street Residence Hall.
Sept. 16
12:33 a.m. Disturbance –
A noise complaint was made
about loud music and voices at
54th Street and Rockhill Road.
8:51 a.m. Property Damage –
A panel on an elevator in Miller Nichols Library was damaged, causing power issues
with the elevators.
5:01 a.m. Fire Alarm –
An overcooked bag of popcorn
caused the fire alarm to go off
in Johnson Hall.
11:58 a.m. Lost Property –
A victim noticed she was
missing her passport.
3:38 p.m. Burglary –
Students returned to their
locked suite in Oak Street Residence Hall and found several
items missing.
4:10 p.m. Vehicular –
A vehicle traveling on Rockhill Road changed lanes and
was struck by another vehicle.
Sept. 17
Sept. 14
7:48 a.m. Vehicular –
A witness noticed a car pull
into the Oak Street Residence
Hall parking lot and strike another vehicle.
12:31 p.m. Larceny –
A victim returned to his vehicle parked near the University
Center to find his window broken and property missing.
Campus Crimes as of Sept. 18
CRIMES
BURGLARY*
ROBBERY
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT*
LARCENY
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
COMMON ASSAULT
FORCIBLE SEX OFFENSES
DRUG LAW VIOLATIONS
2008 YTD 2009 YTD
13
16
0
2
3
3
104
81
1
0
3
6
0
2
7
3
* MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS AND BURGLARIES INCLUDE ATTEMPTS
Correction
‘One Card, many possibilities’ (9/14/09)
Due to an editor’s error, the article listed the UMKC-Store (University Center)
as a location where the One Card can be used. The UMKC-Store has been
replaced by the Smart Market, which is now located in the lower level of the
Oak Street Residence Hall. The article also implied that Muddy’s and Kin Lin
had signed agreements with UMKC. That is not the case at this time.
www.unews.com
Culture
9
September 21, 2009
Head into a kingdom
of adventure
Photo courtesy KC REP
Cinderella fixes her wicked stepsisters’ hair before the ball.
Alexia Stout-Lang
interpret based upon life experience.
The woods represent the great big world that is
full of people who want to harm us. The wicked witch
Bedtime has never been so fun.
Giants, witches, princes and princesses are just is an over-protective mother who will do anything to
a few of the surprises in store when bedtime fairy- keep her daughter safe – not realizing she is permatales materialize before a young boy’s eyes during the nently damaging the girl.
The baker and his wife are a couple who would
Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of “Into
do anything to have a child, ignorant of the fact that
the Woods.”
Directed by Tony-nominated Moisés Kaufman, babies are a lot of work.
Cinderella and her prince sadly embody a couple
“Into the Woods” is so much more than a simple chilwho quickly realize that some things are too good to
dren’s story.
True, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding be true.
Rapunzel is an ill-adjusted girl who can’t seem to
Hood, Jack and his bean stock, the baker and his wife
and a wicked witch come together in this tale that overcome her childhood. And Little Red Riding Hood
is an innocent, young woman
takes place in a kingdom far,
who is tempted by the mystefar away where dreams really do come true. But, things “I think, perhaps, if our parents and rious, sexy wolf – oblivious
to his ulterior motives.
don’t turn out quite like we teachers had given us this account
I think, perhaps, if our
were told in grade school.
of these mythical people, we
parents and teachers had
Although most of us are
given us this account of these
familiar with these five tales would not go into relationships or
mythical people, we would
of love and adventure, we pursue our dreams with such false
not go into relationships or
were all taught that the moral
pursue our dreams with such
of each story is that your wish expectations of perfection.”
false expectations of perfecwill come to fruition if you
tion.
hang in there long enough.
With such serious, adult issues being brought to
We came to understand we are invincible no matter how big the giants are, we will get what we want if light, this play could easily have become dreary and
we put our minds to it and Prince or Princess Charm- dismal. But that’s not the case. It’s a laugh a minute.
This is accomplished by bringing issues to light
ing is out there looking for us.
Well, in the world of “Into the Woods,” a giant and revealing just how silly our hearts can be when
will squash you under foot if you get in her way, making judgment calls.
Particularly memorable performances came from
dreams come true don’t always mean happily ever
after and Prince or Princess Charming might be out Michele Ragusa (wicked witch), Euan Morton (narthere looking for you, but that might just be because rator) and Brynn O’Malley (baker’s wife) – although
the entire company performed their roles flawlessly.
he enjoys the chase.
The set was extravagant and easily transitioned
In this elaborate adaptation, the fairytale characters cross paths during their journeys through the between the little boy’s room, the deep, dark woods
and the castle.
woods in search of their heart’s desires.
With a lesson for everyone from a mother to a faThe audience is repeatedly reminded that “the
woods are dangerous,” but sometimes the reward is ther, lover or child, “Into the Woods” is a must-see.
In the meantime, keep in mind it’s a big, big forest
worth the gamble of facing the giants and wolves in
out there. Keep on the lookout for those who might
life.
This allegorical adventure is full of symbols that lead you off the path to your dreams.
[email protected]
children might recognize, but only adults can really
News Editor
Photo courtesy KC REP
Little Red Riding Hood learns a lesson in the woods.
11
Culture
www.unews.com
September 21, 2009
The circus comes to Kansas City
The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived last week
in Kansas City.
Beginning with the traditional march, the performers walked
the elephants from Union Station to the Sprint Center.
Then the action moved to
KC Live!, inside the Power and Light District.
With everything from hand balancers and clowns to dogs
jumping through hoops, people of all ages experienced an
exciting preview of the circus.
—Hilary Saskin
PHOTOS BY CASEY OSBURN & NATHAN LANG
12
Culture
September 21, 2009
www.unews.com
Full Service takes over college towns
Photo courtesy FULL SERVICE
Full Service will perform in Kansas and Missouri next week.
Kelley Kates
Staff Writer
From Carpenter Ants to humans with instruments, Full Service is a band bred for success.
Full Service is a unique Austin, Texas band
that has pushed its way onto the music scene
and into touring at clubs and college campuses.
Band members, Bonesaw (guitar and vocals), Smell, (who plays a whirlwind of instruments and sings), Twinky-P (bass guitar) and
Hoag (drummer and vocalist) feel their own
creative style erupted through a blend of musical influences they have heard throughout their
lives.
Full Service doesn’t feel it to be beneficial
to stay in one single music genre.
“Music as a form is so open, that to live in
one particular form would be like living in one
city your whole life,” Hoag said.
Hoag also writes the lyrics for Full Service’
songs.
“I’ve never thought of them as messages or
instructions, just observations,” he said. “Most
of the time, I try to leave the message to the
Hilary Saskin
listener. I just supply the impressions, the pictures.”
When it comes to influences, Hoag said numerous bands from every genre have had their
influence on the band.
“No joke, probably every piece of music
we’ve ever listened to has influenced us, consciously or subconsciously,” Hoag said. “That’s
just human nature.”
Some of the artists they regard highly are
Slash (from Guns and Roses), the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson and Jeff Buckley.
Hoag said Full Service’s music is unique
because they don’t stay in one realm, although
there are some recognizable things in their
style of music.
“We like three-part harmonies, we like
time-shifts, we sometimes like to just groove
on a single repeating riff, that type of thing,”
Hoag said.
Full Service started their “takeover” by
coming up with the idea to invade shows and
setup to play in the parking lot before the main
act would go on stage.
“The idea was simple,” Hoag said. “Follow
around a major act tour with our generator, our
Whale (van), our instruments, two helpers,
an email list, a documentary crew and 5,000
demo CD’s.”
They ended up choosing 311’s 2008 summer tour because “their touring schedule was
perfect for the idea (three weeks, starting in
Boston, finishing in Austin, our home town),
and because there’s enough overlap in style between Full Service and 311 that their fan base
would probably enjoy our music,” Hoag said.
This is where Full Service gained the upper
hand they had been looking for in the traveling
music world.
311 took notice of the band and how much
the crowd really enjoyed them – so much that
311 invited them to open for three of their
shows.
This wasn’t exactly what Full Service was
looking to accomplish.
“We were simply looking to explode our fan
base by borrowing someone else’s,” Hoag said.
Although Hoag did add that it was a great
way to tie up the end of their “Takeover Tour”
documentary, “Where Should We Set Up.” The
documentary is scheduled to come out in the
summer of 2010.
While on tour, Hoag said the band does a
number of things to occupy their time on the
road.
Mainly, they listen to music, read, mess
around on the Internet answering fan e-mails
and sometimes even pick up stray dogs and
help them find their homes.
Above all, Hoag said, Full Service is happy
to have a chance to get what they have been
waiting for, which is “the opportunity to start a
rock band that would one day bring peace and
harmony to the earth.”
As a part of their takeover, Full Service will
be hitting a couple local college towns in Missouri and Kansas this week.
They will play a show with Badfish, a Sublime tribute band, on Sept. 22 at the Blue Note
in Columbia, Mo, and the following night they
will take the stage at the Grenada in Lawrence,
Kan.
For more information on the shows and Full
Service, visit www.fullservicemusic.com.
[email protected]
Waldo crawlers enjoy a night of fun
Culture Editor
For three straight years, the Falldo Waldo Crawldo was voted “best
Crawl” in Kansas City. And this
year it lived up to the expectations.
The fifth annual Falldo Waldo
Crawldo began at 6 p.m. last Saturday. Advertisements read “6 p.m. til
????” and there couldn’t have been
a better explanation. Party-goers
stayed out until the wee hours of the
morning.
With this year’s expansion, the
crawl took place in 14 Wornall Road
locations – eight of them around
75th Street and six near 85th Street.
Lew’s Grill and Bar, Waldo Pizza and Swagger were some venues.
Charter Bus service was provided for crawlers to travel between the
locations at 75th and 85th streets.
“The bus is a really good idea,”
said Sid Devins, UMKC alum and
one of the many participants. “Hopefully everybody takes advantage of
that. I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”
Each venue offered special drinks
at special prices.
At Lews’s, there were cake shots
(which, surprisingly, do somewhat
resemble the taste of cake) made with
Jack Daniel’s.
Participants carried “passports,”
which gave them entrance to all the
locations as well as the drink specials. And those who managed to hit
all 14 bars were eligible to win one
of eight grand prizes.
Aside from the 14 venues, other
sponsors included Scion, KC Luxury Bus, Mix 93.3, Q104 and Budweiser.
Proceeds from the pub crawl
ticket sales went toward helping the
Waldo Fountain Fund and the Waldo
Area Business Association.
The Falldo Waldo Crawldo is the
sister pub crawl of the Waldo Crawldo which is held every June.
[email protected]
Photo KEVIN BRYCE
Many crawlers came out to enjoy a drink with good friends.
13
Culture
www.unews.com
save the date
Compiled by HILARY SASKIN
Monday, Sept. 21
Last day to drop classes without assessment (fall first eight-week session).
Last day to file for December Graduation.
Blue Monday Jam: Multi-instrumentalist
jazz musician Dwight Foster will lead this
open jam session. Event begins at 7 p.m. inside the Changing Gallery at the American
Jazz Museum.
Rock and Roll Burlesque: Don’t miss Big
John Bates performing to support the release of their fourth album, Bangtown. They
will be at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club
with The Voodoo Dollz. For more information, visit www.bigjohnbates.com.
Motorhead: Don’t miss Motorhead, performing at 8 p.m. at the Midland. Tickets
are $9.89 and available through Ticketmaster.
Friday, Sept. 25
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes: Join the Women’s Center and the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project for the Third Annual Walk
a Mile in Her Shoes. Watch men march
in women’s high-heels in an effort to stop
rape, sexual assault and gender violence.
Registration is at 5:30 p.m. and the march
begins at 6 p.m. at the University Playhouse.
Cost is $15 for students who bring their own
shoes, $20 for students who use shoes provided. Prices are higher for non-students.
All participants receive a t-shirt. Prizes go
to top fundraising teams and individuals.
For more information, visit www.walkamileinhershoes.org.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
“Trouble the Water”: As part of UMKC
Libraries’ Brown Bag Lunch Series, there
will be a viewing of a documentary about
two Hurricane Katrina survivors. Film begins at 1 p.m. at the Miller Nichols Library,
room 121. Bring your own lunch or purchase food at Café a la Cart (first floor of
the library). RSVP to [email protected].
Sublime Tribute: Don’t miss Badfish, a
tribute to Sublime, featuring Scotty Don’t.
Concert starts at 9 p.m. at the Granada in
Lawrence, 1020 Massachusetts. Tickets are
$14.
Free Movie Night: Sign up in the Student
Life Office for free movie tickets. Then
meet at the Plaza Cinemark theater and see
whichever movie you choose.
Bingo for Babes: Enjoy a night of bingo
games, drinks and food from 6-9 p.m. at
Flo’s Cabaret, 1911 Main St. Flo will be the
chief Bingo Babe calling out the numbers.
All bingo winners will receive prizes.
Thursday, Sept. 24
Conservatory Wind Symphony: Performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts
Center.
Brewmaster Luncheon: If you enjoy food
(and beer) then you don’t want to miss this.
Boulevard Brewing Company is teaming
up with local restaurants to create food and
beer pairings. The featured food for this
event will be prepared by Bluestem. Tickets are $35 and include a tour, three-course
lunch and a souvenir pint glass. Tour begins
at 11:30 a.m. To reserve your spot call 816701-7210.
Concert: The Republic Tigers will be in
town with So Many Dynamos and Cowboy
Indian Bear. Doors open at 7 p.m., show
starts at 8 p.m. at the Beaumont Club. All
ages, $10.
Plaza Art Fair: It’s that time of year again.
The 78th Plaza Art Fair is going on all
weekend with three live music stages, 250
artists, 30 Plaza restaurants and 120 shops.
Saturday, Sept. 26
Concert: Social Distortion will perform
with Middle Class Rut and The Strangers.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show begins at
7:30 p.m. at the Beaumont Club. All ages,
$27.50.
UNplaza Art Fair: Come to the UNplaza
Art Fair, where more than 85 artists will
have their artwork on display and for sale.
All proceeds benefit PeaceWorks Kansas
City. Event takes place from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. on Sept. 26 and 27 at the All Souls
Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut (across the street from the Kemper Museum). For more information, go to www.
peaceworkskc.org/unplaza.
Sunday, Sept. 27
Concert: R&B singer and performer Genuwine is coming to Kansas City to promote
his latest album, A Man’s Thoughts. He
will be performing at 8 p.m. in the VooDoo
Lounge at Harrah’s Casino North Kansas
City. Tickets start at $28.50, must be 21.
Visit
www.unews.com
September 21, 2009
Blown away by The Mars Volta
Casey Osburn
Sports Editor
It was all The Mars Volta, all night long.
The Mars Volta treated Kansas City to just
one show this year, on Sept. 14 at the newly
renovated Midland Theatre.
They had no opening band, so for two
straight hours they played to a sold-out audience.
I had a strange fear of being disappointed before the show ­– but I was pleasantly surprised.
It was my first time seeing them, and I can
now say it was one of the best shows I’ve ever
attended. I was completely moved by the music,
from beginning to end.
It seemed as if there was no one around me,
I was alone in my own musical mind.
The only upset of the night was when they
finished their set and didn’t come back out to
play an encore.
This can be forgiven, though, because they
rocked their hearts out for the full two hours –
they barely even took breaks between songs.
“I think, musically, this is the tightest version of the band since their inception,” Nicholus
Schabel said. “There’s definitely no shortage of
energy.”
This was Schabel’s third time seeing the
band.
They opened with “Son et Lumiere,” which
transitioned straight into “Inertiatic ESP” from
their 2003 debut album, De-Loused in the Comatorium.
This current tour is to support their most re-
cent album, Octahedron, released June 23.
I assumed a majority of their set list would
be from their newest album. But, to my surprise, it was a great mix of older material.
After playing a more well-known song,
“The Widow,” from the album Frances the
Mute, they wrapped the concert up with “Wax
Simulacra” from The Bedlam in Goliath.
All-in-all, guitarist Omar Rodriguez-López
is a musical genius. At the end of almost every
song, he played a killer solo that could move
anyone.
The concert itself was like a never-ending
rave. The backdrop was super trippy and displayed a variety of images, depending on the
color of light that hit it.
Not to mention the amazing light show. It
was crazy, with every color imaginable put together.
Vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala rocked the
stage with his mic swings and over-the-top
dance moves.
Prior to this show, The Mars Volta dropped
members from the band, taking it down to only
six members.
The two band-leaders, Rodriguez-López
and Bixler Zavala, are both former members of
At the Drive-In.
Overall, I give the concert 18 billion stars
— meaning 18 billion out of five. That’s how
good the show was, and how much I would recommend it to anyone who even remotely enjoys
The Mars Volta.
[email protected]
14
Culture
September 21, 2009
Milk chocolate chip muffins
Chelsea Soetaert
Contributing Writer
There’s no better way to start your day
than with a tasty, homemade chocolate
chip muffin.
These muffins are quick and easy to
make.
Bake them on the weekend and eat
them throughout the week.
They also make a great treat to share
with friends!
Yum! Yum!
Photo CHELSEA SOETAERT
Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. (one stick) unsalted butter,
melted and cooled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a
12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Melt butter and set aside to cool.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt
in medium bowl. In a separate small bowl,
combine sugar and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled
melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and
milk.
Stir in the flour mixture until just combined (it may still be chunky). Gently stir in
chocolate chips.
Fill each muffin cup with one large
2/3 c. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. whole or low-fat milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
spoonful of batter. Generously sprinkle each
muffin with the cinnamon-sugar mixture
before baking.
Place muffins in oven and bake until
golden brown, about 22-25 minutes.
To test, insert a toothpick into the middle
of a muffin — if it comes out clean they are
done baking.
Let muffins cool in the pan for about five
minutes.
Then remove from pan and let cool again.
Once cooled completely, enjoy a tasty
breakfast!
[email protected]
How to: Entertain on a budget
Hilary Saskin
Culture Editor
Entertaining guests is no simple feat.
It requires plenty of time, preparation and
decision-making.
One thing it does not require, however, is
a lot of money. Having a good time does not
have to mean emptying your bank account.
There are numerous ways to throw a fabulous party, even when you’re on a budget.
Here are some helpful tips to get you started in the right direction.
Stay home: You and your guests can have
just as much fun at your house as you would
anywhere else.
Renting a reception hall, restaurant or any
other place for a party can have an outrageous
price, and it is not a key ingredient to a good
time.
If you are with people you enjoy being
around (and who enjoy being around each
other), any place, including your home,
should suffice.
Send e-vites: Whether you’re throwing a
huge bash or just a small get-together for a
few friends, e-vites are the perfect way to let
your guests know about the upcoming event.
They work just as well as regular invitations and there are added benefits, such as the
ability to add a map so your guests can view
the party’s location.
Plus they will be received almost instantly, rather than waiting a few days for the
snail-mail to deliver your invites. And, best
of all, they’re free!
Borrow: There is no need to go out and
buy extra things to entertain your friends.
Whether it’s an extra serving dish or a
couple place settings, buying new ones is un-
necessary.
Ask the people you invited (or even a
friendly neighbor). Most likely, you will not
get turned down.
Everybody likes to help out, and letting
somebody borrow a few items is fairly easy
for most people.
Have a potluck: There are several benefits to having a potluck-style party.
When each guest brings their favorite
dish, they are guaranteed to like at least one
of the items being served.
And it doesn’t cost much for each guest to
bring something, although it saves you – as
the host – a significant amount by not having
to provide all the food and drinks yourself.
Keep it simple: There’s an old saying,
“less is more,” which applies for food and
drinks when entertaining guests.
Attempting to cater to the needs of every
person you invite can get extremely expensive.
Rather than trying to please everybody
in every way possible, come up with a few
ideas for food and drinks that can cover all
the bases.
Just remember, not everybody has to like
everything you serve.
As long as everybody is able to find one
or two things they enjoy, they will be happy.
When it comes to entertaining, there is no
need to max out the credit cards.
With good planning and a little bit of compromising, you can avoid spending unnecessary amounts of money without cutting back
on the fun.
You will be happy, your guests will enjoy
themselves, and, best of all, your bank account will remain intact.
[email protected]
www.unews.com
dating 101
by Christian Rose
Becoming a virgin ... again
Sitting in a local coffee shop on Saturday
morning, I overheard a group of young girls
discussing everything you would expect young
girls to talk about – the latest “Gossip Girl”
episode and which jeans do not make your butt
look fat. The third one, however, surprised me.
It was the idea that if you use a condom, it
technically doesn’t count as intercourse.
And if you simply abstain from having sex
for seven years, your hymen magically reattaches, thus replenishing your “virgin” status.
After I choked on my skinny vanilla soy
latte, I had a thought — wouldn’t it be great if
we could all apply those rules to other aspects
of our lives?
For me, I would start driving without my
shoes.
The next time I get pulled over for speeding, I will just tell the officer that it doesn’t
count because I am not wearing shoes.
I especially love the idea of regaining your
virgin status via a waiting game. It is kind of
like an anatomical do-over clause in Life’s
Rules.
Although I am a serial dater, I haven’t had
an actual relationship in seven years.
Does this make me a “relationship re-virgin,” and is it necessarily a good thing?
Admittedly, there is something appealing
about waking up and starting fresh.
Before that first break-up, before the first
time a boy made you cry and before that first
broken heart, you are braver and pursue everything with reckless abandon.
You see every opportunity as an infinite
amount of possibilities.
The world is brighter, colors are electric and
the glass is always half-full.
The colors, however, seem to fade and dull
after your heart gets broken.
And with every subsequent hurt, you become more fearful, less trusting and more
guarded.
Dating becomes an effort, and sometimes
a Saturday night spent in your pajamas beside
your faithful schnauzer is preferable to dinner
and a movie with a stranger.
But with each heartbreak and each morning
you wake up on a pillow soaked in tears, you
gain experience and wisdom.
These things not only make you who you
are, but give you the opportunity to learn what
you are looking for in someone else.
Heartbreak is a tightrope that you walk and
it can be difficult not to let yourself become
jaded while you’re gaining experience through
those tears.
Listening carefully to the girls at the coffee
shop, I wanted to give them some sort of wisdom, a little piece of advice to take with them
out the door and into the cold harshness that
awaits them.
Having no desire for a full discussion on
debunking sexual myths and untruths, I would
leave them with this:
Once your heart is broken the first time, it
can never be unbroken. It will heal, but there
will always be a scar reminding us never to be
so reckless with it and teaching us the wisdom
in experience.
It is a wonderful thought. But, for better or
worse, there is no going back … but then again,
who would really want to?
[email protected]
Looking ahead...
BY KELLEY KATES
Plaza Art Fair
The Plaza Art Fair, a cherished gem of the
community, kicks off its 78th annual takeover of the Country Club Plaza this Friday.
Since it’s inception, the fair has graced the
streets of Kansas City’s best outdoor shopping district with its beauty and wonder.
The fair will line nine blocks of the Plaza
with booths, displaying original works of art
from 240 artists.
Art enthusiasts from around the country
travel to Kansas City every fall to indulge in
the festival where they can admire and/or purchase incredible jewelry, paintings and crafts
of all sorts.
Many artists compete each year to be-
come one of the featured artists at the Plaza
Art Fair – mainly because the fair attracts
crowds of more than 300,000 and is considered one of the top five art fairs in the country.
Not only will the fair host artists of varied types, the event will also have live music
on three stages and feature a Kemper Street
Museum to represent Kansas City artists.
This is a “do not miss” show and a great
way to welcome the fall!
The fair will run Sept. 25, 26 and 27 and
admission is free. Hours of the fair are, Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
National Public Lands Day
Bridging the Gap and Jackson County
Parks and Recreation are joining forces to
honor National Public Lands Day.
The annual event is scheduled from 9
a.m. to noon, Sept. 26 at Fleming Park in
Blue Springs.
It will center on restoring and beautifying the natural public area surrounding the
Blue Springs and Jacomo lakes.
The area boasts several acres of nature
at its best, but is exposed to recreational
use and human intervention every summer,
which takes a toll on the land. National
Public Lands Day is a day designated for
volunteers to give back to the land by becoming a steward of it.
Heartland Tree Alliance, Keep Kansas
City Beautiful and Kansas City Wildlands
are co-sponsors of the event.
Volunteers can choose from a number
of ways to lend a hand. The organizations
are looking for help providing tree care,
removing invasive plants, cleaning up litter
and general event support positions including helping with registration and set-up.
Bridging the Gap hosts a number of
events throughout the year, all offering volunteer opportunities. They team with community, commercial and individual volunteers to reach their goals of making Kansas
City a more sustainable community. For
other volunteer opportunities with Bridging the Gap, contact Beau Baker at beau@
bridgingthegap.org.
For more information on the National
Public Lands Day event, contact Amy
Smith at [email protected]
or 816-561-1061.
16
September 21, 2009
Sports
www.unews.com
Women tackle a man’s sport
Melissa Cowan
T
Staff Writer
he Kansas City Spartans, a
semi-pro women’s football
team, is coming to Kansas City.
Tryouts were held Sept. 19 at
Central High School.
Monica Cheirs, her sister Nyala Bulock,
and her brother-in-law Leonard Bulock applied
to the Women’s Football Alliance in July 2009
to form their team.
They were approved in August and have
been working hard ever since.
Kansas City already has existing women’s
semi-pro football teams, but Cheirs believes
the Spartans are bringing something different.
“This is something Kansas City really
needs,” Cheirs said.
Cheirs has been playing semi-professional
football for six years.
She started as an offensive guard but “had
way too much speed.”
She has been a defensive end the past five
years.
Nyala’s position is free safety.
“When me and my sister were in high
school, we always wanted to play on the boys’
football team,” Cheirs said. “I did it all [sports],
everything but football.”
Cheirs played for the Kansas City Crunch,
but her experience with the Oklahoma City
Lightning made her realize what Kansas City
really needed in a team.
Leonard was the coach there.
“It was like a real NFL experience,” Cheirs
said.
Now, Leonard will coach the Spartans.
They look for players who are driven and
dedicated, Cheirs said.
She believes athleticism can be acquired,
especially under the direction of Coach Bulock.
“If you don’t have experience, believe me,
you will by the end of practice,” Cheirs said.
“That’s how good this coach is.”
There will be one-day tryouts every month
until December.
The season starts in January.
There are eight season games, four play-off
games and one championship game in August
2010.
And the Spartans plan to “bring the heat.”
“It’s not an option to lose,” Cheirs said of
the championship.
The Spartans, however, are not only concerned with winning.
“We plan on doing a lot in the community,”
Cheirs said. “Not only to get our name out, but
to actually give back and to show people there
are teams here that aren’t just focused on themselves.”
So far, they will be working with Harvesters, Ronald McDonald House charities, soup
kitchens and the Derrick Thomas Third and
Long Foundation.
Players should not be concerned with finances, Cheirs said.
There is a $25 tryout fee, but that is the only
money players will spend themselves.
Fundraisers will balance the rest.
“The girls won’t have to worry about anything but the game,” Cheirs said. “You have to
have fun. You shouldn’t have to stress [about
finances].”
Photo CASEY OSBURN
Nyala Bulock runs drills at the Spartans’ first try-outs.
The Spartans will run concession stands
at eight Chiefs games and two college games
to raise money.
They are also pending sponsorships.
This is the chance for women who have always wanted to play football, Cheirs said.
Cheirs hopes to have 40-60 players on the
team.
Around 20 experienced players already
have a position. Two of them played for the
Dropped in double overtime
Kevin Bryce
Photo Editor
The Roos hosted the Holiday Inn
at the Plaza UMKC Invitational tournament this past weekend in a packed
Durwood Soccer Stadium Recreational Field.
The men’s soccer team went headto-head against the Loyola University
Ramblers Sept. 18.
And in double overtime the Ramblers managed to claim a goal taking
that match 1-0.
The tournament was the first time
the two teams had faced off in two
years.
“It was kind of the same type of
game,” junior mid-fielder John Bayron Sosa said. “It was a hard game,
both teams had many chances, but
we actually beat them two years
ago.”
There were a lot of shots and a lot
of chances throughout the night for
both teams.
Keeper Ken Cooper carried the
Roos with 11 saves during more than
100 minutes-of-play.
But it was the last minutes of the
second overtime when the Ramblers
pushed down the field.
They had another shot on net that
Cooper stopped. But on the rebound
he couldn’t regain control and the
Ramblers got a second opening that
deflected off a UMKC defenseman
and into the net.
“Today we didn’t have any luck,”
Sosa said. “One mistake, one goal.”
Late in the second half, Sosa almost claimed a goal that would have
secured the game for the Roos but
the ball went just right of the net.
“It was a combination between
(senior) Bryan Perez and I,” Sosa said.
“We know each other very well so I
gave him a pass, I ran around a player,
he gave it back to me and I had an optimal look. But it didn’t go in, man.”
Nearing the end of the second half
tension was high and yellow cards
were thrown around like currency.
“Yeah, it’s pretty typical, you
know, for this type of game,” Sosa
said. “Where everybody is going hard
for the whole 0-0 game. Everybody
is giving everything they have, you
know, 110 percent on the field. It’s
very typical for this type of team because they are very good.”
The Roos redeemed themselves
by shutting out no. 23, Drake, 3-0 on
Sunday.
Perez scored on a penalty kick
during the 64th minute, pushing the
Roos to three goals.
The goal helped Perez tie the
Drew Perkins’ school record with 21
career strikes.
The Roos’ next match is this Saturday at Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis.
[email protected]
Oklahoma City Lightning.
Women are coming out of retirement to
play with the Spartans, Cheirs said.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Cheirs said of the
interest in the team. “I mean this is our baby!”
The next tryout is Oct. 24. Players must be
18 or older.
For more information, visit www.kcspartans.com.
[email protected]
Sporting Events
Men’s Soccer
Date
Event
Place
Time
9/26
IUPUI
Indianapolis, Ind.
6 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
9/24
Drake
9/27
Indiana State
DSSRF
7 p.m.
DSSRF
1 p.m.
Columbia, Mo.
7 p.m.
Cedar City, Utah
8 p.m.
Lawrence, Kan.
All Day
Manhattan, Kan.
All Day
Springfield, Mo.
All Day
Volleyball
9/23
Missouri
9/26
Southern Utah
Women’s Tennis
9/25-9/27 KU Tournament
Men’s Golf
9/21-9/22 Jim Colbert Intercollegiate
Women’s Golf
9/21-9/22 Payne Stewart Invitational
Rugby
9/26
Photo KEVIN BRYCE
Keeper Ken Coopersaves a rambler kick.
Arkansas Roller Derby
9/25-9/27 South Central Regionals
Rockhurst University 1 p.m.
Atlanta, Ga.
All Day
17
Sports
www.unews.com
September 21, 2009
Women’s tennis kicks off season at KU
David Jordan
Staff Writer
The UMKC women’s tennis team is gearing up for
the spring season with a tournament Sept. 24-27 at the
University of Kansas (KU).
Last year, the Lady Roos posted an overall record
of 5-13. But this year, they seek to turn things around
and make some noise in the Summit League Conference.
Head Coach Kendell Hale, who is entering his third
season as coach, is ecstatic about the spring season and
the tournament at KU.
“I’m very excited because we have three new girls
this year — two girls from France and one from Wichita,” Hale said.
Freshmen Eva Dalvai and Laura Boutet, both from
France, are looking to bring their overseas experience
to the United States.
Hale said Dalvai is probably one of the best all
around players on the team.
Boutet, who just turned 18 in August, is also someone for which to keep an eye out.
“She’s young and she’s just got an incredible talent,
very fast and very quick,” Hale said.
Suzan Lisenby is from Wichita, Kan. and joins the
team with some impressive credentials.
At Wichita Southeast High School, she was a fourtime state qualifier and place winner.
Lisenby also won the league title as a senior in high
school and won the regional championship as a junior
and senior.
“I’m very excited to see what these girls can do,”
Hale said. “I really think this team can do some damage.”
Holly Davis is the only senior on the team, and
though she won’t play this fall due to an injury, Hale still
needs her presence on the team.
“As far as a person, [Davis] is one of the hardest
workers and the best fighter I have on the team,” he said.
On the court, these ladies give it their all. But off the
court they put just as much effort into their studies.
For the second year in a row they earned the awards
of ITA All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Succeeding in the classroom is very important for
Hale.
“You’re a student-athlete,” Hale said. “You’re a student first and an athlete second and that’s most important.”
Hale also is head coach of the UMKC men’s tennis
team which won the Summit League Conference last
year.
Managing both of these teams can be a difficult task,
and Hale doesn’t think he could do it without the help
of his two great assistants, Coach Dante Cipulli, who
joined the team in June, and Coach Robert Quintanilla,
who joined the team after he was a successful player at
UMKC from 2002-2006.
“I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff,” Hale said.
[email protected]
sports shorts
by Casey Osburn
Royals
Ladies!
Girls Night Out at Kauffman Stadium is Sept. 24.
The event is presented by
Hy-Vee and will be prior to the
Royals vs. Red Sox game.
Girls Night Out benefits the
American Heart Association.
Pre-game activities will
start at 4 p.m. in the new Outfield Experience.
There will be a chocolate
fountain and a fashion show
put on from Macy’s.
The first 10,000 girls to go
through the gates will receive a
navy blue Royals t-shirt.
Go online at www.royals.
com to purchase a $33 VIP
package that includes a field
box or field plaza lower level
ticket, a pink wristlet and a $5
donation to the American Heart
Association.
Cross Country
The men’s and women’s
cross country teams competed
on Sept. 19 at the Missouri State
Classic.
Freshman Cosmas Ayabei
took home his second win for
the season with a time of 24:56.7.
Ayabei also took home the win
at the Bob Timmons Classic.
The men finished fifth at the
Chiefs
The Chiefs gave away free
Hy-Vee rally towels for the
home-opener on Sept. 20.
The first 75,000 fans received one. To celebrate the
Swinney Rec Center
The SRC Wellness Center
offers a variety of massages,
ranging from 30-90 minute sessions, from $35-$90.
Massages include the Swedish massage that helps with
Missouri State Classic with 108
points.
The women took home sixth
place with 169 points overall.
Erica Freiert was first to finish for UMKC at 25th place.
The Roos head back on the
road on Oct. 3 to Stillwater,
Okla. for the OSU Cowboy Jamboree.
50th season anniversary for the
Chiefs, there were multiple pregame, in-game and halftime
activities. The Chiefs fell to the
Oakland Raiders, 13-10.
stress and the Esalen massage
which reconnects body and
mind.
Other massages offered are
the deep tissue and the sports
massage.
Photo courtesy UMKC ATHLETICS
Sophomore Jillian Yakominich returns the ball over the net.
Not much to cheer about
for the Chiefs
John Pfortmiller
While there is a lot of downright pessimism regarding the Chiefs’ poor situation this season, some UMKC
Teams in the NFL tend to have their ups and downs. students are taking a balanced, realistic outlook.
“Overall, they weren’t nearly as bad as I expected,”
Many fans believe the very beginning of a season
senior Anthony Amspacker said. “Once Cassel and
tends to be trivial.
So far it seems the Kansas City Chiefs are stuck on Flowers get back, there’s no reason they can’t win five
to six games.”
downs lately — just not a lot of first downs.
The consistent season-to-season flaw with the Chiefs
This trend is nothing new to Chiefs fans. But there
is their poor offensive line that has quarterbacks scramis still a small shred of hope out there.
Students at UMKC seem to have a general opinion bling to avoid getting sacked every play.
The mix of UMKC students’ opinions on the Chiefs
about the team and this season.
Very skeptical about the current state of the team, occasionally turns to downright frustration with the
their doubt is not unfounded. There are plenty of good consistently poor game play.
The Chiefs need to show Kansas City as a whole that
reasons to be cynical this season.
they can perform well on the football field.
“I’m skeptical about the season,” senior
The hope for a decent football team
Corey Stachowiak said. “But I’m optimis- “I’m skeptical
comes with players like Ryan Succop.
about the
tic about the future.”
The rookie kicker showed off his boot
Cassel, the Chiefs’ promising new season. But
with a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarquarterback, suffered a knee injury during I’m optimistic
ter against Baltimore.
about the
the third preseason game against Seattle.
The Chiefs will hopefully be able to put
Despite the injury, Cassel started the future.”
forth some type of organized defense and
home-opener against the Raiders.
offense further down the road.
Flowers, a Chiefs cornerback, suffered COREY STACHOWIAK
This heavily depends on the injured rosa shoulder injury during the first half of the Senior
ter being cleared, and the Chiefs falling into
same preseason game against Seattle.
a rhythm.
He participated in limited practice durHopefully with Cassel and Flowers
ing the week before the loss against Baltimore but did
back, this rhythm will be obtainable.
not participate in the game.
[email protected]
Flowers was back in action against the Raiders.
Contributing Writer
Subscribe @
www.unews.com
Forum
18
September 21, 2009
www.unews.com
Phone home before it’s too late
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
Run, run, run. Go, go, go.
Exceed everyone’s expectations. Make your
university proud.
Your life can wait, your family can wait and
your full night of sleep can wait.
Most of us here at the university level can
relate to these ideologies – whether you are a
student, staff or faculty member.
A large number of us enter college with the
pre-programmed thought that it will be our
time to shine (while having a fabulous time
making friends, going to parties and feeling
sorry for the rest of the world that doesn’t enjoy
such a worry-free and lavish lifestyle).
Then, we attend the first day of classes.
We spend a lot of time here at UMKC pointing fingers about who is to blame for the disparaging retention rate of students and faculty.
However, I would be willing to wager that
the hectic schedules and the obscene workloads have more to do with the masses jumping
off the college bandwagon than the failed plan
to create community, developed by none other
than the “Department of He Thought It, She
Said It and We are Still Working on the Details,
Inc.” – which, of course you all know, is lead by
Vice Provost Chancellor Dunno.
“I think what my parents
were alluding to when they
said I would miss life is that
someday I would miss what I
missed when I was too busy
to notice.”
Inching toward earning my second degree
and having experience on three college campuses, I know a little about the higher education experience.
I remember struggling through college applications, not sure what exactly I was doing
and then being even more lost once I finally
stepped foot into a classroom.
I was like a deer in headlights thinking,
“Now what?”
Well, letting my experience speak, I can tell
you that universities have two types of students
and professors – the engaged and hardworking
and those who just show up for class.
It goes without saying which type the institutions prefer and encourage.
So we, being good citizens, join organizations, organize events, volunteer for committees and community service days, commit
to completing vast research projects on dime
budgets and give up our social and family lives
all for the cause of making the world a better
place.
And we do it with smiles, while we receive
and give accolades for the pristine, monumental accomplishments that we know will be the
talk of the campus for some time to come (at
least the next day or so).
Then when we turn around to embrace our
family and friends, gathering them into this
time of great celebration, we see that they are
gone – or at least not close at hand because
sometimes the hold button doesn’t work on life.
Although years have passed, it seems
that just yesterday I was a teenager trudging
through my freshman year of college, living in
my parents’ basement and only making it home
in time to eat, sleep for a few hours and head
back to work or school.
I remember my parents saying I should slow
down or I would miss life.
Well, a lot of living has happened in the past
few years.
The time has gone so fast.
While I would not trade my experiences
for the world, all of the good times and accomplishments did come with a cost.
I’m sure, you (weathered students and faculty) will agree that a devotion to academia has
benefits as well as penalties if that dedication
consumes your life.
Now to the point.
My battle cry is and will always be that a
university is a place for students, staff and faculty to be actively involved.
However, I think what my parents were al-
Stout’s Shouts
luding to when they said I would miss life is
that someday I would miss what I missed when
I was too busy to notice.
So how do you avoid this?
Phone home.
And do it before it’s too late.
Do it now before you forget.
Write it on your planner once a week for
the next year, the next four years if you are a
freshman.
This applies to everyone on this campus.
Think about the people who are most im-
portant to you.
Make a list if that’s easiest.
And make sure you make time for those
people every week – even if it is just saying,
“Hi, I miss you and love you.”
We have important things to do here at this
university.
Those people on that list you made can be
your support system when you need it and they
can be there when you want to throw a celebratory party in honor of great accomplishments.
But they won’t be there if they don’t know
how much you need them.
I am thankful for a family who calls me deliberately because they know I am too busy and
could use a break even when I won’t admit it.
Mom, I will see you this weekend.
Sis, the newspaper has a Dating 101 column. Please refer to that for love advice.
As for the rest of you, take my advice.
There will be time after college to have a
“real” life with a family, friends and everything.
But, by that time, you will have no concept
of a normal schedule anyway.
So make the connection now. You will be
glad you did.
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Facebook has relationship issues
Hilary Saskin
19
a user’s interests.
Sometimes this is dead on. Other times, not so much.
The ads change consistently
with the changes I make to my profile.
The minute I
switched my status
from “in a relationship” to “single,”
I noticed the ads
switched too.
Instead of offers for engagement
rings and couples
vacations, I am now
forced to look at
links to dating Web
sites for singles.
Way to rub it in.
What I would
like to know is who
has the responsibility of placing these ads on pages?
Who is responsible for making
these filters?
And who is the person to place
the ads based on certain “trigger
words” in user profiles?
Because the truth is it’s not
Facebook itself that I find insulting.
It’s the person behind these
ads who is making them pop up
on the side of my Web browser
every time I log in to Facebook
(apparently because, according to
my personal info, it’s what I’ll be
interested in).
And what may be the worst part
is that it’s not consistent.
Example: I’m a hair stylist, as
stated in the “work history” section
of my profile.
Every once in a while an ad will
pop up for an online receptionist
Culture Editor
I love Facebook.
I also hate it.
It’s a very tricky relationship.
Facebook is great for a variety
of reasons.
I am now back in touch with
people I haven’t spoken with since
fifth grade.
I can keep in touch with friends
in other countries, regardless of the
time difference.
“When I switched
my status from ‘in a
relationship’ to ‘single,’
I noticed the ads switch.
Instead of offers for
engagement rings and
couples vacations, I am
now forced to look at
links to dating Web sites
for singles.”
And I can network with people
who share similar interests.
Unfortunately, Facebook’s additions to my life are not all positive.
One bone of contention I chew
is with Facebook advertisements.
The ads are cheeky and, to say
the least, annoying.
I’ve taken an advertising class. I
know how it works.
Facebook uses certain filters in
user profiles to determine which
ads should show up along the side
of their pages.
Based on the information the
user provides, Facebook attempts
to strategically place ads to match
program or a sale on hair color.
But that’s the extent of it – every
once in a while.
The majority of “my” ads seem
to be those based around my relationship (or lack
thereof).
I wonder what
would happen if I
changed my relationship status to
“it’s complicated.”
Would I start
seeing ads for marriage counseling?
Or for swingers
clubs?
Don’t get me
wrong, I understand their strategy.
Advertisers like to
have a target market
– a group of people
to whom they are specifically marketing.
If Facebook were to place the
same ads on every single member’s
page, the advertisers would not get
nearly as many hits (which is why
I am not proposing this idea as the
solution).
I simply think Facebook and its
advertisers should use a wider variety of information from people’s
profiles before strategically pairing
them with ads.
I would like to see a nice combination of ads about work history,
interests and even general information like favorite music and
movies.
And if one or two relationshipbased ads happen to pop up in the
mix, I can deal with that.
[email protected]
What do you think?
How do you feel about the Chiefs so far?
A. I’m a loyal fan
B. I can expect more from my ex than the Chiefs
C. We’ll see. It’s only the beginning
September 21, 2009
Word on Campus
Interviewed by MELISSA ORIBHABOR
Who is Leo Morton?
“I don’t know, unfortunately.
Does he have to do with the
school? I know they’ve been
getting a lot of new deans, but I
really have no idea.”
“No idea. I’ve never heard that
name before ... an artist?”
CHEYONNA SEWELL
Senior
Criminology
SARAH MONTOYA
Freshman
Pre-law/Psychology
“I have no idea. I probably
should. I’m guessing it’s a
political figure or the inventor
and owner of Morton Salt
Company.”
“Hell, I don’t know. Is he a
historical figure?”
SARAH WESSEL
Senior
Art History
LEXEE TRIGG
Freshman
General Education
“The chancellor ... is he the
chancellor or interim chancellor?
I think he might be the
chancellor.”
“He’s the chancellor. I remember
getting e-mails about him and
I’ve met him before, and there’s
a bulletin board in the Education
Building that says, ‘Chancellor
Leo Morton.’”
ANGELA SUBLETT KNIGHT
Senior
Education
KATHERINE WRIGHT
Junior
Institute of Urban Education
Go to www.unews.com and tell us your answer!
Your answers to last week’s question:
How often
do you recycle?
C. 19%
A. 75%
B. 6%
A. Regularly
B. Never
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B
C
GOALS from page 4
The Faculty Senate did raise some concerns about the wording of some goals.
Hackett pointed out that only minor
changes would be accepted at the late
stage of development.
“What I don’t want to do at this point is
open it all up for major editing,” Hackett
said. “Minor editing is OK.”
Professor Caroline Davies, of Geosciences, noted that she remembered doing
more rewording to goal number two in an
attempt to make it expand to other disciplines.
“Is there any way of being more inclu-
sive?” she asked.
Hackett said she felt there was enough
language throughout the entire plan that
included all facets of the university.
Goal four was generally accepted, but
many thought implementing the goal of excelling in the arts might be difficult.
A number of other small changes were
put on record. Shortly after the senate reviews the revisions, the document will be
published.
Faculty Senate Chair Gary Ebersole
noted that this document will be a great
benefit to UMKC.
“It is a planning document and it is a
political document,” he said.
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