Strut that stuff (against violence)

www.unews.com
September 28, 2009
Vol. 77, Issue 6
Strut that stuff
(against violence)
M
Kelley Kates
Staff Writer
any men are quite
skilled at walking
in heels – at least
here at UMKC.
Last Tuesday
evening, more than 100 people gathered at the University Playhouse to
participate in and watch this year’s
“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.”
The event, sponsored by the
Women’s Center, is an International
Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual
Assault and Gender Violence.
For the third consecutive year,
UMKC men took to the streets
surrounding the Volker campus to
walk for an entire mile in women’s
high-heeled shoes, all to benefit the
UMKC Violence Prevention and
Response Project and the Kansas
City Anti-Violence Project.
The event received a much larger
turnout than last year.
Participants received a peach tshirt decorated with a red stiletto
and food from Chris Cakes for $15.
The underlying idea for the campaign is to understand someone
else, you must walk a mile in their
shoes.
David Belt, coordinator of the
Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, and Missouri State
Representative Beth Low spoke at the
event and encouraged men and women
alike to rally together to stop sexual assault and violence against women.
Photos KEVIN BRYCE
Sigma Alpha Epsilon members show some skin at “Walk a Mile in her Shoes.”
Belt said how you look or feel in
the high heels is not the focus.
He said it is about understanding
how the opposite gender feels and
their experiences.
Building that understanding is
key to what “Walk a Mile in Her
Shoes” wants to accomplish.
Low explained that sexual assault and violence affect everyone,
not just women.
She said these horrific occurrences happen to men’s sisters,
wives and mothers and can affect
their relationships.
By participating in “Walk a Mile in
Her Shoes,” men are exemplifying that
they are taking a stand against gender
violence and are willing to make the
world a little bit safer for the women
they care about.
According to the “Walk a Mile
in Her Shoes” Web site, someone in
America is raped every two minutes
and one in every six American women
is a victim of sexual assault.
These statistics are just a sample
of the reasons UMKC men took to the
streets
to demand a
stop to these
gender-based
crimes.
The participants did
not attempt to
take the easy
road out. The
men were seen
in red stilettos, platforms,
gold pumps,
thin strappies
and even zebra
print heels for
the fashionistas.
Awards with
funky names were
given to participants.
For instance, the Platforms
award, which the Kansas City
Police Department won as a team, was
given to the group and individual who
faired the best in fundraising. Keith
Winterhalter won this category as an
individual.
An award was also given to the
man who strutted the best in his heels.
It went to Tony Hay. Andrew Sass won
the Nike award for finishing first and
Stiletto awards were given out to the
teams and individuals who wholly embraced the event.
The walk was lighthearted fun and
began with No Doubt’s “Hey Baby”
blaring over the sound system, but the
men participating were putting their
hearts into a cause that signifies a
heavy concern.
The blog on the UMKC Women’s
Center Web site stated, “Although the
event was full of fun and laughs, the
cause is very serious.
Every day, thousands of people, including college students, are victims of
sexual assault and domestic violence.
“Walk a Mile” raises awareness of
these issues.
[email protected]
Always dry, but occasionally wet campus
Kelley Kates
INSIDE
HOMECOMING
SCHEDULE
page 7
CRIME PETITION
page 5
ART FAIR
page 8
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
BY NATHAN LANG
Staff Writer
Attention has recently been drawn to
some seemingly contradictory statements
in UMKC’s alcohol policy.
UMKC is a “dry campus,” although there are a few exceptions.
The alcohol policy listed in
the student handbook states,
“The use or possession of any alcoholic beverage is
strictly prohibited
on all university
property except
where appropriate university
approval is given, subject to
legal requirements.”
The policy
refers patrons
to the Student
Life
Office
for applicable
guidelines and
to the Office of
Student Auxiliary Services for the use of alcohol.
The handbook also lists a
policy for social events regarding the presence of alcohol,
which reflect Missouri state
laws.
For instance, no one under the age of 21
can be intoxicated or in possession of alcohol, nor can anyone of age distribute alcohol in any way to an underage person.
The host of the event is held accountable
for every person’s actions at the event.
A section of the handbook, titled “Policies Affecting All UMKC-Recognized Student Organizations,” states that organizations planning to sponsor alcohol-related
events must send a representative annually
to a one-hour risk-management program
sponsored by the Student Life Office.
“The use or possession of any
alcoholic beverage is strictly
prohibited on all university
property except where appropriate
university approval is given, subject
to legal requirements.”
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Organizations having an off-campus
event must give notification by submitting
an Alcohol Social Event Registration Form
72 hours prior to the event.
Those who are having one on campus
must submit the form two weeks prior.
The rules stipulate that events can’t be
advertised as alcohol-related and student
fees cannot be used.
The location of the event is also important.
All events on campus that serve alcohol must be held in designated conference
rooms and be in compliance with Missouri
State Liquor laws.
Noah Curtis, of Student Auxiliary Services, has the final approval over which
organizations will be able to hold alcoholrelated events.
The Student Handbook lists an alcohol
policy affecting Student Organizations but
Curtis said, “No student event will be approved.”
“We are a dry campus,” he said.
He added that the alcohol policy was
put in place to accommodate events for an
older crowd where the “over 21” make-up
consisted of at least 90 percent.
For example, Alumni and the Board of
Curators could receive approval, Curtis
said.
Although UMKC is a dry campus, Curtis said some of these groups will receive
approval for alcohol-related events, but
they must go through a strict process of
applying in a timely manner and purchase
their own alcohol.
Curtis, however, did make his point clear.
“Student groups couldn’t come in and
get approved,” he affirmed.
[email protected]
2
News
September 28, 2009
www.unews.com
SIFE discovers whole new world
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
With seven days, six schools and a world
much different than our own, the UMKC SIFE
team became trail blazers for the future of international education.
From Sept. 12-19, nine members of the
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) travelled
through China, speaking to more than 1,600
Chinese students interested in studying abroad
about what it’s like to be a student in America.
“We felt bigger than The Beatles,” Jeremy
Hegle, Business Advisory Board Member,
said. “They were just so excited to have us
there and so excited to interact and listen to
what we had to say. And the applause we got
was great.”
Students who went on the trip include Jason Patterson, president of SIFE, Roger Moore,
vice president, Tara Nigh, vice president, Katie
Scheiding, Rachel King, Vaughn English and
Mi Zhao.
They were accompanied by Hegle and Cary
Clark, Sam Walton Fellow and director of the
UMKC SIFE team.
During the week, they visited Nanjing Qiuzhen High School, Nanjing Foreign Language
School, Nanjing Ninghai Middle School, Jinling High School Hexi Branch, Nanjing University of Technology and Jiangsu Education
Service for International Exchange to give presentations.
It was an unprecedented journey all made
possible by Zhao, who is originally from Nanjing. She spoke to the schools on behalf of
UMKC, gaining access for the SIFE team to
speak to the students.
“It was great that we could use networking
within our group to make all of this happen,”
Moore said.
Overall, the team agrees that the trip was a
great success.
“There was a certain degree of nervousness
that we will go over and mess up or not meet
their expectations,” Hegle said. “It was really
nice that we didn’t.”
Patterson explained that the group had a
Photo courtesy JEREMY HEGLE
Tara Nigh at city wall of Nanjing, China.
Photo courtesy JEREMY HEGLE
The SIFE team climbs 392 steps at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, China. Each step represents one million people in China at the time of his death in 1927.
good idea of what they wanted to say during
the presentations, but they did not have it finely
tuned yet.
Clark elaborated.
“Imagine you have been invited to sing the
national anthem at the Chiefs game,” Clark
said. “But can you imagine that everyone
might be silent after you are done like they did
with the Roseanne Barr thing?”
Turns out, the team had nothing to worry
about.
“They wanted autographs, business cards
and pictures,” Hegle said. “I thought it was
cool to see everyone having fun with that. It
was not a comparison between Chinese culture. They [Chinese students] could realized
that Americans are not all rich, living in the
apple pie world.”
They only had one glitch in their presentation during the first afternoon. They mentioned that American students can sometimes
call professors by their first names.
That is considered disrespectful in Chinese
culture. So, for the rest of the time, that subject
was omitted from the presentation.
The SIFE team received feedback and questions from students during and after presentations. They are also still receiving e-mails from
students who have questions.
The schools were so pleased with the success of the visits that SIFE has been invited
to come back in the future. Some schools are
planning trips for students to visit UMKC.
“To hear that these schools want to establish
a relationship with UMKC, it really makes us
feel like we did a good job,” Moore said. “It
can open up the doors for more opportunities.”
Currently, Jiangsu Education Service for
International Exchange only deals with 13
schools in the United States and UMKC is one
of them.
“We felt bigger than The Beatles.”
JEREMY HEGLE
Business Advisory Board
The group said the magnitude of their trip
did not really hit them until they got back.
“People ask ‘how did you do this?’” Clark
said. “It appears, and they didn’t tell us before
we went, that this just doesn’t happen. We had
doors open to us.”
It is very rare for American students to have
contact with groups of Chinese students.
“Have you ever known another group to
achieve something of this magnitude?” Moore
said. “The Bloch School has a study abroad
program where they send students away for a
week. But I don’t think a student organization
in the history of the Bloch School has done a
project like this, of this high of magnitude that
we did.”
Between presentations, the group was able
to go sight-seeing.
Their favorite sites include the Ming dynasty tombs, the Confucius Temple and the
defense wall.
The SIFE team is very grateful to the
schools they visited and Zhao’s parents for
planning sites for them to go see.
They said everything about the culture
seems different.
“It was definitely different in every way
you can think of,” Hegle said. “It was not culture shock, but culture overload, maybe. Before, I asked Mi what would be the one thing
that would shock me. She said all the people.
Even though I know that there are 1.3 billion
people there and she told us that, it was still
surprising to see. I didn’t expect to see all 1.3
billion people.”
Hegle also noted that the language barrier,
at times, got in the way.
“There was one store I went into and I said,
‘Ni hao,’ which is hello,” he said. “I quickly realized that was a mistake because they thought
I spoke Chinese. Then he started talking really
quickly and I had no clue.”
Everyone agreed that driving might be
problematic for Americans in China, saying
they might last “14 seconds.”
“All the people with bicycles and scooters
and the cars interacting on the streets, it would
never have gone well had I been driving,” Patterson said. “I guess we are just not used to
that.”
All-in-all, the SIFE team said the trip was
fun and a great way to highlight UMKC.
“It was like we were the rock stars of Nanjing,” Clark said, and everyone chuckled in
agreement.
[email protected]
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3
News
www.unews.com
September 28, 2009
Veterans find financial relief
Tyler Allen
Assistant News Editor
When Shane McCracken was relieved of active duty from the Marine Corps, he planned to
use his GI Bill benefits to fund his college education.
But actually receiving the benefits proved difficult.
“I came from Metropolitan Community College and … I was getting the Montgomery GI
Bill and they were just absolutely a terror when
Photo illustration ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
it came down to getting my cash and paying off
school to the point where they would not let you
attend classes till the government coughs up cash
for it,” McCracken said.
McCracken was running into the same types
of problems many veterans are still facing today.
With the large influx of veterans seeking GI
Bill benefits and with the implementation of the
new post-9/11 GI Bill, which seeks to expand the
number of veterans who qualify for education
support, many are not receiving their funds in
time to pay tuition.
With the introduction of some new financial
relief options for veterans, UMKC is seeking to
assist those who still have not received federal aid.
Through these options, veterans who have
not yet received their GI Bill benefits can defer
tuition payments until they have received their
federal funds.
After attending two other schools prior to
UMKC, McCracken is very satisfied with the relief UMKC is providing.
“[UMKC is] going to defer payments [and]
they’ll allow me to go to class right now without having to worry about the government not
taking care of its responsibilities,” McCracken
said. “They’re doing an excellent job, being very
forthcoming and the communication is excellent.
I couldn’t ask for anything more. They are a hell
of a lot more helpful than the other two schools
I’ve been to so far.”
Besides deferring tuition payments, UMKC
Alumna selected as Missouri’s
Teacher of the Year
Tyler Allen
“I think an important lesson I took from
UMKC professors is to make it relevant for
Susanne Mitko was a semester away from my students — and enthusiasm too,” she said.
earning a law degree from UMKC when a “They were such enthusiastic teachers and I
hope I still share that in my own room.”
trip abroad changed her life.
Her methods helped her earn Missouri’s
After conducting field research in Ireland, Mitko returned to the United States Teacher of the Year honor.
“[The parent who nomiand gave speeches on behalf
nated me] liked the fact that
of the International Relations
I made it more relevant to
Council.
the students and made them
“That’s when I knew I
engaged,” Mitko said. “Her
wanted to be a teacher,” she
daughter became very exsaid. “I went back and got my
cited about history, where
teaching certificate and have
she really hadn’t been that
never regretted it. I think this
excited before.”
is exactly where I’m supEven though she knew
posed to be.”
she had been nominated,
Earlier this month, Mitko
Mitko describes being sewas selected as Missouri’s
lected as Missouri’s Teacher
Teacher of the Year for 2009of the Year as overwhelming.
10. The selection process
“There are so many inincluded a nomination from
credible teachers in my
Photo courtesy SUSANNE MITKO
one of her student’s parent, a
series of interviews and a 12- Missouri’s teacher of the year building and my district and
the state,” Mitko said. “It’s
Susanna Mitko.
page application.
hard to say you’re the best
“I tell my students it’s like
teacher in the state, that’s not
the Miss America awards miwhat this award means. But it does give me
nus the swimsuit competition,” Mitko said.
the opportunity to speak on behalf of eduThis year marks her sixth year teaching cation and teachers and my students and for
Social Studies at Bernard Campbell Middle that, I really am honored.”
School in the Lee’s Summit School District.
Mitko advises future teachers to “be a
But her 18-year teaching career began at sponge and absorb everything they can from
UMKC.
every teacher and every learning opportuWhile on campus, Mitko was involved in nity.”
student government, became student body
She said it takes three things to be a good
vice president and wrote for the U-News.
teacher.
“I went through UMKC in the early ’80s
“One, you’ve got to know your subject
and really enjoyed it,” she said. “I had some matter,” Mitko said, “two you’ve got to keep
incredible teachers at UMKC. I think the His- learning and three, the most important, is
tory Department in particular did a terrific you’ve got to care about those students. Those
job. They had such engaging professors who need to be your top priorities. If you’ve got
really made history interesting.”
those three things, then you will be a good
When Mitko began teaching, she tried to teacher.”
bring that same approach into her classroom.
[email protected]
Assistant News Editor
is also offering short-term loans to veterans and
waiving the application fee. The one percent finance charge can also be waived as long as the
veteran requests it.
“They are a hell of a lot more
helpful than the other two schools
I’ve been to so far.”
SHANE MCCRACKEN
Veteran
However, the relief options are not available
to every veteran.
“This is only applicable to the veterans who
are receiving GI Bill benefits,” Amy Cole, assistant registrar, said. “It wouldn’t be applicable to
veterans who have exhausted their GI Bill benefits because they’re not waiting on the [Department of Veteran Affairs] to pay for school.”
Most veterans, like McCracken, are happy
with the relief services UMKC is providing.
“I do think it’s a very good thing, what they’re
doing,” veteran Brad Krzysztow said. “They
know that a lot of people are kind of waiting and
waiting for the money to go through with the
post-9/11 GI Bill and its taking a lot longer because it’s a brand new program this year … but
I think that’s really cool that they’re offering that
as a short term type fix.”
Besides being eligible for GI Bill benefits,
veterans from Missouri can also take advantage
of the Missouri Returning Heroes Act (MRHA).
The MRHA states, if you were a resident of
Missouri when entering the military, enlisted in
Missouri and were discharged from service under honorable conditions, all public universities
shall offer tuition at $50 per credit hour.
The bill also states that if a veteran is receiving any other federal or state student aid, those
funds are applied to tuition costs before offering
classes at $50 per credit hour.
Veterans like Alex Murphy think this provision isn’t fair.
“Any time you get any kind of financial aid,
as far as like Pell Grants or free money, [UMKC]
doesn’t give you your Missouri Returning Heroes
Act, which sucks,” Murphy said. “A lot of veterans have been pretty upset with it as far as how
UMKC is dealing with it.”
Under the bill, any grant money a veteran receives will be used to pay for tuition at full-price.
If there is a balance left, then the veteran will be
eligible for the $50 per credit hour rate provided
under the MRHA.
Murphy thinks this is wrong.
“If I would have been able to do the MRHA,
I could have saved my TA [Army Tuition Assistance] for something else because you only get
$4,500 a year for TA,” Murphy said.
I
See VETERAN page 16
4
News
September 28, 2009
www.unews.com
Think Grenk for green printing
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
Combining environmental practices
with ink equals Grenk.
Grenk is a remanufactured ink cartridge
and ink toner created with saving the environment in mind – and UMKC is the first
college in the country to use it.
However, with only seven departments
ordering the product, LaserCycle President
Charlotte Barksdale said there is room to
expand.
“You are the first to use it, but you have
not quite embraced it,” Barksdale said. “We
feel this really fits in with the university’s
mission of sustainability.”
“We feel this really fits in with
the university’s mission of
sustainability.”
CHARLOTTE BARKSDALE
LaserCycle President
Grenk cartridges are made by a local
company called InkCycle and are distributed to hundreds of companies nationally
by the sister company LaserCycle.
Owner and founder of the sister companies, Rick Krska, is committed to making
the process of recycling used ink and toner
cartridges as environmentally friendly as
possible while creating a good product.
As the number one producer of remanufactured cartridges in the world, some customers include Hallmark, KCP&L, UMB,
Commerce Bank, the city of Olathe and JE
Dunn.
Barksdale said the company strives to
be very transparent with its customers, letting them know exactly how the product is
produced. In fact, they offer tours and materials to explain the process.
First, the empty cartridges arrive, the
inside is completely cleaned out so it’s like
new, a new sponge and ink are placed inside, the product goes through stringent
testing and then it is shipped off to customers.
With strict quality standards, Sean
Burns, business operations manager for
LaserCycle, said they go to great lengths
to ensure customers are satisfied with the
Photo courtesy INK CYCLE PRESS RELATIONS
Cartridges are filled and tested in assembly lines at the facility located in Lenexa, Kan.
product.
Each cartridge is put in a printer and
tested.
“I think we are the most frequent purchasers of used printers on Ebay,” he joked.
Going through so many supplies, the
company recycles as much as possible.
The used paper is recycled for packing,
the plastic chards and retired cartridges are
sent off to be burnt and used as a power
source and Krska took an unprecedented
step in purchasing a water filtration system
so the water used to clean out the cartridges
will be clean before it’s sent back to the water plant for reuse.
UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton is a
mentor to Barksdale. She has spoken with
him about the companies’ commitment to
the environment.
“As he said to me, this is not something
that you can force down people’s throats,”
Barksdale said. “However, if it fits within a
strategy, then it would work.”
Benefits of using Grenk include a saving of 20-30 percent off retail prices of cartridges and UMKC receives same-day or
next-day delivery.
Students, staff and faculty can receive
the same benefits as the university if they
choose to order for personal printers.
For more information, e-mail Joshua
Trask at [email protected] or visit
www.lasercycle.com
[email protected]
Currently, seven departments are
using Grenk cartridges:
1. Parking Services
2. Environmental Health
3. Computing and Engineering
4. Human Resources
5. Procurement Services
6. Administration
7. Networking and
Telecommunication
Gift furthers environmental research
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
Last Monday was a day of celebration here
at UMKC.
Sept. 21, university officials announced a
$1.7 million gift to the UMKC School of Computing and Engineering that will pave the way
for leading renewable energy and environmental research.
The gift came from Andress Kernick, an
engineer for more than 43 years who holds 25
U.S. Patents, some of which were used in the
Apollo Command Module for NASA, Space
Shuttle Orbiter and L-1011 Airbus.
Lila Dickerson, a family member of Kernick and UMKC student who intends to study
Chemistry and/or Law, was present for the announcement and was recognized as a co-donor.
“The School of Computing and Engineer-
ing is extremely honored to receive such a
generous gift, which will allow students and
faculty to conduct cutting-edge research to
find solutions to furnish fuel, clean water and
improved soil,” said Dr. Kevin Truman, dean
of the School of Computing and Engineering.
“It also strongly supports our existing commitment to interdisciplinary research.”
The research will be completed in collaboration with the college of Arts and Sciences’
Department of Chemistry.
Research possibilities include converting
biomass energy into renewable sources, developing hydro, nuclear, wind and solar power
sources that do not produce carbon dioxide
and/or researching and developing a fuel cell,
which operates on renewable energy.
Also on Sept. 21, the university announced
that the UMKC Board of Trustees $14.1 million endowment was transferred to the UMKC
Foundation, which became the university’s primary fundraiser Aug. 1.
It was the first flow of money to the foundation since August.
Murray Blackwelder, president of the
UMKC Foundation, expressed his appreciation
for Kernick’s gift.
“The UMKC Foundation is tremendously
grateful for Mr. Kernick’s generous pledge of
support,” Blackwelder said. “Mr. Kernick’s
commitment leads the way as the first major
gift made to the UMKC Foundation, and it will
allow UMKC to be a leader in renewable energy and environmental research.”
Joining other alumni and friends who have
remembered the university through a gift in estate plans, Kernick and his late wife, Marjorie,
will be acknowledged as members of UMKC’s
Robert H. Flarsheim Society.
[email protected]
Photo ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
Andress Kernick donated $1.7 million to the university.
5
News
www.unews.com
September 28, 2009
ANDY WARHOL’S ‘INDEX (BOOK)’
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
From the images of Brillo pads
that grace the front to the cans of
tomato juice on page two, Andy
Warhol’s “Index (Book)” is far
from your traditional book of art.
In 1967, Random House printed this strange book in a series
called “Black Star.”
It was created with the assistance of Stephen Shore, among
others – most notably David Paul.
Several of the photos were
taken by the renowned Nat Finkelstein, who studied photography under Alexey Brodovitch, the
legendary art director of Harper’s
Bazaar.
The factory photographs were
snapped by Billy Name.
Expect the unexpected in this
odd book that questions established society.
Some particularly interesting
pages include a pop-up picture
and an “Interview with Andy at
by ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
the Balloon Farm.”
The transcribed interview
takes place between Warhol and a
German journalist.
While the questions asked by
the reporter are only half-way sensible, the answers given by Warhol
are completely unfathomable.
A chilling excerpt from the
book is a spread that simply says,
“We’re attacked constantly.”
To view “Index (Book)” in its
entirety, visit the LaBudde Special Collections Department of the
Miller Nichols Library.
Visit http://library.umkc.edu/
spec-col-home for more information about the library’s collections.
From Oct. 2, 2009 to Jan. 10,
2010, Union Station is featuring
the “Andy Warhol Portfolios: Life
& Legend” exhibit. Tickets are
available online at http://warhol.
unionstation.org/.
[email protected]
Photo courtesy LABUDDE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Andy Warhol’s “Index (Book)” is housed in LaBudde Special Collections.
Petitions bring crime awareness
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
With theft-related crimes on the rise, residents of the Old
Hyde Park neighborhood are putting their foot down.
A series of crimes over the course of the summer – including a murder – led the residents of the 3500 block of Wyandotte
Road to start being proactive about crime prevention.
Rachael Herndon, UMKC student and Old Hyde Park neighborhood block captain, has been leading the efforts.
“I don’t want to wake up and realize my car has been broken
into,” Herndon said. “It’s just inconvenience. If there is anything I can do to impair a possible inconvenience, I will do it.”
The neighborhood officially united Sept. 10 when residents
gathered at Herndon’s apartment, discussed concerns and conferred with Captain Bob McLees, from the Kansas City, Mo.
Police Department (KCPD), about the role the police department would play.
“I know a lot of the issues happened because
everyone was afraid to call the police.”
RACHAEL HERNDON
UMKC Student
On behalf of the neighborhood, Herndon has drafted three
petitions based upon the feedback from McLees and neighbors,
including “Have KCPD weed out the bad seeds,” “Change the
hours of the Lost Sock” and “Crack down on Holy Smokes.”
She said each of the petitions highlight areas within the community that need to be addressed to reduce crime.
“Have KCPD weed out the bad seeds” was drafted after residents expressed concerns about a large amount of foot traffic
going between three apartment buildings including the Alps,
located at 36th Street and Baltimore Avenue, the New Yorker,
at 36th Street and Baltimore Avenue, and Westport Central, at
35th Street and Broadway Boulevard.
“They started coming back and trespassing on our property – literally jumping into our dumpster,” Herndon said.
“Then we started getting our bicycles stolen and our windows
smashed. It’s just not cool. But fortunately, it’s just opportunistic crimes.”
The Lost Sock laundromat, located at 3527 Main St., is open
24 hours a day.
The “Change the hours of the Lost Sock” petition states that
the hours welcome crime.
“At the very least,” it reads, “Lost Sock should have an at-
tendant at all times, which they currently do not. It is very disappointing that this institution would allow crime to go free at
night.”
Lastly, “Crack down on Holy Smokes” addresses the criminal activity happening at the Holy Smokes convenience store.
This petition will be submitted to the city, the KCPD and the
owners of the business.
“There has been much concern surrounding Holy Smokes,
more commonly known as Murder Mark, Crack Stop or Smoke
Shack, located at 36th and Baltimore beside the Alps,” the petition reads. “This convenience store is a thorn in the side of the
KCPD, selling beers by the can and being a common drop spot
for drug sellers and users.”
As of Saturday, the online petitions have a total of 65 signatures. Herndon plans to go door-to-door to spread awareness
and gather more signatures.
Herndon said the KCPD has been a great ally in the efforts to
rid the neighborhood of crime.
“I mean I could tell my owner, why don’t you put up some
fences and some cameras,” she said. “But that does not mean
they are actually going to work. The fact that the police department has a department that these properties can work with so
we can have relevant changes occur is actually refreshing.”
She recognizes that a number of issues have gone unaddressed for a long time because people were afraid to speak
up.
“I know a lot of the issues happened because everyone
was afraid to call the police,” she said. “Now that we are not
afraid to call the police, people have been calling them left
and right.”
The unity within her block has also led to collaboration with
surrounding neighborhoods.
Petitions:
“Crack down on Holy Smokes”
This petition addresses the concerns
involving the Holy Smokes convenience
store, located at 36th Street and Baltimore
Avenue.
Photo ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
Holy Smokes, at 36th and Baltimore, is also known as Crack Stop.
“Hyde Park has been corresponding with me to know what
we are doing and how they can apply that,” she said. “Which is
good to know that not only are we making a difference on our
block, but other people can apply that as a model for their own.”
On Sunday afternoon, the residents of Old Hyde Park held a
social to make their presence known.
Herndon said she hopes people will see that they will not
stand for crime anymore.
For more information about the petitions, contact Herndon
at [email protected].
[email protected]
“Change the hours of Lost Sock”
This petition has to do with the activity at the
Lost Sock laundromat,
located at 3627 Main St.
“Have KCPD weed out the bad seeds”
This petition draws attention to three apartment buildings, including the Alps,
36th Street and Baltimore Avenue, the New
Yorker, 36th Street and Baltimore Avenue, and
Westport Central, 35th Street and Broadway
Boulevard.
6
News
September 28, 2009
briefly mentioned
by TYLER ALLEN
www.unews.com
Police Blotter
Campus
Miller Nichols Library turns 40
The University’s largest library is turning
40 and getting a face lift.
As construction moves along, Miller Nichols Library is celebrating its 40th anniversary
this year.
To celebrate, a reception will be held at 5
p.m. on Oct. 2 in the Nichols Library Information Commons.
Missouri Senator Jolie Justus will be on
hand to present an official state proclamation recognizing the library’s 40 years of
service.
On display at the reception will be a
LaBudde Special Collections photo exhibit
chronicling the library’s past.
Also in commemoration of the anniversary
is the lecture series “Libraries Inside/Out.”
Through six lunch presentations, librarians
will show how libraries are transforming from
stuffy book vaults into bright and lively online
learning facilities.
For more information on “Libraries Inside/
Out,” visit the Miller Nichols Library Web site
at http://library.umkc.edu/.
Professor appointed to energy cost regulation board
Kansas governor Mark Parkinson has appointed Stephanie Kelton and Nancy Scott
Jackson to the Citizens Utility Ratepayer
Board.
The board provides legal and technical representation for residential and small commercial utility ratepayers and ensures that utilities
are only allowed to charge reasonable rates to
Kansans.
“Kansas citizens and businesses depend on
their utilities to carry out their everyday lives,
but they shouldn’t have to break the bank to
have basic services,” Parkinson said in a press
release. “Stephanie and Nancy will bring the
needed experience to ensure Kansans are receiving a just and fair treatment when it comes
to their utilities.”
Kelton is a professor of Economics at
UMKC. Jackson is the executive director of
the Climate and Energy Project at the Land
institute.
Parkinson also appointed Jeffery Jabara to
the Advisory Committee on Regulation of Oil
and Gas Activities.
The Advisory Committee reviews and
makes recommendations on oil and gas activities, such as drilling methods and geologic formation standards.
Sept. 18
Sept. 22
7:32 a.m. Burglary –
A faculty member left her wallet overnight in her locked office
located in the Health Science
Building. It was missing when
she returned the next morning.
3:29 p.m. Larceny –
A party was stopped for a traffic violation at 50th Street and
Rockhill Road and was arrested
for an outstanding federal warrant.
3:34 p.m. Larceny –
A student left her cell phone unattended in the Miller Nichols
Library. She returned to find it
missing.
3:43 p.m. Larceny –
A student’s bicycle was removed
from the rack at the University
Center.
Sept. 19
1:20 p.m. Fraud –
A suspect attempted to use another student’s ID to purchase an
item from the University Bookstore.
4:52 p.m. Property Damage –
A victim living at 53rd Street and
Rockhill Road heard someone
break glass on the front door and
run from the residence.
Celebrate Homecoming by giving back
As part of the Homecoming festivities,
the Student Life Office is offering students a
chance to give back to the community.
Join other students, faculty and staff on
Oct. 3 for Community Service Day 2009. Participants are asked to meet at 8:30 a.m. at the
Sept. 20
University Playhouse. They will then head to
local elementary and middle schools to assist
in renovation projects.
Interested individuals can register for the
event by calling the Student Life Office at 816235-1407 or sign in upon arrival. Feast to break a fast
Alexia Stout-Lang
attend the event. We then had to plan the decorations,
what food we would be serving and how to publicize
for this event.”
With about 180 students in PSA alone, the group
planned for 120-140 students to attend the Eid dinner.
Authentic Arabic and Pakistani food was provided
by Jerusalem Café and Kababish, two local restaurants.
Students were also able to receive free Henna designs, body art created by mixing a powder and water,
often applied to hands and feet in artistic patterns.
[email protected]
News Editor
What better way to celebrate the end of a fast than
with a feast?
The Pakistani Student Association (PSA), the
Muslim Student Association (MSA) and the Arab
Student Association (ASA) joined forces last Friday
to celebrate Eid, a holiday that occurs at the end of the
month of Ramadan.
The groups sponsored a campus-wide dinner to
commemorate the end of the fasting that occurs during Ramadan.
Although PSA has hosted the event in past years,
this is the first year all three organizations have joined
forces to plan the dinner.
“We are looking forward to expanding our range
and reaching out to more of the UMKC community,”
Sarah Hussain, sophomore and PSA Public Relations
Officer, said about the collaboration.
Although she noted that planning with other
groups did take more effort. Schedules sometimes
presented problems.
“Planning these events takes so much more effort
than people would generally realize,” Hussain said.
“We first had to find a location that would accommodate the number of people who we assumed would
by ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
12:03 a.m. Disturbance –
A party at 54th and Holmes
streets was contacted in regard to
loud noise from a residence.
3:50 p.m. Larceny –
A student returned to her vehicle
parked in the Oak Street Parking
Structure to find her left rear tire
missing.
Sept. 23
5:23 p.m. Hit & Run Vehicular –
A victim returned to his vehicle
parked in a Hospital Hill lot to
find damage and a note from a
witness.
7:15 p.m. Disturbance –
Two parties in Oak Place Apartments got into a loud verbal
argument and the police were
called.
7:37 p.m. Alarm –
A fog machine caused the alarm
to go off at Johnson Hall.
Sept. 24
10:26 a.m. Larceny –
A victim observed the suspect
taking her wallet from her purse
in the University Center. The suspect ran and was subsequently
apprehended by police with citizen assistance. All property was
returned to the victim.
Sept. 21
2:13 p.m. Larceny –
A student left his mountain bike
chained to the rack at Johnson
Hall and returned to find it missing.
12:21 p.m. Burglary –
A victim left money in a desk that
wasn’t secured in 4747 Troost
Ave. and returned to find it missing.
3:37 p.m. Vehicular –
A vehicle was stopped at a stop
sign at Bixby Lane and another
vehicle struck it from behind.
Campus Crimes as of Sept. 25
CRIMES
BURGLARY*
ROBBERY
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT*
LARCENY
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
COMMON ASSAULT
FORCIBLE SEX OFFENSES
DRUG LAW VIOLATIONS
2008 YTD 2009 YTD
13
18
0
2
3
3
106
87
1
0
3
6
0
2
8
3
* MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS AND BURGLARIES INCLUDE ATTEMPTS
Police tip of the week
Photo KEVIN BRYCE
A student applies a Henna design to another student’s hand.
From Michele Taylor, UMKC Crime Prevention
Newshound?
University News
(816) 235-1393 • [email protected]
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Theft is the most frequently reported crime on the
UMKC campuses. The majority of the thefts are of unattended
personal property.
If a crime occurs, report it immediately to the UMKC
Police Department at 816-235-1515, or dial 911.
Culture
www.unews.com
7
September 28, 2009
Hanson grows up
Hilary Saskin
I
Culture Editor
t started with three longhaired boys.
They sang and played
instruments and loved every
minute of it.
The boys are now men, and
they have come a long way since
“MMMBop.”
“For one thing, the time period
causes the craft that you do to sort of
refine itself,” Taylor Hanson, member
of Hanson, said. “You kind of develop
your style. You pick up influences
along the way. You’re able to execute
that initial idea and you’re that much
better.”
With four studio albums to the
band’s name and a fifth on the way,
Taylor and his brothers (Zac and Isaac
Hanson, bandmates) are no strangers
to the world of music.
And Taylor has a lot of insight on
the ways time has affected their music.
“As a whole we haven’t changed,”
he said. “We’ve always pulled from
old school music and classic rock and
roll as our first kind of core influence. And that really has always been
there.”
One thing that has changed, however, is how people hear their music.
Taylor believes people hear their
songs in a different light now than
they did back in 1997, when their first
album came out.
“If nothing else you heard these
high young voices because we were
kids,” he said about Hanson’s early
music.
With deeper voices and years of
experience, they are developing a
whole new fan base.
Taylor said a majority of their fans
Photo courtesy BRYAN JOHNSON
Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson.
have gone forward with them.
They listened to the band back in
1997 and continue to do so today.
“High school students up to late
20s, early 30s – that’s our core is that
span of people,” he said. “[Fans] are
definitely not the same age as when
we started out.”
By “the same age,” Taylor means
the 10-year olds who would dance in
the front row of their concerts.
But that doesn’t mean they are
no longer loved by teeny boppers all
over.
And Taylor is glad that has not
changed.
“I would hope that a 10-year-old
would always like our music,” he said.
“For me, a great song is a great song.”
Taylor’s primary means of distinguishing a good song is his children.
If they like a song, he said that’s
how he knows it must be great, because there is something causing an
“instinctual response.”
Aside from their following, Hanson has changed in a variety of other
aspects too.
As a band, Taylor credits a decade
full of experiences for shaping who
they are today.
And he is full of optimism for the
band’s future.
“We still have so much ahead of
us even though we’ve been doing this
for a long time. Our first show we did
way back when was 17 years ago – I
was nine,” he said.
Now 26, Taylor is looking forward
to whatever is in store for them.
It’s been more than a decade since
Hanson became a topic of interest.
A large part of their appeal
stemmed from the fact that they are
brothers.
And they wouldn’t have it any
other way.
Rather than trying to explain
what it’s like being in a band with
his brothers, Taylor thought, “What
would it be like not being in a band
with your brothers?”
“I think the important thing that
we always try to communicate to
people is the fact that we’re not just
a brother band,” he said. “It’s not just
the brother thing that’s a factor. We
wouldn’t be in a band if we didn’t
have kind of a shared connection as
individuals.”
This connection is music and everything that revolves around it.
They share a mutual love and respect for all things music.
“We have a common interest
and common set of skills, and we’re
bound to one another in a unique
way,” Taylor said. “It’s greater than
brotherhood. It’s greater than band
members. It’s just this other third category which we fall into.”
Their collaboration of interests
and skills makes for a unique bond
between the brothers.
They have been singing and playing music together for the majority of
their lives.
And they have shared a variety of
experiences along the way, beginning
when they were all young boys.
Fast-forward to today.
All three have kids of their own,
which makes for a very busy tour bus.
“It’s a complete circus,” Taylor
said. “We’re training some of our kids
to walk the tightrope, and we’ve got a
fire breather.”
I
See HANSON page 16
Homecoming Schedule
Monday, Sept. 28
Good Morning Roos: Students
receive a free bag of goodies to start
their day off right beginning at 7:30
a.m. at various locations on Volker
Campus and Hospital Hill.
Chancellor’s Lunch: Free lunch
for all faculty, staff and students on
a first come, first served basis. 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Volker Campus
Quad.
Student Union Topping-off
Ceremony: 1-2 p.m. on the corner of
51st and Cherry Streets.
Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Admission is free.
Fo r m o r e i n fo r m a t io n , v i s it https://cas.umkc.edu/trumancenter.
School of Education Scholarship Luncheon: Lunch begins at
noon; reservations are required. Call
the SOE Advancement Office at 816235-2466.
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Chancellor’s Lunch: Free lunch
for all faculty, staff and students on a
first come, first served basis. 11:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on the Hospital Hill Campus
Health Science Building Café/Walkway.
“Harry’s Front Porch Forums: Democracy’s Challenge:
Reclaiming the Public Role”:
UMKC’s Harry S. Truman Center
for Governmental Affairs. 6:30 p.m.
at the Kansas City Public Library-
Enter the Blue, Go for the
Gold: From 4-6 p.m. in Pierson Auditorium. Contact the Multicultural
Student Affairs Office at 816-2351109 for additional information.
Thursday, Oct. 1
Saturday, Oct. 3
Get Your Roo On: The Student
Life Office is hosting a celebration with snacks, including caramel
apples, popcorn and more. Activities
include interactive games and caricature artists. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct.
1-2 on the University Walkway (Rain
location, University Center Alumni
Room).
UMKC Campus Visit Day: 8 a.m.
to noon in Pierson Auditorium. Register with the Office of Admissions
by calling 816-235-8652 or visit http://
www.umkc.edu/welcome.
Starr Symposium: “Bright Past,
Brilliant Futures: Launching Women
and Girls in Science and Technology”
with Dr. Mae C. Jemison. 7 p.m. Oct.
1-2 in Pierson Auditorium. Tickets
are required and are free for students,
$5 for non-students. Call the Central
Ticket Office at 816-235-6222.
Conservatory of Music and
Dance’s Fall Musical Theater
Production: “Mystery of Edwin
Drood” Oct. 1-3 at Grant Recital Hall.
For tickets, contact the Central Ticket
Office at 816-235-6222.
UMKC Community Service
Day: Gather at University Playhouse
at 8:30 a.m. Activities last until noon.
For additional information, contact
Stephen Terry at 816-235-1084.
Johnson Residence Hall Dedication: Open to the Public. 10-11
a.m. at the south parking lot of Johnson Residence Hall.
Durwood Stadium Dedication: Rally towels distributed to the
first 500 students in attendance. Halftime activities for students, including
great prizes. Sponsored by the Activities and Programs Council. At 5 p.m.
free Chick-fil-A will be served to the
first 750 people at the University
Playhouse. Pep rally begins at 5:45
p.m. at the University Playhouse.
Gates open for the soccer game at
6 p.m. at Durwood Soccer Stadium.
The official dedication begins at 6:50
p.m. The men’s soccer game against
Western Illinois starts at 7:10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 4
Eighth Annual Jazz and BBQ:
Hosted by the UMKC Conservatory
of Music and Dance’s Jazz Friends,
the BBQ will feature food from
Oklahoma Joe’s, a silent auction and
jazz music.
This fundraiser benefits the Jazz
Studies program at the Conservatory.
The event starts at 6 p.m. in
Pierson Auditorium. Tickets for the
BBQ dinner and concert are $55;
concert only tickets are $25. Patron
tickets also are available.
Reservation deadline for dinner
tickets is Sept. 30 and can be made
at 816-235-1561.
8
Culture
September 28, 2009
www.unews.com
Artists converge on the Plaza
Kelley Kates
Staff Writer
The 78th annual Plaza Art Fair
welcomed the fall season this past
weekend.
The Country Club Plaza loves to
embrace the changing seasons with
ornate displays: the Plaza lighting
ceremony signifies the holiday season, the Easter Bunnies bouncing in
for spring and the Plaza Art Fair to
celebrate the coming of the fall.
The Plaza Art Fair always generates a lot of buzz in Kansas City for
it is known as a premier art display
and attracts artists from all across the
country.
For three days, display tents and
vendors lined several blocks of the
Country Club Plaza while visitors,
tourists and art enthusiasts filled the
streets.
The artists were of all types and
it showed through the mix of media
used in their work. Various styles of
art were marketed throughout the fair.
Wood carvings and pottery,
beaded pieces, blown glass, clothing
and jewelry were the non-traditional
items displayed that one might not
expect to find at an art fair.
The more traditional elements
such as oil or acrylic paintings,
photography and drawings were all
prevalent as well.
The Plaza Art Fair did a fine job
of breaking the art fair monotony by
bringing in such varied artists.
Each artist brought something
unique and special to the table.
For instance, Xavier Nuez from
Fremont, Calif. brought a very different and intriguing design to his
photographs of tagged buildings
and fire-escapes.
He transformed his photographs
of them into alluring and colorful
urban-scapes.
Nuez said he does this by using
the building’s own lighting, while
adding some of his own twists, such
as a filter or even a red flashlight, to
enhance the color scheme.
Nuez’s composition card explains his artistry as, “An exploration of urban decay across America.” But do not be fooled, the decay
is engaging.
To view Nuez’s work, visit www.
nuez.com.
Some of the artists were extremely quirky and modern, while
others were just quirky.
Artist John Charbonneau displayed his “Birdmen,” images of
humans with bird heads doing a
number of general human activities.
Artist Keith Grace presented his art
work of “hip” dogs and “cool” cats
in all sorts of odd, vibrant clothing.
Grace’s work can be viewed at
www.hipdogcoolcat.com.
The fair also offered the more
laid-back and traditional forms of
paintings, such as streetscapes and
landscapes by John Scanlon, as well
How to:
Maximize
time on
campus
Melissa Cowan
Photo KELLEY KATES
Art vendors fill the Plaza streets, last weekend during the Plaza Art Fair..
as pastels and drawings from local
artist Don Coons.
Most of the artwork was rather
pricy, but many artists had reprints
and smaller versions of their works
on hand for those who did not wish
to spend a fortune on the new piece
they loved.
The fair was set up to accommodate most of the spectators.
The Kemper Art Museum had a
display tent with children’s activities for worn out parents.
Celtic music from a Native
American flute filled the streets
as ambiance for the shoppers. Live
music as well as beer and food vendors from well-known Plaza restaurants made the event a pleaser for
the boyfriends and husbands who
were dragged along.
[email protected]
Alternative art fair offers fresh views
Photo CASEY OSBURN
The UNPlaza Art Fair was a perfect alternative to the renowned Plaza Art Fair.
Located just blocks away from the Plaza
on the lawn of the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (4501 Walnut St.), the UNPlaza Art Fair has been a long-standing tradition in Kansas City.
The 18th annual UNPlaza Art Fair took
place over the past weekend, consistent with
the Plaza Art Fair.
But there was one main difference between the two. The UNPlaza Art Fair benefitted a great cause.
While there was no entry fee for the art-
ists, they each agreed to donate a percentage
of their profits to PeaceWorks, Kansas City
(a non-profit organization run by volunteers).
The organization used proceeds from the
fair for their many programs, all geared toward working for peace.
With more than 85 artists in attendance,
the fair had tons to offer. On display were the
works of each artist – at extremely affordable
prices.
With free parking and food provided by
All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, the
fair brought crowds from all over.
[email protected]
Staff Writer
Being stuck on campus for
hours between classes is never
fun.
And there are plenty of
things more enjoyable than sitting around doing nothing. As a
commuter student (with a three
hour break between classes two
days a week), I know this situation all too well.
But there are things you can
do on campus to maximize your
time here without losing your
parking spot or wasting gas.
Eat: You probably already
know this – but the questions is,
“Where?” There are a few options in the University Center,
from smoothies to the UMKC
Café to the “all-you-care-to-eat”
buffet.
There is also Einstein Brothers in Royall Hall, Café a la Cart
in Miller Nichols Library and
Hospital Hill Café in the new
Health and Sciences Building.
And there are even vegetarian options at the UMKC Café,
Café a la Cart and Hospital Hill
Café.
There are also places within
walking distance of the Volker
Campus, just off of 51st Street.
These include Pizza 51 (where
you can also have a beer with
your pizza), Subway, Muddy’s
Coffee House and Kin Lin (a
Chinese Restaurant).
If you are over at Hospital
Hill Campus, Crown Center,
McDonald’s, Quiznos and many
more are within walking distance.
Get a tutor: The Writing
Center (5201 Rockhill Road)
offers free consulting in “everything from English to economics, from music to science,
from engineering to business,”
according to its Web site, www.
cas.umc.edu/writingcenter.
Sessions are one-on-one and
last 50 minutes. The Center also
offers handouts to improve writing skills and WEPT workshops.
Students can walk in or call 816235-1146 to make an appointment.
Another location for free tutoring is the Language Resource
Center in Scofield Hall.
This is offered for students
enrolled in German, French or
Spanish. Call 816-235-2824 for
more information.
Free tutoring in math and
science is available at the Math
and Science Resource Center in
the Student Academic Support
Services (SASS) building (by
Miller Nichols Library).
Both walk-ins and appointments are welcome; call 816235-1167.
And if you need tutoring in a
I
See HOW TO page16
Culture
www.unews.com
Movie Review
‘Fame’
Even though I never experienced the original “Fame,” the
new version gave me a clear interpretation of what I missed.
The movie “Fame” follows
a group of talented students
through their high school years
at a rigorous performing arts
academy in New York.
Each of the students come
from different backgrounds, and
all have very unique talents and
personalities. But they all share
the goal of graduating and moving on to pursue their dreams in
the world of performing arts.
“Fame” featured several fresh
Hollywood actors.
The director not sticking with
the same teenage actors seen in
almost every high school movie
helped the strength of the storyline.
The plot was very well formatted and extremely detailed.
The intensity of every performance, especially the musi-
9
by ZACC LAWTON
cal numbers, sent a great vibe
through the crowd.
The talent the students presented was excellent. There was
a non-stop display of strong spoken poetry, dancing and music.
The talent filling the scenes
was unexpected.
One character who stood out
to me in particular was Malik,
played by Collins Pennie.
Pennie is an up-and-coming
actor who has appeared in such
movies as “Prom Night,” “Fired
Up” and “Half Nelson.”
The movie’s soundtrack was
very original and stayed consistent with the steadily changing
moods throughout the film.
It made the movie feel more
alive.
There were also a few emotional moments throughout the
movie which pulled the audience
in deeper with every passing
second.
But it still managed to maintain a comical dialogue to lift the
sense of seriousness.
Overall, the movie was extremely motivating.
Even if you can’t relate to
the plot in any way, it is still
effective enough to encourage
anyone, regardless of his or her
goals and dreams, to strive for
success.
And for anyone with a specific talent or dream – this movie
can motivate you to work harder
at sculpting your abilities and
drive you to become a star.
[email protected]
Photo courtesy GOOGLE IMAGES
Kelley Kates
September 28, 2009
Volunteers help keep
nature beautiful
Staff Writer
Volunteers at National Public Lands Day, had
their work cut out for them Saturday morning, but
were given no better day to do it.
It turned out to be the perfect day for outdoor
work — it was sunny, mild and breezy, but cool
enough to wear pants for protection against ticks
and poison ivy.
National Public Lands Day is a day that focuses
on stewardship through providing care and maintenance for surrounding natural public areas.
Blue Springs Lake at Jackson County’s Fleming
Park was the site for this year’s event.
Throughout the summer season the park takes
some abuse from recreational visitors. Organizations
and volunteers for the event help the public areas we
love stay healthy and beautiful.
Heartland Tree Alliance (HTA), Bridging the Gap,
Keep Kansas City Beautiful, Kansas City Wildlands
and Jackson County Parks and Recreation banded together to make the event possible. The 102 volunteers
who signed up made the event happen.
The day’s activities began with registration, donuts and coffee. The event kicked off at 9 a.m.
The volunteers were split into three groups based
upon the position they signed up for and then carpooled or bused to their prospective clean up sites.
Duties included tree care, litter clean up and honeysuckle removal.
Volunteers were provided with National Public
Lands Day t-shirts, gloves and tools.
“We’re out here to help Jackson County so their
trees don’t die,” Bill Grotts, of HTA, said.
Grotts said 100 trees were in need of some light
pruning so they don’t invade other trees that their
species will kill.
He said stakes and guide wires needed to be removed from some of the trees as well – the wires had
been cutting into the trees, which can restrict their
vascular system.
Grotts said his team had also been pulling weeds
at the base of trees so a lawnmower wouldn’t need to
get close enough to nick the trunks.
“We’re hoping to keep them healthy,” Grotts said.
Molly Clubine and Shauna Horgan of Blue
Springs, Mo. were a part of the HTA team. It was
Photo KELLEY KATES
Volunteers doing tree care at National Public Lands Day.
their first time volunteering for HTA, but Clubine’s
second time volunteering for National Public Lands
Day.
“It feels good,” Clubine said. “The earth gives to
you and you give back.”
Clubine said she normally helps get rid of invasive honeysuckle or with trash removal but she
wanted to try something new and help in any way
she could.
“We need to get people involved and help them to
picture and understand the importance and impact
of it,” she said.
Horgan was just as happy to help with tree care.
“We are pretty much saving them, they’ve been
strangled,” she said.
Horgan said she wanted to help a local project.
She was glad she signed up and felt they had accomplished a lot.
One clean up crew who made their way around
part of the lake collecting litter, ridded the area of
five bags of trash that had been dumped on the land.
National Public Lands Day accomplished its objective and the day was a beautiful success.
[email protected]
dating 101
by Christian Rose
Roller Coasters
A couple weeks ago, I went to an
amusement park with friends.
Worlds of Fun boasted words
like “TALLEST,” “FASTEST” and
“MEANEST” on billboards along the
side of the highway for 20 miles before
we even got to the park.
I should mention before continuing that I do not especially enjoy roller
coasters.
While I applaud adrenaline junkies
who leap out of flying planes or jump
off Mexican cliffs, I like having my
feet firmly planted inside comfy shoes
(or if recently pedicured, safely inside
my Ben Sherman flip-flops).
It’s not like I scare easily, I did survive my childhood virtually unscathed
– at least physically. And I assure you,
coping with a Scarlett O’Hara-like
grandmother trumps eating some potentially poisonous sushi.
While my closest friends, coworkers, editor and Jerry (the panhandler on the Plaza who smells like
urine but uses the catchy phrase “I’m
trying to make a down payment on a
cheeseburger”) would argue that I’m
a control freak who goes postal when
the smallest of carefully, detailed plans
run amiss, I like to think of myself as
someone who simply sees the beauty
in stability.
I don’t feel the need to willingly
ride the Prowler when, as you may
know from reading my column, I tend
to date them, and have even threatened
restraining orders on a few.
Once parked precariously between
two high school buses almost a thousand miles from the entrance, we
unpacked ourselves, our sunglasses,
cooler, the gallon container of Gatorade bought at QT and made our way
toward what could only be described
as the line from hell.
To make myself more congenial
and less apprehensive about my impending dismemberment and subsequent trip to the ER from a ride gone
tragically haywire, I tried to tell myself that the line was just the park’s
first attraction and a foray into what
was sure to be “the best day ever!”
Music was piped into the parking
lot, which I assumed was meant to
make the mile and a half trek to the
ticket booth less daunting and the $40
ticket price seem like a bargain.
Making our way to the front of the
line, we noticed a small sign over the
ticketing kiosk that read, “NO COOLERS ALLOWED.”
So Matt was ceremoniously voted
to make the excursion back to the car.
While most laughed at his misfortune, I prayed he would not suffer heat
stroke and die alone in the far reaches
of the wasteland known as the parking
lot.
Once most of my group was safely
inside the park, we agreed to ease into
things by riding what looked like a
pirate ship. It swung safely back and
forth over a small, moss-covered, mosquito-infested, man-made pond.
Once off the ship, I was unanimously out-voted when I wanted to
ride again because the group felt I was
ready to graduate onto the Boomerang.
The loops of twisted metal and
steel rose above me and all I could hear
while staring up were screams of terror and delight intermingled with the
pungent smell of vomit coming from
the sidewalk below.
Last week, I met someone who
swept me off my feet, took my breath
away and left me speechless.
He did all the right things, said all
the right things and even managed to
work in a few perfect moments.
A week after that, he left.
No explanation, no goodbye, no returned telephone call. He just … left.
This behavior left me scratching
my head in complete confusion.
My behavior left my friends wondering why I didn’t ask, “Why?”
But I didn’t want to know, knowing
the reason would not have changed the
outcome.
For me, a new relationship is wonderful and scary, all wrapped up in a
terrifying splendor of mixed emotions.
I have willingly avoided this kind of
emotional rollercoaster for so long I
had forgotten how fun the ride could
be.
Although we never know if those
new relationships will turn out to leave
us with unanswered questions while
lying in a heap of twisted emotional
carnage, or if they will give us the ride
of our lives, it is always better than
looking up and watching as everyone
else experiences the thrill.
[email protected]
10
Culture
September 28, 2009
save the date
Tender tilapia filets
Compiled by Tyler Allen
BY CHELSEA SOETAERT
This recipe makes a healthy
and delicious entrée for any occasion.
You can prepare it for yourself
or impress your friends with a
marvelous dinner!
To complete the meal, serve
with rice and your favorite frozen
vegetable.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tilapia filet
1 tablespoon butter or oil
Measure and combine flour
and lemon pepper in a flat bowl.
Gently place the tilapia into the
mixture and coat well. Set aside.
Melt butter (or heat oil) in a
large skillet.
Once melted and hot, place tilapia into the skillet.
Fry for two to four minutes on
each side, until tender.
Remove from heat and serve.
To modify this recipe for more
people, simply double ingredients
for each filet.
[email protected]
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Snow Patrol: Touring in support of their new album, A Hundred
Million Suns, they will be in Kansas
City with Plain White T’s. Doors
open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30
p.m. at the Uptown Theatre. Tickets
start at $29.50; all ages. For tickets,
visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Dave Matthews Band: Fresh
from the release of their latest studio
effort Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux
King, DMB will be at the Sprint Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show
starts at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $45,
available at www.ticketmaster.com.
Personal Account of a New
Orleans Evacuee: UMKC Libraries Head of Collections Steve Alleman lived in New Orleans for 55
years before his home was destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina. As part of
UMKC Libraries’ Brown Bag Lunch
Series, Alleman will be speaking at
2:30 p.m. at Miller Nichols Library.
RSVP to [email protected].
Photo CHELSEA SOETAERT
www.unews.com
David Cross: Best known for his
role on “Arrested Development,” the
comedian is touring in support of his
new book “I Drink for a Reason.”
Cross takes the stage at 8 p.m. at the
Midland Theatre. For tickets, visit
www.midlandkc.com.
Thursday, Oct. 1
The Clothesline Project: On
display at 12 a.m. in the University
Center Bookstore display case and
Johnson Residence Hall will be tshirts decorated by women who
have been affected by domestic and
sexual violence. The women decorate a shirt expressing their emotions
and hang the clothes on display as
testimony to the problem of violence
against women.
Friday, Oct. 2
Miller Nichols Library 40th
anniversary: To celebrate, a reception will be held at 5 p.m. on Oct. 2
in the Nichols Library Information
Commons. Missouri Senator Jolie
Justus will be on hand to present an
official state proclamation recognizing the library’s 40 years of service.
On display at the reception will be a
LaBudde Special Collections photo
exhibit chronicling the library’s past.
Also in commemoration of the anniversary is the lecture series “Librar-
Play it by Ear
ies Inside/Out.” For more information, visit the Miller Nichols Library
Web site at http://library.umkc.edu/.
Saturday, Oct. 3
Miley Cyrus: Following the success of “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” this actress/singer will take the
stage at 7 p.m. at the Sprint Center.
Tickets start at $29.50 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com.
United States Air Force Band
of Mid-America’s Hot Brass: The
band will give a free performance at
4 p.m. at Liberty Memorial. Bring a
lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the
free concert. They will perform a variety of music, including jazz, funk,
soul and country. The performance
will take place on the museum’s
southeast lawn.
Sunday, Oct. 4
Antique Tractor Show: Take
part in the annual Harvest Celebration
and Antique Tractor Show at Powell
Gardens. The event features seasonal
food demonstrations by local chefs,
barrel train rides, pumpkin painting
and more. Admission is $10 for adults,
$9 for seniors and $5 for children ages
5-12. For event schedule and information visit www.powellgardens.org.
Brand New Daisy
by MELISSA COWAN
Brand New released their highly anticipated
Daisy is a great example of this perfecfourth album, Daisy, last Tuesday.
tion. The lyrics in its chorus are also some
If you were a fan of their previous album, of my favorite, and the most chilling, from
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, this the album: “If the sky opened up and started
one is going to blow you away.
pouring rain/like He knew it was time to start
And if you haven’t heard them yet, this is the things over again/it’d be alright/it’s alright/
time to start listening.
it’d be easier that way.”
Daisy is overwhelmingly haunting and
“You Stole” is another great track. It’s just
emotionally heavy, nothing like the title implies. genius in every way.
Their latest album is completely different
Lacey’s quiet tone matches perfectly to
than their previous two. The theme is focused the hazy and slow rhythm of the guitars. The
more on questioning faith and the future, the combination creates a surreal, dreamy ambimusic more alternative and precise.
ence. It’s almost too good for words.
And Daisy has taken an even darker path
The single, “At the Bottom,” is the most
through frontman Jesse Lacey’s thoughts and unique track on the album.
acceptance of death and the afterlife.
There’s a slight twang to it, like an oldBut, based on his
turned-modern country
lyrics, he seems less
sound, which is someafraid than before of his
what reminiscent of
own fate.
Murder By Death.
His emotion comes
And there is also a
out whether he’s praclive studio version of
t ica l ly wh is p e r i ng
the track (included if
(“You Stole”) or yellyou buy the album from
ing “I’m on my way
iTunes) which is just as
out” (“Noro”), they are
good.
equally moving.
The music is slowThese two tracks
er and more stripped
are among my favorites
down, adding to the
Photo courtesy GOOGLE IMAGES
on the album, though
eeriness of the lyrics:
it’s hard to narrow it
“There’s a lake/and at
down.
the bottom you’ll find all my friends/they
There’s really nothing bad to say about don’t swim ’cause they’re all dead.”
Daisy.
This is honestly one of the best albums
But I do prefer when Lacey sings over his I’ve heard all year. It’s impossible to not be
screaming in “Vices” or alternates singing effected by it.
and screaming in “Sink” and “In a Jar.”
I highly recommend buying Daisy and
The title track is another favorite.
seeing Brand New live on Oct. 7 at the UpBrand New has made somewhat of a sig- town Theater.
nature of starting their songs quietly with
Based on this album, it’s sure to be a
simple guitars, then in the middle of the song memorable show.
(usually), the band really hits in. It’s always
A
powerful, always at the right moment.
[email protected]
12
September 28, 2009
David Jordan
U
Sports
www.unews.com
Ayabei runs for sport
Staff Writer
MKC freshman Cosmas
Ayabei is blazing the trail
for the men’s cross country team.
Ayabei took first
place in the first two meets of the year.
The first was at the Bob Timmons Classic at KU with a time of 19:11:41, the second at the Missouri State Classic with a
time of 24:56:07.
“I feel good, pretty good, I’m happy
and I wish to perform better in the coming events,” Ayabei said.
When it comes to his running strategy, Ayabei likes to keep a pack with his
teammates during the beginning of the
race, but when it comes down to the last
stretch of the race, he likes to separate
himself and get in the front.
“That’s the morale I always have, I
don’t like to see anybody in front of me,”
Ayabei said.
Ayabei is a native of El Doret, Kenya,
and was born Oct. 9, 1986. He comes
from a childhood where he ran to school
some days.
Ayabei said that is one of the reasons
he chose to be a runner.
“Every other morning I had to wake
up very early in the morning and the
school was something like 10 miles
away,” Ayabei said.
On those mornings, he woke up at 5:30
a.m. and sometimes as early as 4 a.m. for
morning preps.
Another thing that made Ayabei aspire
to be a runner was the influence of his
cousin, Edwin Kemboi, who runs cross
country and track and field at Memphis
University.
“He’s my role model,” Ayabei said.
“The first time he came to the U.S. … he
used to send me some e-mails about how
he’s performing, how he’s running … and I
was quite impressed.”
While in high school, Ayabei also
played basketball, but never took much interest in it since he was consumed in his
studies and training to run.
However, Ayabei loves to play handball
and has played the sport since childhood.
Ayabei is nothing short of an exceptional athlete and said, “I just want to unleash
my potential in running every time I run.”
“Everything that I do in athletics,” Ayabei said, “I feel like I want to do it to my
best ability.”
Even in the classroom Ayabei wants to
be an excellent scholar.
He said running in the Olympics would
be one of his ultimate goals.
“Yeah I think I’m going to do that,” he
said. “If God is willing.”
[email protected]
Photo courtesy UMKC ATHLETICS
Cosmas Ayabei took first in two meets so far this season.
Women’s soccer team remains winless
David Jordan
Staff Writer
It was a tough loss for the UMKC women’s soccer
team as they were defeated by the Drake Bulldogs
with a final score of 2-1 in last Thursday’s home
game.
For the season, the Lady Roos have a record of
0-8-1.
Freshman goalkeeper/forward Meagan Shipley was
named the player of the game – she scored her first collegiate goal.
“It was finally nice to see it, I mean she ripped it,”
Head Coach Anita Rodriguez said. “When she wants
it bad enough she’s going to get it done, I was really
happy to see that. That was a hell of shoot to be honest
with you.”
There was not a lot of action in the first half, but
things picked up in the second when the Bulldogs
scored two goals within 10 minutes.
Shipley’s goal was scored in the last three minutes
of game.
It really gave the fans a spark as they began to cheer
the Roos on in hopes of a comeback.
The Ladies fought extremely hard but the clock
was not on their side, and Drake emerged victorious.
Rodriguez still remains positive for her team, knowing they will rebound from this defeat and come back
stronger. She stressed to her team after the game that
once they get the mental framework in order, they will
be a great team.
“A lot of it is mental for us right now, so I think
physically we have the ability and we have the desire,
Rodruguez said. “But sometimes mentally we just
can’t push through that wall that we hit. As soon as
we break through that wall then the results are going
to come, the goals are going to come and then we are
going to get some Ws.”
The women’s soccer team is in its first year of Division-I competition, but that doesn’t play a factor in the
Roos 0-8-1 record.
According to Rodriguez “they’re getting fed up.”
In the past three games, the Roos managed to tie one
and lose two by a single goal.
“They know they’re close,” she said.
Rodriguez gave her players a lot of credit for the job
they have done so far. With only 16 players on her roster
they went up against Drake, which had 26 players on its
roster, and really challenged them.
“We’re right in the game,” Rodriguez said. “So for
us it’s just a matter of one, that we’re all getting through
it, and two, believing in it and I think we’re right there.
It’s just a matter of putting the ball in the back of the
net.”
Sunday, Sept. 27, the Roos were shut-out by one to
Indiana State in their last non-conference game of the
season.
[email protected]
sports shorts
by Casey Osburn
Homecoming
Oct. 3 is Homecoming for
UMKC.
Volleyball kicks off the day
at 4 p.m. against North Dakota
State at Swinney Rec Center.
Men’s soccer plays at 7 p.m.
against Western Illinois at Durwood Soccer Stadium and Recreational Field (DSSRF).
There will be a pep rally start-
ing at 5:45 p.m. at the University
Playhouse. Free Chick-fil-A will
be given to the first 750 fans.
The Athletic Department will
also be handing out rally towels
to the first 500 students, gates
open at 6 p.m.
Prior to the start of the soccer game, there will be a stadium
dedication for DSSRF.
Golf
The Kangaroo men’s golf
team finished fourth place on
Sept. 22 at Jim Colbert Intercollegiate Tournament, which
was hosted by Kansas State at
Colbert Hills Golf Course.
The team posted a total of
599 points, 302 the first day and
297 the second.
The Roos had two players,
Senior Alex Hogben and Junior
Josh Taylor, finish in the top 15.
Roller Derby
Kansas City Roller Warriors
(KCRW) traveled to Atlanta this
weekend for the South Central
Regional Tournaments. Friday
night they took on Tampa Bay
during the quarter finals.
Halfway through the first 30
minutes, KCRW was up 28-24.
At the halftime break, Tampa
Bay was down by a 49 deficit,
Photo CASEY OSBURN
Middle Forward Amanda Casalinuon passes to a teammate.
40-89.
KCRW advanced to the
semi-finals with a win of 198-77.
During the semi-finals
against Houston, KCRW pushed
out another win, 119-56. This
put them through to Nationals.
Texas beat KCRN 150-73 in
the championship bout on Sunday.
Sports
www.unews.com
Rugby team won’t give up
John Pfortmiller
Contributing Writer
The Kansas City Rugby Football Club’s
(KCRFC) college team lost to the Arkansas Gryphons on Sept. 26. But even after the disappointing
loss, they are still looking toward the future.
The college team includes 12 UMKC students.
The game was disheartening, but the UMKC student players are looking to improve down the road.
“We have a lot of individual talent,” freshman
Ian Davis said. “We need to bring that individual
talent together into team talent.”
The team’s ability to work together was the focal point of the coach’s criticism during half-time.
However, the college team’s skill level has definitely improved since it was formed.
“Based on the performance today, we’ve improved since the beginning of the season,” Head
Coach Wayne Nicholsen said. “But, the game today
was a step back.”
KCRFC’s breakaway plays and coordinated attacks on the Arkansas try zone (think end zone in
football) were not consistent enough to keep their
score ahead of their offensive opponent.
Early on in the first half, KCRFC made repeated
attempts to score, but could not muster up enough
Photo KEVIN BRYCE
A member of KCRFC moves up the field.
organized offense to break through the Arkansas
defense.
Arkansas responded to the attempts by driving
KCRFC across the field and scoring. Minutes later,
Arkansas scored two more times.
However, KCRFC wasn’t about to give up, and
scored their first try with 2:41 left in the first half.
Arkansas responded to this with a quick field goal
and ended the first half at 20-5, with Arkansas in
the lead.
The second half was much of the same.
KCRFC tried to score early, but after a bad pass
Arkansas scored on a breakaway. They followed up
the breakaway with two more tries.
After a red card was given to an Arkansas player for fighting, KCRFC took the opportunity and
scored on a breakaway, but the celebration was
short-lived as the game ended. The final score was
47-19, the Gryphons’ favor.
Even with this loss, KCRFC is absolutely determined to push on and improve upon their loss.
“I felt as though we underperformed this weekend, especially with the group of guys we have playing,” Nicholsen said. “Still, the talent and potential
for improvement is there, and we will do just that
– improve.”
This positive attitude was well received by the
players who came off the field with their heads
down and morale shattered. They reacted with
nods and agreement to the many issues Nicholsen
brought up. These included poor passing, bad communication on the field and open-field tackling issues.
The coaches and players hope more UMKC students will join the team so it can officially become
a club sport. Nicholsen strongly encouraged several players to join the team, including Davis who
played and had several tackles.
“I got interested because I like strenuous, highactivity sports, and the club fair they were at really
got me interested,” Davis said.
For more information about rugby and joining
the team, contact Nicholsen at 816-518-1156, or visit
www.kcrugby.org.
[email protected]
Intramural football takes off
John Pfortmiller
13
Contributing Writer
UMKC’s intramural flag football season took
off on Sept. 15 and the playoffs will start on Oct. 6.
The regular season follows a round-robin tournament style of play, where each team plays all
other teams once before playoffs.
This season there are 24 teams made up of students from different campus organizations including fraternities, the business school, resident halls
and sororities.
Out of the 24 teams, four are women’s teams.
While the women only play other women, the diversity is welcome.
“A lot of different organizations play,” Manager
of Intramurals and Campus Recreation, Tom Schultz said. “It gives a good community feel and a great
college experience, it’s all about participation and
fun.”
This year of intramural football boasts the most
women’s teams to date and, overall, a large number
of students.
In addition, the teams have been very accepting
of students looking to play.
“We were amazed at how many resident hall kids
were playing,” Intramural Department Graduate
Assistant Kristina Hicks said.
With the large number of teams competing, the
variety of names also increased.
Team “Balls Deep” has played well so far with
two wins, the “Perforators” hold the same record,
and of course, leave it to Dentistry students to call
their team “Oral Pleasure.”
September 29 and 30 will mark the end of the
regular season, and playoffs start the following
week.
The playoffs are played tournament style and will
decide the overall winner of UMKC intramural football league.
Playoffs are currently scheduled for Oct. 6, 7 and
11. However, if there are rain outs or scheduling conflicts, Oct. 13 and 14 can be used.
The intramurals department was very excited to
be able to schedule games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This stems from having to play games last season
on the weekends in Swope Park and other public areas.
“We were really glad to have a high amount of
participation during the week,” Hicks said. “It allows more flexibility in schedules for everyone.”
This season the games are played at Durwood
Soccer Stadium and Recreational Field.
This was a welcome change for both the intramurals department and the teams.
Even with a more flexible schedule and new
playing location, there are still some games that
have to be rescheduled as some teams can only play
on Wednesday due to prior obligations like class.
Flag football may not seem physically dangerous, but there have been a few injuries.
One student went to pull a flag when he collided
head-to-head with another player.
This resulted in a few stitches, but he has recovered and is back enjoying the game.
The season has been interesting so far. May the
best team win!
[email protected]
September 28, 2009
Royals hit home run
for community service
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
The Royals appreciate fans, community service and especially fans
who do community service.
Last Friday and Saturday during
Fan Appreciation Weekend, the team
invited the nearly 100 Jumpstart
Kansas City team members from
Rockhurst University and UMKC,
their families and/or friends out to
enjoy a good, old-fashioned baseball
game for free.
Jumpstart is a program that places
college students in schools to mentor
underprivileged 3, 4 and 5-year-olds
to get them up-to-speed and ready to
enter kindergarten.
The Jumpstart members rootroot-rooted for the home team as the
Royals took on the Minnesota Twins.
While the men in blue did not
come out on top, the team and the
fans gave the Twins an experience to
go home and chat about.
A couple memorable moments
happened on Saturday night.
The Royals were the first to
score, smacking two home runs out
of the park back-to-back during the
second inning.
Later, an animated, verbal disagreement about a call between the
Head Coach of the Twins and the
umpire left the Royals fans springing out of their seats with cheers of
joy when the ump explained (in not
so many words), that the Twins could
just go home if they don’t like the
way we do things.
To make the weekend just that
much sweeter, 20 lucky fans received
prizes at each game.
Who wouldn’t want ice cream for
a year or an X-Box?
For those people who go to the
games just for the ambiance, the hot
dog race was all-too-funny.
The relish took the lead by far
with mustard coming in second despite her shoe falling off and ketchup
coming in dead last.
Looked like her heart just wasn’t
in it.
As we say goodbye to our Royals
for this year with many thanks for all
the memorable moments, the Jumpstart Kansas City team can’t wait to
sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
next year.
[email protected]
Photo NATHAN LANG
Ketchup and Mustard try to catch up to
Relish in the hot dog race.
Sporting Events
Men’s Golf
Date
Event
9/28-9/29 Kansas Invitational
Place
Time
Lawrence, Kan.
All Day
Manhattan, Kan.
All Day
Women’s Golf
9/28-9/29 Marilyn Smith Sunflower Inv. Men’s Soccer
9/30
Saint Louis
St. Louis, Mo.
7 p.m.
10/3
Western Illinois
DSSRF
7 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
10/2
Oakland
Rochester, Mich.
6 p.m.
10/4
IPFW
Fort Wayne, Ind.
12 p.m.
Volleyball
10/1
South Dakota State
Swinney Rec.
7 p.m.
10/3
North Dakota State
Swinney Rec.
4 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla.
9 a.m.
Cross Country
10/3
OSU Cowboy Jamboree
14
September 28, 2009
Forum
What are you looking at?
Alexia Stout-Lang
News Editor
Yeah, I said it. What are you looking at?
When you are in-between classes and have
free time, what are you looking at?
When you are in the mood to be enlightened, what are you looking at?
When you want to be entertained, what are you looking
at?
When a question arises during conversation and you don’t
have the answer, where do you
look?
If you are not looking at this
paper – either online or in print
– for the information you want
and need, I’m not doing my job.
As I walk or drive from
class-to - class, meeting-to meeting each day, I keep my
eyes open for people reading
the U-News.
It seems readership is up. But we still have
those who don’t want to read the paper because, “there’s nothing in there I’m interested
in.” Many offer the solace that they don’t read
any paper, so it’s not personal.
Others admit that they didn’t even know
the university has a paper.
Every day, I spend the vast majority of my
waking hours talking to people about the paper or thinking about ways to improve it.
I have a responsibility to include articles
that appeal to students, staff, faculty and the
community.
It is an impossible chore without input.
While it would be easy enough
to simply show up to work and put
out a newspaper that wins awards,
I do not want to go that route.
The elderly men in bow ties
who judge newspaper competitions can keep their plaques, trophies and certificates for all I care
if it means this paper becomes
something we all want to read.
If you want more variety, you
got it. If you want articles on specific topics, you got it. Tell me
what you want and I will make it
happen.
I think our record sticks true to that statement.
We implemented podcasts, video, Facebook and Twitter for those who wanted a more
interactive, online newspaper.
We brought back crossword puzzles for
those who like word puzzles.
We are throwing in extra cartoons for those
who might just need a laugh.
I am glad to see more people pick up the paper and visit us online. It warms a girl’s heart.
But I want to take it further so everyone
on this campus knows what the U-News is and
what we do.
Don’t be surprised if you meet me in the
hallway and I give you a paper or if someone
else on this staff does the same.
Send me an e-mail at [email protected] if
you have a suggestion.
We, you and I, have a vested interest in this
paper.
Let’s make the most of it.
[email protected]
www.unews.com
What do you think?
Is the campus alcohol policy fair?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I’m not sure
Stout’s Shouts
“The elderly men in bow ties who
judge newspaper competitions
can keep their plaques, trophies
and certificates for all I care if
it means this paper becomes
something we all want to read. ”
Therein lies the problem.
This is not UMKC’s paper. This is not my
paper. This is your paper – you being the readers.
So, I want to know what interests you.
Go to www.unews.com and tell us your answer!
Your answers to last week’s question:
C. 18%
A. 36%
B. 45%
How do you feel about the Chiefs so far?
A
B
C
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.
A GRANT SNIDER ILLUSTRATION
Forum
www.unews.com
Get me to class on time
BJ Allen
15
Business Manager
If you live north of the river, you’ve experienced the
disaster known as the Paseo Bridge.
Every day, an average of 102,000 people cross the
Paseo Bridge.
The recent construction has closed down lanes and
caused exhausting traffic jams across the downtown
loop. Crossing The Paseo during the week can easily
add an extra 30 minutes to your drive in
bad traffic.
On a weekend with beautiful weather,
you can cross The Paseo without a problem. But then Monday comes around and
they close down the road for construction.
It seems counter-productive.
There are many hours of opportunity
to do the construction without any largescale traffic flow.
Why is it they pick Monday to close
down lanes? Are they trying to ensure a
steady and consistent flow of disgruntled
drivers rolling past the construction site?
It seems the closings change every day
for roadwork on different sections of the interchange.
There are closings all over the downtown loop periodically throughout the week.
You can try to take a different route to ease the traffic flow, such as the Heart of America Bridge or the
Broadway Bridge.
The Heart of America Bridge is a convenient shortcut to avoid the Paseo Bridge.
Just take Armour Road to 9 Highway south and
you’re over the river.
The Broadway Bridge leads you right into downtown, making that detour much more difficult. It really isn’t functional unless you’re headed downtown.
It can provide a shortcut when heading north over the
Broadway Bridge, but it won’t help you make it to class
on time.
In times of heavy traffic, we all get a little frustrated
behind the wheel. People try to jump in the lane that
is closing just to gain a car length in the parade of vehicles.
The irony comes from traffic slowing down to let
them back in line. They gain a car length, but the entire
row of cars loses time.
Once off campus, there seems to be no rhyme or
reason to any of it.
Drivers don’t operate on the same wavelength sometimes, but it’s important to realize you’re not the only
one on the road.
We all have places to go and schedules to meet, but
the biggest delays are caused by people struggling to be
the front of the line. We’ll all get out eventually.
There are other ways to surpass traffic.
The Kansas City Area Transportation
Authority has played a part, with an average of 50,000 passengers a day, helping to
decrease the thousands of cars on the road.
Another way of dealing with the onslaught of traffic is to join a Ride Share
program.
The Mid-America Regional Council
runs a Ride Share program and they can
be a huge stress relief when dealing with
the commute.
Ride Share programs in Kansas City
even include the Guaranteed Ride Home
policy.
If a Ride Share participant is forced to go home ill
or run to a family emergency, they are provided with a
free taxi to get them there as part of the service.
The Mid-America Regional Council has also established the Carpool Connection matching service that
lists other carpool participants.
This provides a huge benefit for everyone with the
decrease in traffic flow. It also saves the people on the
Ride Share program large amounts of money by not
wasting gas.
The Ride Share program has also established Employer Services, which allows companies to organize
carpools for their employees. They can also organize
work schedules to ensure their employees won’t add to
the congestion.
The construction across Kansas City will be difficult over the next few years as work on the downtown
loop continues.
But hopefully with the public transportation available, we can all make it to class on time.
[email protected]
September 28, 2009
Word on Campus
Interviews by MELISSA ORIBHABOR
“What would you like to see more of
in the U-News?”
“I didn’t even know we had a
paper. I can’t critique it if I didn’t
even know we have one.”
“More about fraternities and
sororities. Things to draw more
attention to them to get more
recruiting.”
STEVE THOMAS
Junior
Business
JONATHAN CLINE
Freshman
Electrical and Computer
Engineering
“More of the arts and theater – I
like that kind of stuff.”
“I don’t read the paper. It’s
probably interesting, I just
haven’t read it.”
DANKA JANKOVIC
Junior
Medical Technology
SHAYNA WASZIL
Sophomore
Biology
“I like opinion sections. [U-News
should add] student opinions
about controversial things that
are happening on campus and
have students turn in opinions
about it.”
“I don’t read it. I don’t even read
the regular newspaper. I watch
the news every day, that’s about
it.”
TRISTIN TODD
Sophomore
Pharmacy
ANDREA COOPER
Junior
Accounting
HOW TO from page 8
specific class or area, just check with your
department.
Work out: Something else that’s free
for UMKC students. Swinney Recreational
Center has a basketball court, indoor track
(and outdoor track at the massive Durwood
Soccer Stadium & Recreational Field),
steam room, sauna, swimming pool and
more.
Students can reserve courts for racquetball, handball and squash for one hour per
person per day. Students also receive a clean
towel and lock each visit (to be handed back
in) and can rent equipment such as volleyballs, safety glasses and jump ropes.
A closer option for students at the Hospital Hill Campus is the Swinney Annex,
located at 25th and Campbell streets. The
Annex has a game room (with Wii Fit and
tennis and foosball tables), yoga room with
training DVDs, weight room and cardio
room.
HANSON from page 7
Monday’s Puzzle Solved
The Hanson family circus on tour may be
crazy, but they all love it.
Taylor considers having a family and being in a band somewhat similar ideas.
“It’s all kind of organized chaos,” he said.
“You’re trying to keep it all together and
you’ve got all these personalities … and you
try to figure out how to get them to work together.”
While it may get “a little wild” when they
go on tour, Taylor wouldn’t have it any other
way.
He likes the familiarity of it, especially
since he has spent a lot of his life on the road
with his family.
And Hanson has hit the road yet again,
currently traveling across the country for
their “Use Your Sole” tour.
Along with the tour, they continue their
Take the Walk campaign, consisting of onemile barefoot walks staged across the United
VETERAN from page 3
University News
5327 Holmes
Kansas City, MO 64110
Editor’s desk: (816) 235-5402
Newsroom: (816) 235-1393
Advertising: (816) 235-1386
Business: (816) 235-6366
Fax: (816) 235-6514
Tips Hotline: (816) 235-NEWS
Editor-in-Chief
Hilary Hedges
Advertising Manager
Stefanie Crabtree
Business Manager
BJ Allen
Production Manager
Hilary Hedges
Asst. Production Manager
Leanna Lippert
News Editor
Alexia Stout-Lang
Asst. News Editor
Tyler Allen
Culture Editor
Hilary Saskin
Sports Editor
Casey Osburn
Copy Editor
Sabrina Osborn
Photo Editor
Kevin Bryce
Podcast Editor
Ethan Parker
Online Editor
Hilary Hedges
Distribution
B J Allen
Faculty Advisor
Fred Wickman
Printer
Cass County Publishing
The University News is published Mondays by students of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 4,000 free
copies are distributed to the University, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Midtown and Downtown areas. Opinions
expressed are not necessarily those of the University or staff. Letters to the editor, whether submitted electronically or by mail, should be 350 words or less and must include writer’s phone number for verification.
Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters may be edited for clarity or space. Subscriptions are available
for the cost of postage, $25 a year. The first copy of the University News is free. Additional copies may be
purchased for $1 each, payable at the University News office in advance. No person may, without prior written permission of the University News, take more than one copy of each week’s issue.
The University News is an equal opportunity employer.
Board of Publishers of the University News:
David Atkinson (chair), Mark Berger, Julie Galloway, Robin Hamilton, Patrick Hilburn, Wayne Lucas, Harris Mirkin,
Hilary Hedges, Fred Wickman, Patty Wolverton, Jennifer Kaminsky, Glenn Young
Murphy thinks UMKC should offer the
MRHA credit hour rate to veterans before
their grants are applied to their tuition.
But Scott Young, Student Financial Aid
Coordinator, said that would be illegal.
“The way the bill reads, it says that any
federal or state funds must be applied to the
students account first before calculating an
award amount,” Young said.
Jan Brandow, director of Student Financial
Aid, reiterated the point.
“In some cases, like with the MRHA, any
federal aid a student receives must be taken
into consideration first,” Brandow said. “So
And after you work out, you can hit the
locker room for a shower.
Relax: For something a bit more relaxing
– but still free – try MindBody Connection
on the first floor of the University Center.
The Relaxing Station is a single person room
with a massage chair. Students can also play
Wii, sit in comfy chairs or use the computers.
Get a haircut: Getting shaggy? The University Barber Shop is on floor B of the University Center. Haircuts start at $17. Tracee
Knight-De Souza, owner and stylist, also
dyes hair (no highlights) and sells hair products.
Students can pay with Roo Bucks, cash
or check. It is open Tuesday through Friday
from 8.a.m to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments
preferred. Call 816-363-2242 to make an appointment.
Remember, this is your campus – use it to
your advantage!
[email protected]
States and Canada.
According to their Web site, www.takethewalk.
net, the walks are intended to take action
against the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty
in Africa.
As Hanson prepares for their fifth album’s release Taylor hopes “to leave great
songs and great stories out there for people
to enjoy for years to come – for there to be
something that really lasts.”
“I’m trying to communicate things that
everybody doesn’t necessarily have the
words to say,” Taylor explained. “It’s about
creating something that we feel like connects
with people and really inspires people.”
The upcoming album, Stand Up, Stand
Up, is now available for pre-order on their
Web site, www.hanson.net.
It is scheduled to hit stores in the spring
of 2010.
Hanson will perform with HelloGoodbye
on Oct. 2 at the Beaumont Club.
[email protected]
it’s possible that a student might not qualify
for MRHA because of other types of aid that
they receive from the federal government.”
Though Murphy was not eligible for the
MRHA, he did take advantage of the deferred
tuition UMKC is offering.
Other relief options for veterans include
the ability to charge books to their student account and the option of removing late fees and
finance charges from their accounts until they
receive their benefits.
Any veterans who have questions about
the MRHA or the relief options should contact
Young at 816-235-1239.
[email protected]
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