Kickin` it with karaoke

Western celebrates its victory over Northwest Tuesday at the
Looney Complex. “It’s such a big deal since they’re our rivals,”
freshman Libero Sarah Faubel said.
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Contributed by Jason Brown and Thomas Huitt-Johnson
the
MISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY
PERMIT NO. 32
St. JOSEPH, MO
GRIFFon
Vol 94 | Issue 5
Matt Hunt | Staff Writer
mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu
Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief
dhon1@missouriwestern.edu
After the removal of Residence Council, Student
Government Association
is determining how best to
use the excess funding.
As the 2011-2012 school
year unfolds, SGA will
be looking to allocate the
$26,400 that was initially
given to RC. Since the
SGA budget doesn’t
fund the new
Residence
Hall Association, the
extra funds
have been
placed
in
special projects budget.
According to
SGA President
Alison Norris, the
obvious difference between
the budgets will be the
elimination of RC and the
roll over.
“We itemized out some
things in the budget when
I presented it to the council,” Norris said. “This year
we have more roll over than
last year and plan to work
on a new special project.”
SGA Finance Director Nick McCutcheon explained that the $26,400
that was used to fund RC
will be placed specifically
in special projects, which
are the general funds for
the Student Senate, and
will be allowed to help
fund these specific areas
that deal directly with the
students.
“We are now able to
place this money in areas
which will help to fund
organizations,”
McCutcheon
said. “Essentially
all of this
money
went to
the legislative
branch,
more specifically the special
projects, which, in a
nut shell, is the money the
Senate uses to pass bills.”
McCutcheon
believes
the Senate will create new
and better legislation with
the extra funding.
Last week the Student
See
SGA page 2
Final AD candidate guarantees
Chiefs camp for full 10-year term
Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editor
thuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu
Mark Alnutt walked into
the Griffon Indoor Sports
Complex on Thursday and
knew right away that this is
where he wants to be.
Alnutt, the senior associate
athletic director of administration at Missouri, was the
fourth and final man to make
a pitch for the Athletic Director position currently available at Missouri Western.
Alnutt spoke about why he
wants to be at Western during his presentation in the
GISC.
“This is a tremendous facility,” Alnutt said. “I’ve told
many people that we would
die for a facility like this in
Columbia, Mo. This is something we need to take advantage of.”
The facility, as well as the
community, are two of the
reasons Alnutt stated to make
him want to be at Western.
“One thing that attracted
me here to this position is:
This is a great community to
raise a family,” Alnutt said.
Alnutt is the only candidate
out of the final four that has
never had a director of athletics job. This doesn’t mat-
Wildlife chapter garners
international attention
The Western chapter of The Wildlife Soviety was the first student chapter in history from
Missouri to be chosen as International Student Chapter of the Year. Jason Brown | Photo Editor
Jerrod Huber | Staff Writer
jhuber3@missouriwestern.edu
A talented group of hardworking students at Missouri
Western have won the most
prestigious award available
to them.
Western’s student chapter
of The Wildlife Society has
been chosen as the 2011 International Student Chapter
of the Year.
Cary Chevalier, associate
professor of biology, said this
is the first time in history that
a student chapter from the
state of Missouri has won this
October 6, 2011
griffonnews.com
SGA allocates money
to special projects
award.
“This is the most prestigious award that a student
chapter can receive within its
discipline,” Chevalier said.
“There is no greater honor
within natural resource management and wildlife management than this.”
This is an outstanding
achievement. Western was
selected from a field of 119
other student chapters across
50 states, Guam, Costa Rica
and 14 Canadian provinces
and territories.
Sophomore Ben Olsen is
secretary of Western’s chap-
“Romeo and Juliet,” directed by
Tee Quillin and starring Misty
Ballew and Kiefer Helsel opens
Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
See pages 4 and 5
news
ter of TWS. Olsen said he
and other members of the
chapter have donated over
1,800 hours at the Squaw
Creek National Wildlife Refuge, which is a Society-wide
record for the most hours
students have volunteered.
This is just one of the many
accomplishments the TWS is
being recognized for.
“We broke the record the
previous year with over 1,000
hours, and we just broke
the record again with an
See
Wildlife page 2
Alnutt, senior associate athletic director of administration at the University of Missouri, played
football for the Tigers and is currently chairman of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Committee.
Kyle Inman | Asst. News Editor
ter to Alnutt; he said he has
worked hard his whole life
and has been put up against
the odds plenty of times.
He was a former walk-on
for the Missouri Tigers football team. Alnutt eventually
played well enough to be put
on scholarship and graduated at Missouri shortly after.
He stated that competitive-
when I say victories I’m not
just talking about games. I’m
talking about victories in the
classroom.”
Alnutt did not shy away
from questions about the
Kansas City Chiefs summer
camp. He has
ness is all too important when
dealing with college students,
but not just the drive to succeed at their sport, but also
the will to graduate. He said
that’s what makes a student a
champion.
“It’s a tremendous honor
to represent [Western],”
Alnutt said. “There’s going
to be a lot of victories, and
See
A.D. page 2
Kickin’ it with karaoke
Eboni Lacey | Campus Life Editor
elacey@missouriwestern.edu
A hopeful student approaches the mike as the
huge crowd stops their laughter and awaits the upcoming
talent. The student is scared,
yet confident that their voice
will harmonize like the brilliant tones of a canary. But
as the words come along the
screen, the student realizes
that he doesn’t know exactly how the song goes,
causing him to hum
what he doesn’t know
and bellow out the
little amount he does
know like an angry
black crow.
This was the normal
talent that graced the
stage of the Western
Activity Council Karaoke night, held in Blum
food court Tuesday,
Oct. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m..
WAC president Robin Ussher felt having
the karaoke show in
the food court would
be more beneficial for
student enjoyment and
would spark student
attendance at WAC
events. The show,
which had numerous
Enrollment at Western
has risen for the seventh
consecutive year,
according to numbers
released at the Board
of Governors meeting
Sept. 28.
See page 3
people in attendance, either
waiting to perform or stopping by as they were waiting
for food, had the most student participation in a single
event for the entire year.
“It’s something different
that WAC has
never re-
ally done before,” Ussher
said. “I did some research
and I found ‘Karaoke Productions’ from Kansas City,
Mo., and she had a really
cool package with music
See Karaoke page 2
Recently appointed Director
of Entertainment for Western
Activities Council Sebastian
Smith rocks out to Journey’s
“Don’t Stop Believing.”
Photo: Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief
Western volleyball
traveled to Texas over
the weekend to compete in the Holiday Inn
Express and Suites
Classic.
See page 8
News
NEWS
NOTES
Appeals court convenes
at Western
ßThe Missouri Court of
Appeals, Western District,
will convene court at Missouri
Western State University at
9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12
in the Kemper Recital Hall,
inside Leah Spratt Hall.
A three-judge panel consisting of Karen King Mitchell,
James Smart and Gary Witt
will hear oral arguments
in five cases. The cases are
appeals from previously held
trials in area circuit courts.
The judges will hear attorneys argue whether the trial
had errors that should cause
them to be retried or the trial
court’s judgment reversed.
The judges will break sometime during the arguments
to explain the judicial system
in general and the appellate judiciary in particular.
This is the fourteenth consecutive year the court has
heard arguments at Western.
The bands march on
Missouri Western State
University’s bands, Phi Mu
Alpha and Sigma Alpha
Iota present the 26th annual
Tournament of Champions
High School Marching
Band Competition beginning at 2 p.m., Tuesday,
Oct. 11 at Spratt Stadium.
Twenty-six high school
bands will be participating in the competition. The
day will conclude at 9:15
p.m. with an exhibition performance by the Golden
Griffon Marching Band
and an awards ceremony.
Gate entrance is $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Children
12 and under are free.
Krug amphitheater
hosted concert
Two instrumental music
groups
from
Missouri
Western State University
presented a free concert at
2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 2 in
the Krug Park Bowl amphitheater. The performance by
the Symphonic Winds and
Jazz Ensemble was the inaugural concert in a series of
fall and spring performances at Krug Park. The series
is a collaboration between
Western, the St. Joseph
School District and the St.
Joseph parks, recreation and
civic facilities department.
The Symphonic Winds is
under the direction of Jeffrey
Hinton, assistant professor of
music and director of bands.
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
Page 2
Students hit high note at WAC Karaoke
Karaoke: continued from front
videos and lights and stuff
that would really make it fun
for everybody that came out
for it. We decided to give it
a try.”
Around 30 to 35 people
showed Western their gums
as they sang along to Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Journey
and Lauryn Hill.
Some came in groups, others came in pairs and some
crooners flocked to the mike
solo. Yet everyone showed
what they can do; both the
good and the ugly.
“I like the way this works
because it’s not a matter of
people committing to go,”
Ussher said. “Things for like
the talent show and other
events, people have to decide
that they are going and have
to go out of their way to go to
it. This event is kind of hard
to miss. We are catching everybody at dinner time. They
can make a split decision,
and boom: They are here in
attendance. It’s a lot of fun.
A couple of our very own
WAC members have been up
there [singing] with very impressive voices.”
Among these “impressive
voices” was WAC Director
of Entertainment, Sebastian
Smith, who sang numerous
times on the stage to daring songs such as Journey’s
“Don’t Stop Believing.”
Smith, who recently received
a job singing at World’s Of
Fun as an entertainer, was
one of the night’s highlighted
singers and kept the crowd
amused.
“Starting in November
you can see me on the Comedy City stage in downtown
Kansas City doing improv,”
Smith said. “[Singing] is a
hobby that I would really like
to explore in the future.”
Smith also feels that not
only students, but WAC
members, should focus on
showing good attendance at
events.
“We want to gain a lot of
buzz about WAC,” Smith
said. “Students are paying for
these events in their tuition.
As a member of WAC, you
Left: Mallory Edson sings a duet with Louis Erby. When Edson didn’t know the words, she
wasn’t afraid to lay down a beat. Right: After his duet with Edson, Erby sang Tevin Campbell’s
“Can We Talk.” When he didn’t know the lyrics, his showed his improvisation skills. Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief
are planning, organizing and
working these events. But
you are also a student. If you
want to participate in these
events, chances are other students will too.”
Whether karoke night may
have revealed Western’s talented future celebrity sing-
ers and songwriters or not,
the night will definitely leave
campus wanting more from
WAC in their future events.
Charlonda Bozeman expresses how fun the show was
and believes the location was
a smart idea.
“Having it in the food court
is common because everybody hangs out there, and it
is a popular spot,” Bozeman
said. “WAC events are important to attend to be social
and to have something to do.
It is good to get your name
out there.”
Wildlife takes classroom Student Affairs carries Division 2 gets a
outside, wins award
forward SGA allotment taste of Division 1
SGA: continued from front
Wildlife: continued from front
AD: continued from front
additional 800 hours this past
year. A full-time employee
works 2,080 hours, so we almost matched a full-time employee,” Olsen said.
Olsen said the chapter seriously deserved to win from
all the hard work they put in.
“We get up at 4 a.m. and
work until 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
at night just volunteering,”
Olsen said. “We are not getting paid for it; we are helping
places like SCNWR [Squaw
Creek National Wildlife Refuge] and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
It’s not just about studying;
we are out doing things we
want to do while learning
and getting certifications. We
have proved that we are responsible.”
The hard work and effort
has paid off well; Western’s
TWS has put Western above
many other well-known
schools. Texas A&M, Purdue
and Wisconsin-Stevens Point
universities are all considered to have the biggest and
best wildlife programs, but
now Western is the school to
be recognized as a top contender.
“To be able to say that little
old Missouri Western beat
these schools is really cool,”
Olsen said.
Western’s TWS won Chapter of the Year for the North
Central Section in 2004,
2007, 2009 and 2010, but
taking the international stage
was a major feat for them.
TWS will be going to the
National Conference for The
Wildlife Society on Nov. 5 to
officially accept the award.
The conference will take
place in Hawaii, where students will be immersed in an
environment of professionals.
Todd Eckdahl, chair of
the biology department, said
it will be really exciting for
these students to be around
professionals at the conference and expressed how
pleased he is with them all.
“Missouri Western is the
applied learning university,”
Eckdahl said. “That’s our
state-mandated mission, and
what these wildlife students
have done has really taken
that applied learning to
heart.
“They have taken what
they have learned in the
classroom and, through the
vehicle of the student chapter of The Wildlife Society,
they went out into the world
and tried to apply what they
have learned in the classroom conducting service
projects, engaging in professional training. These are all
examples of applied learning
at its very finest.”
Campus Crime Reports
Senate passed a bill to fund a
new student lounge in Potter
Hall. McCutcheon assumes
that this money is coming
from what would have been
the RC funding for this year.
“This is a line item that
has always been in the budget,” McCutcheon said. “But
with the elimination of Residence Council it significantly
increases it and has helped
with the funding of this endeavor.”
In the Spring 2011 changes to the SGA Constitution,
SGA is required to allocate
20 percent of their budget to
Student Affairs. According to
the provision, Student Affairs
must use this money for student programming that benefits the entire student body.
“I would not say that it
hasn’t,” McCutcheon said.
“We just want to make sure
that it always does.”
In the fiscal year 2011,
Student
Affairs
only
spent $20,625.14 out of
$103,107.52 from the allocated 20 percent.
Thus far, a comprehensive plan for this year’s use
of Student Affairs’ 20 percent has not been presented
to Senate. According to the
SGA constitution, the use of
the previous year’s allocation
must be presented at the last
Senate meeting of the Spring
semester. In the Fall, the vice
president of student affairs
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•
•
•
•
1
negotiated with the Chiefs
before, as he was one of the
key partners in the MissouriKansas fall rivalry game being played at Arrowhead
Stadium for the past four
seasons.
“My next step is to be able
to stay in communication
with them and make sure this
camp stays here for a long
time and it benefits both parties.”
The Missouri alum made
a bold statement before taking questions from the media
and boosters at the presentation.
“I guarantee we’ll make it
the full 10 years,” said Alnutt,
when referring to the Chiefs
and Western’s partnership in
the summer camp.
The camp has three years
left in its contract. After that
point either side can separate.
Alnutt said he is sure about
the Chiefs because relationships are what matter, and he
has a strong relationship with
many of the Chiefs’ personnel.
Besides handling money at
Missouri, he is also the chairman of the NCAA Women’s
Gymnastics Committee. He
said he understands rivalries,
and another draw to Western
is that the MIAA reminds
him of the Big XII, in the
sense that it is a strong
conference.
Calendar of Events
3
2
(currently Esther Peralez) or
her designee is required to
present how that year’s money will be used.
“While the official budget
has not been presented, there
have been numerous conversations about what SGA
wants from Student Affairs,”
Peralez said.
Earlier versions of the
SGA Constitution did not
require that SGA allocate 20
percent of its budget to Student Affairs. While Student
Affairs did not previously
receive funding directly from
SGA, many of its organizations—Center for Multicultural Education, Center of
Student Engagement and
Student Leadership Development—did receive funding from SGA.
As of Tuesday, the current
SGA budget had not been
posted online. Last year’s
budget can be found on the
SGA page on the Missouri
Western website.
Norris said the updated
budget should be online for
the student body to view, and
she will continue to work to
get this released as soon as
possible.
“The current operating
budget was approved last
spring,” McCutcheon said.
“It should already be up, so I
am surprised that it isn’t yet.”
•
Thursday, September 29
Griffon Yearbook Portraits, 9
a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Forces of Nature” Planetarium
Show, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 1
“Cardboard Rocket”
Planetarium Show, 11 a.m.
“Black Holes” Planetarium
Show, 12 p.m.
Griffon Soccer vs. University
of Central Missouri, 7 p.m.
•
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Monday, October 3
Griffon Luncheon, 12 p.m.
Tuesday, October 4
Foreign Films Movie Showing,
6:30 p.m.
Griffon Volleyball vs.
Northwest Missouri State
University, 7 p.m.
“Fractals” Planetarium Show,
7 p.m.
Sunday, October 2
Krug Park Concert, 2 p.m.
4
1.
2.
3.
4.
STEALING LIQUOR OFFENSE TRAFFIC OFFENSE ASSAULT
6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, Blum
9:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, Logan Hall
10:10 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 28, Spring Sports Complex
10:50 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 28, Scanlon Hall
If your organization would
like to announce an event,
e-mail the information to
thegriffonnews@gmail.com
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
News
Page 3
Enrollment increases for 7th year
Caitlin Cress | Managing Editor
ccress1@missouriwestern.edu
Enrollment at Missouri
Western has increased for the
seventh consecutive year according to numbers released
at the Board of Governors
meeting Sept. 28.
There are 6,296 students
enrolled at Western as of the
official census date of Sept.
27. Jeanne Daffron, vice
president for academic affairs, announced that enrollment has risen 2.6 percent
over last fall’s numbers and
approximately 27 percent
since fall 2003.
Daffron noted that the percentages of part-time and
non-traditional students have
risen.
“I expect that has a whole
lot to do with the economy,”
Daffron said. “Perhaps people who have lost jobs or are
finding jobs may consider
this to be a good time to continue their education.”
Daffron went on to point
out that, within the state of
Missouri, the number of unemployed people with only a
high school diploma is twice
that of unemployed people
with a higher degree. She
applauded the students who
have the initiative to continue their education.
“In this part of the state,
and in Missouri as a whole,
we have pretty low educational levels compared to other states around the country,”
Daffron said. “We do know
that it’s really important for
the economic future to have
well-educated citizens.”
Esther Peralez, vice president of student affairs, cited
Griffon Hall as a reason for
the increased enrollment
numbers.
She stated that the resident
halls are 92 percent full, and
that fall 2011 is the first semester in many without a
waiting list for on-campus
housing.
High school enrollment
and graduation rates across
the country have been rather
flat, so this larger enrollment
number is unexpected.
“We really didn’t anticipate, in terms of budget, that
we would have an increase,”
Daffron said.
Daffron added that while
this larger-than-expected enrollment does mean added
revenue, it also means added
expenses and pressures for
the university. Kylee Strough,
chair of the Board of Governors, echoed this sentiment.
“We know that if this [increased enrollment] continues, it’s added stress and
strain on our facilities, as well
as our staff and faculty.”
Strough did not offer a
direct answer when asked
which part of infrastructure
would be updated first due to
increased enrollment numbers.
“That comes from those
that are here every day during the week,” Strough said.
“It’s not for the Board to look
and say ‘what do we need to
do?’, because we’re not on
campus living and breathing
it every day.”
Strough added that the
Board relies very heavily on
the suggestions of students,
faculty and staff and encouraged students to give their
input.
The Board has begun to
brainstorm ways to financially handle Western’s growing
student body.
“What I can tell you is that
it didn’t take more enrollment to be announced this
week for the Board to look at
‘how can we begin to supplement the budget?’” Strough
said. “Looking to the state
for more dollars is not the answer. They’ve told us that.”
HEAD COUNT BY CLASS LEVEL
FALL 11
Graduate
Students
FALL 10
Seniors
FALL 09
Juniors
FALL 08
Sophomores
FALL 07
Freshmen
FALL 06
FALL 05
FALL 04
FALL 03
FALL:
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
Grad Students
TOTAL
2003
1,941
957
816
1,248
2004
2,134
886
863
1,222
2005
2,406
803
817
1,245
2006
2,414
867
758
1,256
4,962
5,105
5,271
5,295
2007
2,398
898
807
1,216
41
5,360
2008
2,494
947
779
1,250
65
5,535
2009
2,576
1,010
878
1,201
70
5,735
2010
2,653
1,087
953
1,317
124
6,134
2011
2,579
1,155
993
1,408
161
6,296
Intramural athletics give students new outlet for fun
Caleb Jones | Staff Writer
cjones34@missouriwestern.edu
Students play intramural flag football. Intramural sports gives students the option of playing
competitive sports without the commitment of a varsity sport. Jason Brown | Photo Editor
The intramural sports program at Missouri Western
provides an opportunity for
all students to enjoy satisfying experiences according to
their particular needs, which
vary from highly competitive
to recreational.
There are many intramural sports a student can participate in, varying from the
always popular and competitive flag football to a more
relaxed sport like bowling.
Other available intramurals
are powder puff football, billiards, kickball, badminton,
volleyball, racquetball and
dodgeball.
Wonda Berry, recreational
services facilities director
said, “A student should play
intramurals because it gets
them engaged in the university experience itself. It gets
them out of their dorms and
allows them to meet other
students and extend their
high school years of sports
activity.”
For someone to sign up
to play an intramural sport,
all they have to do is go to
the front service desk in the
Looney Complex and fill out
an entry form, stating what
they’re wanting to take part
in, if they need a team or already have assembled a team
to do battle with.
This year the Recreational
Services Department wants
to appeal to everyone.They
are going to try to have sports
for students with disabilities
so they too can have fun.
Some of these sports have
to be modified to suit certain participant’s particular
needs.
The people that run the
Recreational Services Department say that will not
even be a problem and that
they love the challenges that
are presented to them to try
and satisfy everyone’s wishes.
Some of the sports that
could possibly be in the works
for people with disabilities to
play are disk golf and wheelchair basketball. “We want
everyone to get the most out
of their college experience,”
Berry said.
Like most students that
go out for intramural sports,
many of them are excited to
play if they’ve been a part of
it in the past. As for the newcomers, they are not sure of
what to really expect.
“I am ready to whip up on
some people. I am ready to
do work son!” freshman Justin Berry, who plans to play
flag football, said.
While some appear ecstatic, pumped up and ready to
go, others seem a little hesitant and don’t know what to
expect with what kind of experience an intramural sport
will bring them.
“I wanted to play last year,
but I wasn’t sure if it was
for me or not; maybe I’ll go
out this year,” sophomore
Neva Kidwell, who is thinking about playing volleyball,
said.
Most of the intramural
sports will take place on
Monday-Thursday and usually will go from 5-10 p.m.
Anyone that has any more
questions should contact
the front desk inside Looney
Complex at 816-271-5604.
2011 Fall Intramural Activities
ACTIVITY
ENTRY
PLAY BEGINS
BOWLING
SEPT. 12
OCT. 19
BILLIARDS
SEPT. 23
TBA
KICKBALL
OCT. 8
OCT. 17
BADMINTON
OCT. 18
OCT. 20
MEN VBALL
OCT. 25
NOV. 1
WOMEN VBALL
OCT. 25
NOV. 1
COED VBALL
OCT. 25
NOV. 1
RACQUETBALL
NOV. 18
NOV. 28
DODGEBALL
NOV. 18
NOV. 29
Stress: how to juggle it all
Caleb Jones | Staff Writer
cjones34@missouriwestern.edu
Whether
it’s
making
grades, keeping scholarships,
maintaining work and school
or building relationships,
college students are always
stressing out about something.
On Oct. 29 physical therapy majors in Eder Hall 208
hosted a stress management
seminar.
The 14 students that were
in attendance were also treated to a free massage.
For Katie O’Toole, a massage is exactly what she needed.
“The massage was amazing. It felt really good. I could
almost feel every negative
thing in my body just melting
away,” O’Toole said. “Sometimes you just have to unwind
and let everything go.”
There can be many reasons why someone is stressed
out, but there are also many
ways to handle stress. Counselor Steve Potter, who was
the presenter at the stress
management seminar, presented some of the ways students can deal with the stress
in their life.
“I practice what I preach.
Everyone handles what life
gives them differently,” Potter said. “Some people just
need to talk it out with themselves. It’ll take time to master a way that works for you.
Sometimes people just need
to recharge their batteries
and do things that they enjoy
doing.”
Time management may be
difficult for college students,
but it is important for success.
“For me it is not as stressful as it once was, since I now
work here on campus and go
to school,” Shannon Ebling
said. “With working here it
gives me more time to get
homework done, and unlike
other jobs, here at Missouri
Western, they will work more
around your school schedule.”
On a campus with a large
non-traditional population,
older students like Marilyn
Colboch, usually have more
on their plate than traditional students.
“I’ve been to college once
before, and honestly I think
it varies on the individual,”
Colboch said. “Everyone’s
circumstances in their lives
are different, and how they
deal with them are different
as well.”
Regardless of age, students
who are having trouble managing their stress should consider counseling.
The counseling center at
Western is located in Room
203 of Eder Hall. Counselors are there Monday-Friday,
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. You can
simply go to their office or
call them at 816-271-4327 to
set up an appointment.
Features
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
Page 4
‘Romeo and Juliet’ comes to the main stage
Christian Mengel | Staff Writer
cmengel@missouriwestern.edu
The Theatre & Cinema
department is showing no
signs of slowing down the
roll they have been on since
summer. Not only are
they moving forward in
the renovations and
advancements going
on in Potter Hall,
but their creativity is
moving them right
into a spotlight
Missouri Western
has never seen on
stage before.
“Romeo
and
Juliet” will now be
closer to us than ever
before, as its setting is
moved from Europe
to right here in 1861
Missouri. An idea since
last semester in the mind
of Tee Quillin, director
of “Romeo and Juliet,”
became a reality.
“This is an outreach to the
city of St.
Joseph,”
Quillin said.
“There will be things
put into the setting of
this play that really
existed here, while
being relatable to what
people still live with
everyday.” The living history of St. Joseph will come
alive on Oct. 6 on
the Potter Hall
mainstage.
“Romeo and
Juliet” will be
put into a new
perspective for
us all.
People that
have
never
seen “Romeo
and
Juliet”
before,
or
Shakespeare
at all, will
have a
great
opportunity
to
really
see a performance
of one of
the greatest
pieces of
li teratu re
ever written.
“We fail
if the audience doesn’t
understand
what’s going
on,” Jeremy
E d w a rd s,
senior
play-
ing Romeo’s cousin Benvolio,
said. “If we do our job, people will walk away
with a new
appreciation for
Shakespeare.”
P e o p l e
involved in this
production want
the audience
to see and
understand
the connection they
have with
“Romeo
a n d
Juliet”
a n d
how it
relates
to their own
lives.
“ T h e
themes in this
play are universal,” Sarah
Noe,
the
actress playing
Lady Capulet,
said. “There
are great life
c o m p a r i s o n s,
and I want the
audience to feel
the roller
coaster of
emotions
that are happening.”
The cast of “Romeo and
Juliet” know about things
that can really get to your
emotions. With only weeks
to prepare, Shakespeare’s
advanced dialogue sure
wasn’t the easiest thing
to pick up, along with
rehearsing blocking
without the use of
the theater stage.
Everyone’s hard
work and time consuming efforts put
into this play will
be shown from Oct.
6-8 at 7:30 p.m. and
October 9 at 3:00
p.m. in the Potter Hall
Theater. The first 25
students with student ID
will get in free. Tickets
can be purchased for $6
online at mwsutix.com,
where you can also see
a YouTube preview of
the play.
Andy Tyhurst and
Brian Dusky, playing
Tybalt and Mercutio
respectively, duel it
out on stage. The
play features Civil
War-style sword
fights and gun
shots.
Jason Brown
Photo Editor
Kiefer Helsel’s heart beats
quickly as he waits for his
name to be called in to audition for a spot in Western’s
first production of the year.
Others are waiting with him,
just as nervous, but he keeps
to himself. Kiefer Helsel? He
takes a deep breath and steps
on his mark on the stage; this
is where he comes to life.
Sophomore Helsel acted
in several productions
throughout high school, but
he has never been a part
of a Missouri Western pro-
duction—until now. After
showing up for auditions for
“Romeo and Juliet,” Helsel
unexpectedly took away the
lead role as Romeo.
Director Tee Quillin said it
never even crossed his mind
that Helsel hadn’t been in a
Western play before.
“I’m just glad Tee gave me
the opportunity,” Helsel said.
“Going into it, I knew there
were a lot of townspeople
and servants, so I said ‘all
right, hopefully I can nail
one of those down.’ I would
just take what I get because
it was my first audition, so I
went in thinking I just hope
I get in.”
Helsel got in, all right.
“I was checking for errors;
I reread it like three different
times like ‘Are you sure?’”
Helsel jokes. “I had a good
mixture of shock and disbelief at first, then the elation and gratitude for being
chosen to be a part of the
production.”
Helsel hates the auditions
the most because he gets nervous, but once they are over,
he is ready to roll. Helsel has
been working hard to get in
the mindset of Romeo.
“I’ll make sure I listen to
music I wouldn’t normally
Keifer Helsel, in his first production at Western, stars as Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet.”
According to various cast members, Helsel shines in this role.
Jason Brown | Photo Editor
listen to, like folk and bluegrass,” Helsel said. “Those
kinds of things help me get
into it.”
Helsel also went home
and downloaded a southern
speech coach on his computer in order to learn the
accent for the play. Not only
has the accent has been challenging for him, but learning
the Shakespearean language
in general has been tough.
However others, like Misty
Ballew, who is playing Juliet,
see it differently.
“He’s been doing fantastic
because this has been kicking my butt in lines, and
I’ve been doing this for three
years already,” Ballew said.
Helsel has been doing well
with his lines according to
fellow cast members. He
hasn’t played a role as prestigious as Romeo before, so he
has been working on bringing out a new version of
Romeo.
“It’s been interesting
because I haven’t ever
had a part that’s
so well known, so
everyone is going
to know what
this part is supposed to be,”
Helsel said. “In
that same sense,
I don’t want my
character
to
be the Romeo
that Leonardo
DiCaprio
played.”
Quillin
is
also helping
Helsel find his
own version of
Romeo.
“I’m
not
having Kiefer
play it the
same
way
that you normally think of
S h a k e s p e a re
being played:
that he’s falling all
over himself in love
and sighs; it’s not your
traditional play.”
All in all, Helsel wants to
display his character as a typical teenage boy that experiences atypical situations.
“I would say he’s young,
he doesn’t really know a lot
about life and by the end,
he probably finds out a little
more than he would’ve been
looking for in the beginning.”
Page 5
Features
Ballew to play a ‘beautiful disaster’
Blair Stalder | Features Editor
bstalder@missouriwestern.edu
Cast members rehearse in full costume, preparing for the
Thursday opening of “Romeo and Juliet” on the Potter Hall
mainstage. Jason Brown | Photo Editor
&
ROMEO JULIET SHOW TIMES
Potter Hall Theatre
Thursday, Oct. 6
Friday, Oct. 7
Saturday, Oct. 8
Sunday, Oct. 9
7:30
7:30
7:30
3:00
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
Lead role snatched by newcomer
Blair Stalder | Features Editor
bstalder@missouriwestern.edu
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
“Romeo and Juliet” director Tee Quillin pushes his
way through eager students
to get to the bulletin board
where he posts the cast list.
Four girls look for their name
by “Juliet,” but only one
leaves with a smile: Misty
Ballew.
Ballew has been involved
in many plays at Missouri
Western, such as “Night
of the Living Dead,” “The
Illusion” and “Laughter on
the 23rd Floor.” Now, as a
junior Theatre & Cinema
major with a concentration
in performing and directing,
Ballew is the leading lady
in Western’s production of
“Romeo and Juliet.”
Although she wouldn’t
have minded playing the
male roles of Benvolio or
Mercutio, her main goal was
to play Juliet. She was not
worried about getting the
callback, but she was a little
wary about not being cast in
the play at all.
“It was the final decision
that was stressing me out,”
Ballew said. “Only four girls
were called back for the role
of Juliet, which was the only
part I was called back for. So
if I didn’t get that part, then
it was either get the lead or
nothing at all.”
Ballew’s audition impressed
Quillin when she rubbed off
on other people at her tryout.
“During the auditions,
Left: It’s love at first sight for Romeo and Juliet, portrayed by Misty Ballew and Kiefer Helsel. Right: Erin Williams plays the Nurse, Juliet’s constant companion. Jason Brown | Photo Editor
when they read with a group
of people, the energy that
[Ballew] was giving to the
other actors in the scene was
energy that they could take
and use in their own performances, which, in turn,
fed her energy in the scene,”
Quillin said. “She created an
energy cycle, which is what a
scene has to be, and she was
doing that almost instinctively.”
Quillin said it was a tough
decision casting each of the
roles, especially for Juliet, but
he felt Ballew had a command of the language and
that she just looked right next
to Romeo, played by Kiefer
Helsel. Ballew knows Quillin
has confidence in her.
“After Tee said that, I felt
so much better about being
casted,” Ballew said.
After getting the part,
Ballew focused on getting in
the mindset for Juliet.
“I just try to sympathize
with her,” Ballew said. “I
mean, how horrible would it
be to get married to the love
of your life and then find out
you have to marry someone
else, someone who is way
older than you, ugly, and
you are only thirteen and
you wonder what is going to
happen. I just think of how
I would feel if I had to be
taken away from my boyfriend and marry some old
Chemistry flies between co-stars Misty Ballew and Kiefer Helsel,who portray
the titular star-crossed lovers in director Tee Quillin’s production of “Romeo
and Juliet.”
Jason Brown | Photo Editor
guy that I didn’t like.”
Ballew not only had to
work on her character as
Juliet, she also had to practice her chemistry with her
Romeo, Helsel. Helsel and
Ballew met for the first time
at the audition.
“The first few times we
didn’t really have any communication, but once we had
to buckle down and just deal
with it, we got it down,”
Helsel said. “It’s not that I
had a problem with her, I
just didn’t know her. I didn’t
really know how to go about
saying ‘Let’s go practice this
love scene.’”
The attraction between the
two is the main idea of the
play, and now that they know
each other a little better, it
will come more naturally.
Overall, Ballew is ready to
be Juliet.
“My favorite part about
Juliet is she is so tragically
GRIFFONNEWS.com
Jesse Bilderback | Staff Writer
jbilderback@missouriwestern.edu
Set in the midst of the
bloodiest war in American
history, Missouri Western’s
Theatre & Cinema troupe
brings to life the everlasting
tale of true love and tragedy in William Shakespeare’s
classic play “Romeo and
Juliet.”
2011 is the 150th anniversary of the American Civil
War, and St. Joseph has a
rich history during the period. Director Tee Quillin felt
it essential to set the traditionally 16th century play in
1861. Quillin’s plan is to create a great performance and
honor St. Joseph’s past.
“I wanted this to be an
outreach to St. Joseph,”
Quillin said. “I wanted
to get as many people
from the community
involved in this as possible.”
One thing Quillin
has done to get the
community involved
is asking the Missouri
State Guard Civil War
re-enactors to entertain audience members. The Guard will
be setting up replica
camps for the Thursday
and Saturday performances. The camps are
designed to give people a
glimpse of what it was like
during the time, complete
with tents, campfires and
horses. The re-enactors will
be doing some simulation
drills as well.
Quillin is confident that
Shakespeare’s play will fit
perfectly in the St. Joseph
area and 19th century timeframe.
“The story is timeless,”
Quillin said. “The moment
you have your first crush
on a girl you can relate to
Romeo’s balcony speech.”
There is only one Union
soldier in the play, but there
will be plenty of action. The
play isn’t about the American
Civil War, but about a man
and a woman in love with
each other who are hindered
by their quarrelling families.
Separated by a war and a
river, Romeo and Juliet are
destined to fall in love.
Andy Tyhurst, who is playing the part of Tybalt, feels
that the story fits well with
St. Joseph and the American
Civil War era. Tyhurst
explains how ecstatic Quillin
was when he came up with
the setting for the play.
“He became fascinated with the history of St.
Joseph,” Tyhurst said. “It’s
such a bold vision and, I’m
telling you: It works.”
Setting a play in the Civil
War brings up some potentially uncomfortable issues
dealing with race. Quillin
dealt with the issue sensitively and with humor, according
to Jeff Jones, one of the black
actors in the cast.
“We made a joke about
‘Oh wait, he wants to make
me a slave,’” Jones said.
According to Quillin, he
cast the play with colorblind
eyes.
“Several
African
Americans were set on lead
roles,” Quillin said. “I came
close, very close, to casting an
African-American Juliet with
Caucasian parents—I’m all
about colorblind casting, and
I would’ve never given it a
second thought.”
Jones is playing Friar John
in several of the matinees
and at the Saturday night
performance and is playing
a Capulet servant the other
nights. Jones said that the
latter role did not make him
uncomfortable.
“The way that they do
productions around here,
it’s very dignified. They’re
respectful,” Jones said.
“Some people in this production have to go places
they don’t like to go, but they
go there for the sake of the
production.”
Quillin agreed that the
black actors have faced the
issue with professionalism.
“All
them
[AfricanAmerican cast members]
said ‘No, no, this is history;
our grandparents and great
grandparents had to go
through this, and that’s what
we’re doing,’” he said. “They
jumped in and said ‘Don’t
hold back, we want it to be
like it was.’”
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Opinions
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
Page 6
Editorial: Western, the other black and gold
Seven years of growth is a
huge accomplishment for an
organization with diminishing funds. Then again, Missouri Western has never been
an average institution.
In the past seven years,
Western has increased its enrollment by 27 percent. We
are a growing and diverse
university. Most Western administrators would attribute
this to the harsh economy.
Layoffs give people the opportunity to retrain or finish
their education.
If the economy were the
only cause, then why has
Western seen a sustained increase? Western’s success has
little to do with the economy
and more to do with its unspoken mission: the success
of the individual student.
The largest classes at Western are never over 200 students. Professors constantly
make themselves available to
students and are always willing to help. If a student needs
personalized attention, there
are literally a dozen places
they can go. Western is the
students’ university.
Sure, many of Western’s
students are looking for a
second chance. They may
be retraining for a new job
market or are attempting to
get their education despite a
rough first try, and Western is
a right fit for these students.
Coupled with a low tuition,
personalized attention is
what “second-chance” students need.
Western mimics an American philosophy. For nearly
200 years, America has been
a second-chance country. Immigrants from abroad would
look for jobs and opportunities in America and, to this
day, still do. While the Clock
Tower is no Statue of Liberty, and students probably
don’t look at it as some sign
of independence or freedom,
the pride is still there.
Western isn’t a Division 1,
big school. You won’t find
Western athletic merchandise outside of St. Joseph. As
a matter of fact, most people
outside of Missouri have
probably never heard of
Western. It is, by definition, a
small school.
Nonetheless, the education
its students get is all the same
as a big school, if not better.
That extra 27 percent of students chose the other black
and gold because they wanted a hands-on education.
They knew that at the Steven
L. Craig School of Business
wasn’t just about tests and
textbooks; it is about experience in the field. Students
who graduate from Western
leave with more than degrees. They leave with lines
on their resumes.
Sure, the majority of students attend Western because it’s cheap. Western is
the one of the cheapest universities in the state, but these
penny-saving students didn’t
have to go to college at all.
They chose Western because
someone told them the facts.
Western has small, personalized classes. The professors
are here to teach you, not
to dole out work to teaching
assistants. If you want more
out of your education, the
opportunities are at Western.
So, why are you at Western? Is it because your high
school counselor told you
that if you have a college degree that you’d make more
money or it would be easier
to get a job? While that is
true, that doesn’t explain
why in the last seven years
Western’s enrollment has increased substantially. Western students choose Western
for one reason: to take control of their education.
CAMPUS
If Western had
the cash, what
would you like
to see improved?
Dionne Thomas
sophomore
“What I would like to
see improved are the
dormitories. They suck.
They’re very trashy.”
Lavonte James
senior
Brooke Carter | Graphics Editor
Respect your campus and peers
EDITOR’S
SOAP BOX
BY DAVE HON
When I was in high school
I had a column called the
“The Editor’s Soap Box.”
Three years later, here in the
Griffon Newsroom seems like
a good time to bring it back.
Before you begin reading, you should know one
thing—do not take this column to heart. If you do, it
will most likely ruin your life.
The Editor’s Soap Box is not
supposed to make you feel
peppy or happy. It’s more like
that 8 a.m. Bio 101 class that
is probably kicking your GPA
to the curb right now. Zing!
So, like, love it, hate it or
appreciate, this is my soap
box—I really don’t care what
you think.
Things freshman should
know
No one cares how excited
about college you are. You
are a freshman. Sure, it’s
awesome that you’re out of
high school and you, like,
used to do really neat stuff
there. Still, no one cares.
You don’t even know what
college is really. You are a
first semester freshman who
is taking 15 credit hours (including Griffon Edge!) that
aren’t really classes. Until
you get started on your major
classes, your “college experi-
WITH ELLIS CROSS
On Friday, Sept. 30 students received an important
message from the Vice President of Student Affairs, Esther Peralez, which did not
include many details but was
clearly about cyberbullying.
By the tone and content of
the email, Western students
are (evidently) involved as the
perpetrators, victims or both.
What used to be the behavior of children on the playground has now entered the
high-tech world. Cyberbullying is well defined in our Student Handbook as harassing, teasing, intimidating or
threatening another person
by sending or posting inap-
propriate and hurtful email
messages, digital pictures,
images or web site postings,
including blogs and social
network systems.
The Wired Safety Group
at wiredsafety.org defines it
further by stating it is when
a child, preteen or teen is
tormented, threatened, harassed, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another
child. The website also reports that children have killed
each other and have committed suicide after having been
involved in a cyberbullying
incident.
By getting involved as a
cyberbully, you can lose your
ence” hasn’t started yet.
As far as the other part of
your college experience—the
one involving red cups and
copious amounts of illicit
drugs—no one cares about it
either. If you want to experiment with drugs and your
GPA, don’t tell me about it.
Unless you get busted… then
it’s kinda funny.
Loud and proud
Four days a week I lug myself up to the third floor of
Popplewell to fill my brain
with Bio 101 goodness. Contrary to popular belief, general education classes can be
quite entercating (entertaining and educating).
Unfortunately, the class after my class has decided to
have a pre-class pow-wow. At
11:30 the other class begins
to congregate and chat about
meaningless things (at least I
assume they are meaningless
because they don’t involved
biology). Either way, they are
being loud and disruptive.
The Griffon News Staff
Caitlin Cress
Andy Inman
Eboni Lacey
Jordan Jenkins
Brooke Carter
Jason Brown
Todd Fuller
Thomas Huitt-Johnson
Kyle Inman
Matt Gleaves
Ellis Cross
Blair Stalder
Ryan Scroggins
Kyler Penland
Bob Bergland
Dave Hon
Editor-in-Chief
Someone told me what
class these rude students are
from, but frankly I don’t care.
I care so little, I’m considering running into their class
and yelling at the top of my
lungs, “I DON’T CARE
ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION EITHER!”
Seriously though, have
some consideration for your
peers. I know that getting an
A in whatever you’re taking
is important, but that doesn’t
mean you have to walk all
over my learning process,
man.
Popsicles and poop
I’ve taken up a new habit
of a morning walk around
campus, and while the sun is
just peeking over the horizon,
I’m saddened when I step in
poop.
I can’t really say that this
is dog poop (it’s definitely
too small for human poop).
I think that maybe small-tomedium sized rodents may
be taking over our campus.
Step one in the rodent
blitzkrieg plan: Drop poop
on the sidewalks of America’s esteemed universities.
Step two: Alternate the rodent’s base DNA to make
their own population more
intelligent. Step three: Take
over the world. Alright, that’s
never going to happen.
I know that Missouri Western is very low-staffed maintenance wise, but I feel that
the cleanliness of our sidewalks should take priority.
Yes, students, this means us
too.
During my morning walks,
I tend to notice large amounts
of trash on campus as well. I
don’t care how inconvenient
that Popsicle stick would be
in your car trash can; don’t
throw it out the window.
I had hoped that the Native American from the ‘80s
(you know, the one with the
big tears) would have cleaned
this up long ago. Maybe we
need a refresher.
has moved from the
: Bullying
playground to the computer
ISP or instant messaging accounts because cyberbullying
is a term of service violation
or breach of contract with
the software provider. Parents are the best defense to
correct this behavior and are
in the position to make the
most difference if their child
is the perpetrator or victim.
Schools that try to get involved are often sued and
lose the case on the basis
that they are trying to exceed their legal authority for
actions taken off campus.
Students also have the constitutional freedom of speech
to help defend their actions,
even if their freedom upsets
Managing Editor
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VOICE
another person.
WSG recommends that
a provision be added to the
school’s acceptable use policy
reserving the right to discipline the student for actions
taken off-campus if they are
intended to have an effect on
a student or they adversely affect the safety and well being
of a student while in school.
This makes it a contractual,
not a constitutional, issue.
If it feels like this column
is talking about children and
not college students it’s because most of the time cyberbullying activities involve
children. What needs to be
said is that these actions
are childish. It is actually a
shame that our student handbook even needs to cover this
topic. Using electronic devices to anonymously harass
people is cowardly.
The best advice to follow if
you are a victim according to
the Wired Safety Group is to
“stop, block and tell.” First,
stop. Take a few minutes to
calm down. Next, block the
cyber bully or limit all communications to those on your
buddy list. Then tell a trusted
adult; you do not have to
face this alone. You can also
report cyberbullying experience to wiredsafety.org if you
are a victim.
“Better food in the
cafeteria. That’s it.”
Valerie Porlier-Smith
freshman
“I would love for the
art department to be
remodeled with bigger
classrooms so we could
have more space to work.”
Patrick Larsen
freshman
“I would like to see a
completely new art center
with bigger facilities
and make use of the old
building too.”
Dereck Dew
senior
“Serious research into
neurosomatic areas
dealing with ideas esoteric
and/or energetic.”
The Griffon News is written and published by students of Missouri Western State University during the fall and
spring semesters. The first copy of each issue is free; additional copies are 50 cents. Content of this paper is developed
independently of the faculty and administration, or other campus organizations or offices. Readers are encouraged to
submit story ideas, information and advertising to The Griffon News office, Eder 221, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph,
Mo. 64507, or by phoning (816) 271-4412 (advertising and news room). You may also e-mail thegriffonnews@gmail.
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Guidelines for letters to the editor:
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columns no longer than 500 words. Letters and columns will be edited for style.
• All letters must include signature and identity verification information, such as phone number. The Griffon News
reserves the right to edit all letters for length and Associated Press style.
• The Griffon News will not withhold names under any circumstances. Anonymously submitted letters will not be
published.
• Views expressed on the opinion pages are not necessarily those of The Griffon News staff or Missouri Western
State University.
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
Sports
Page 7
Jennies’ got a gun:
Central outshoots Western by 36
attempts in 1st conference match
Five games in,
one game out
team, but they knew what
they had in Zac Dickey and
caught lightning in a bottle
with transfer Jon Brown.
Western, on the other
hand, saw Travis Partridge
start his first game and its
defense go up against an
offense that is averaging
over 37 points-per-game, as
well as a Pistol Gun set that
drew attention away from
Western’s defensive line and
standout players Ben Pister
Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editor and David Bass.
thuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu
The next three Saturdays,
Western has a date set up
Five games in, the with teams that have a comGriffons have played two bined record of 4-11; two
ranked opponents, two road of the games are at Spratt
games and two undefeated Stadium. These games are
teams. Baffling? Well, sit- definitely not chalked up
ting at 3-2 at this point, as wins just yet, especially
Missouri Western is right since they are all conferwhere it supposed to be.
ence games, but winning
Factor in two season-end- the games would set the
ing injuries - T.J. Fannin Griffons up with a 6-2
and Marcus Thompson - record. Last year’s 8-3
how should Western fare record sent Western up to
in the second half of the Maryville, Mo. for post-seaseason?
son play. Will the commitAlthough Jerry Partridge tee be so kind this year?
said he would much rather
Highly unlikely, considbe 5-0 at this point, three ering the MIAA doesn’t
wins out of the “more chal- receive that sort of supelenging” part of the season rior credit — Pittsburg,
isn’t too bad. The Pittsburg Washburn and Northwest
State loss is all of a sud- are all in front of Western,
den looking less devastat- and don’t forget about the
ing after it handed No. 1 Mules: they’re still around.
Northwest Missouri State Three of those teams will
its first conference loss in probably receive a bid. Four,
six years.
well, maybe; all five — no.
Not to say that Western So how about this: On Nov.
would beat Pittsburg if 5, when Northwest comes
the two squared off this to town to play Western,
Saturday instead of open- the meeting between the
ing weekend, but maybe Bearcats and Griffons could
the first game should be actually have a playoff conoverlooked. Yes, Pittsburg tention scenario, and so
was playing its first game that game might actually
of the season as well, and mean something. Wait. It
the Gorillas were the road always means something.
Griffon Soccer took a hard loss to Central this weekend, losing 3-1. The loss was the first in the MIAA and put them at 3-4.
Jason Brown | Photo Editor
Kyle Inman | Asst. Sports Editor
kpinman@gmail.com
Missouri Western soccer
played tough, but was unable
to pull off the upset against
the No. 12 Central Missouri
Jennies Saturday night at
Spratt Stadium, as they fell
3-1.
The Griffons fall to 3-4
overall and 0-1 in MIAA
conference play while the
Jennies improved to 9-1 and
2-0 in conference play.
“We battled and fought
with them,” coach Chad
Edwards said. “They were
undefeated last year and
made the NCAA tournament, so for us to battle and
be tied at half is great. Now
we have to finish the game
and play that second half.”
Central wasted little time
scoring the first goal. Becky
Lackey knocked in her fifth
goal of the season on a
rebound from one-yard-out
in the fourth minute.
The Griffons tied the score
at 1-1 when they connected
on their only shot attempt of
the first half.
Teddie Serna scored on
an assist from K.C. Ramsell
at the 20-yard-line on a shot
that landed in the bottom left
corner of the net.
“We made the run up the
field and K.C. ran into some
pressure,” said Serna. “I was
open behind her so she just
dropped it back, and I had
the opportunity to shoot so
I took it.”
The game was tied 1-1 at
halftime despite the Jennies
controlling field position and
attempting 22 shots to the
Griffons one.
The Jennies made the
score 2-1 on a goal from
Carly Stanley in minute 57
from 15-yards-out. The assist
was from Kristin Bright.
Kayla Shain assisted on a
goal from Alyssa Rhodes in
the 71st minute to make the
score 3-1.
Western only attempted
three shots on the day and
attempted no corner kicks,
while the Jennies shot 39
times and had eight corner
kicks.
Ashlyn Castillo and Brooke
English both missed on their
only shot attempts.
Ramsell is the Griffons
leading scorer on the season
with five goals; however she
was unable to get off a shot
attempt against the Jennies.
Ramsell is only two goals shy
from the all-time record of
goals made at Western.
Despite allowing three
goals, Western goalkeeper
Kelly Voigts saved 14 shots,
including some athletic diving saves on several occasions when the Jennies had
a chance to extend the lead.
golf results
“She is a stud, and I am so
thrilled she is on our side,”
said Edwards. “She is an allconference player for sure.”
The Griffons have held the
lead or been tied at halftime
in all four of their losses
this season. They defeated
Washburn 2-1 on Thursday.
“I’m proud of the girls for
figuring out a way to keep
in the games for a half, but
now we just have to finish
our games like we did on
Thursday,” Edwards said.
Both teams committed five
fouls in a very physical contest.
“That’s what you are going
to get playing top teams in
the country,” Edwards said.
“I don’t think we looked less
physical than them, they just
possessed the ball a little better. That’s a very good team.”
Erin Widrig, who also plays
softball, is expected to return
to the soccer team this week.
TEAM STANDINGS | MIAA | OVERALL
from september
Men’s Golf
Missouri Intercollegiate - 18 teams
Western places 7th overall — t13.
Tyler Gast with a score of 232.
Pittsburg State - 11 teams
Western places 8th overall — No. 20
Logan Gilliland with a score of 151.
13th Annual Northeastern State
Classic - 19 teams
Western places 15th overall — t14.
Tyler Gast with a score of 217.
women’s Golf
PITTSBURG
4-0
5-0
WASHBURN
4-0
5-0
CENTRAL
3-1
4-1
NORTHWEST
3-1
4-1
WESTERN
2-2
3-2
FORT HAYS
2-2
2-3
TRUMAN
1-3
2-3
SOUTHERN
1-3
1-3
EMPORIA
0-4
1-4
LINCOLN
0-4
1-4
Grand Opening
Join us in celebrating the hottest new bar in town
Wed - Sat 6 - Close
Find us on
2700 St. Joseph Ave. (816) 748 - 4000
Drury Fall Shootout - 18 teams
Western places 9th overall — t24.
Shelby Stone with a score of 161.
Concordia St. Paul Wildwood
Lodge Invitational -12 teams
Western places 6th overall — t8.
Natalie Bird with a score of 161.
Fort Hays State Invitational - 4
teams
Western places 2nd overall — No. 6
Kristen Cooley with a score of 170.
Top: Freshman athlete James O’Brien practices a chip-in at St. Joseph Country Club as the Griffons prepare for the
Park University Tournament held in Parkville on Oct. 10.
Jason Brown | Photo Editor
Above: Junior golfer Casi Webb attempts to knock in the ball from the side of a hill. The Griffons next match will
also be in Parkville along with men’s golf.
submitted photo
WUDIDO
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Sports
Griffon Volleyball wins 3 games at
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Classic
Kyle Inman | Asst. Sports Editor
kpinman@gmail.com
Griffon Volleyball came
home a winner after going
3-1 on the weekend at the
Holiday Inn Express and
Suites Classic in Denton,
Texas. The team improved
to 8-7 on the season.
“We are happy to walk
away with three wins, but
honestly we didn’t play our
best volleyball,” coach Cory
Frederick said. “I think we
could have had four wins if
we would have had better focus on our ball control.”
Western defeated Texas
A&M-International in the
first match of the tournament 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 2523). The Griffons finished
with 39 kills. Tahler Johnston
had 14, Meredith McCormick added nine and Shelby
Corkill had seven. Stephanie
Hattey finished with 34 assists on the match.
The second match was a
five set battle against Southeastern Oklahoma. The first
game ended on an Alexandra Behnke kill on an assist
from Sarah Faubel, Western won 25-18. The second
and third games belonged to
Southeastern as it took the
2-1 lead over the Griffons,
winning 25-21 and 25-16.
The Griffons were able to
push the match to five sets after bouncing back to win the
fourth game 25-18.
“We got ourselves in some
holes but we fought back
and came out of it, and we
weren’t able to do that last
year,” Johnston said. “We are
slowly working towards that,
and it’s a good goal to accomplish.”
The fifth and final set went
back and forth as both teams
exchanged leads, but in the
end Western prevailed 15-13.
Behnke tallied a career high
19 kills, while Hattey finished
with 52 assists and 20 digs on
the match.
“That was one of the more
exhausting matches we have
coached this year. It was back
and forth the whole way,”
Frederick said. “We got down
2-1, and it was good to see us
not quit and come back and
do what we knew we could
do the whole time.”
The Griffons’ only loss of
the tournament came in the
third match against Arkansas-Fort Smith (25-15, 20-25,
25-21). Fort Smith finished
out on a 15-9 run to take the
first game 25-22. The second
set was more of the same as
Fort Smith scored 17 of the
final 22 points to go up 2-0.
Western fought back taking
the third set as it outscored
Fort Smith 20-7 to finish at
25-20. In the fourth set, Fort
Smith finished the Griffons
off as they were able to hang
on and defeat them 25-21.
Johnston had 22 kills while
Behnke had 17 in the match.
“We played pretty good,
but there was a couple times
we could have played better,”
said Hattey. “We got down
and we couldn’t pick ourselves up, but overall I think
we did good.”
Western bounced back in
the final match of the tournament, defeating ArkansasMonticello 3-0 (25-19, 25-16,
25-21). The Griffons recorded 43 kills in the match with
Johnston leading the way
with 12. Corkill added eight
and Hannah Zimmerman
had seven.
Johnston was named to her
second all-tournament team
of the season for her outstanding play. The senior finished the classic with 68 kills
The Griffon News
October 6, 2011
Page 8
in the tournament, including
going for over 20 kills in two
of the four matches. She was
also named to the UNK Fall
Classic all-tournament team
earlier in the season.
“It is exciting, and I was
happy to get it,” Johnston
said. “I thought overall we
played well as a team, and
I obviously couldn’t get my
kills without the setters and
the passers. They were playing good so with that I play
good.”
Frederick credits both
Johnston and her teammates
for her high level of play during the tournament.
“Tahler was having a great
weekend,” Frederick said. “It
shows that our middles were
really well involved in our
offense and that Stephanie
Hattey did a great job moving the ball around.”
Hattey finished the weekend with 133 assists.
Northwest: Beat it
Tahler Johnston kills the ball in the third set of Western’s second conference home game. The Griffons
defeated the Bearcats in split games Tuesday night.
Jason Brown | Photo Editor
Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editor
thuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu
Before the fifth game ended, Missouri Western looked
flustered.
Down by four, the Griffons needed a spark in order
to defeat their MIAA rival
Northwest Missouri State.
But instead of one player
ATHLETE
OF THE WEEK
Sport: Football
Year: Senior
Position: Kicker
Stats this week: Field goals attempted - 5
Field goals made - 5
GREG ZUERLEIN
Zuerlein connected on all five of his field goal attempts Saturday against Missouri Southern State. Not only did the five kicks tie a school record, but his long of the day was a 57-yarder, which broke a Western record.
in particular garnering the
change, a team effort for
Western was all it needed.
Western defeated Northwest in a five-game set Tuesday in the Looney Complex.
With the victory, the Griffons
improved to .500 in the conference and 9-7 overall.
“The energy that we
brought here was better [than
last week’s],” coach Frederick
said. “The carry over from
Texas was we still had a little bit of ball control issues.
That’s something we’ve got
to get under control.”
Although the Griffons won
the first game, the following game didn’t look like the
same team. Western showed
little energy, in contrast to its
opponent.
“It’s really common to see,
where you get up 1-0, and
you kind of relax a little bit,”
said Frederick, who is in his
third season as the coach.
“I’m happy to see towards
the end of the game they’ll
stick with it and finish out the
match.”
Western finished Northwest in the final game,
though it had trouble early.
With his team down 8-5,
Frederick called a timeout
and the team rallied around
each other to finish out the
game on a 10-4 run and win
15-12. Western won each of
its other two games 25-19.
It lost the second game
25-18 and the fourth 25-14.
In each game, Northwest
had more energy knowing it
needed the win to stay alive.
The Bearcats affected the
Griffons by hitting the balls
in the corners, and not allow
Western to set anything up.
Torey Lyman led the team
in digs with 14. Steadily behind her with 12 was freshman Sarah Faublel.
“It’s such a big deal since
they’re our rivals, and we’re
glad that we got it accomplished,” Faubel said. She
also gave credit to senior
Tahler Johnston, who tied
Shelby Corkill with 14 kills,
which led the game.
“She’s such a star player
and she brings so much energy and team leadership to
our team.”
Johnston was one of four
players who had double-digit
digs. Besides the aforementioned Faubel, Lyman and
Johnston, Stephanie Hattey
had 10 digs herself.
The 2010 MIAA Freshman of the Year had 48 assists to help Western win and
secure its third straight home
win over the Bearcats.
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