Pursuit ends at Western

Missouri Western Alumnus comes
to St. Joe with a 1980’s cover
band. Read about it on pg. 8
The spring sports are coming.
Check the sports insert to get
caught up on what’s happening.
www.thegriffonnews.com
Pursuit ends
at Western
NON-PROFIT ORG.
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PERMIT NO. 32
St.. JOSEPH, MO
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Volume 89, Issue 6
Retired colonel speaks at ROTC Ball
Addison Ford
Editor-in-Chief
adf9185@missouriwesten.edu
firearm, one of the officers shot
him in the right thigh. The other
two suspects were identified as
Ricky Kirtley, 18, and Anthony
An armed robbery that began D. Kemp-Starks, also 18. All
at the McDonald’s at 601 N. three suspects are Kansas City,
Belt in the early morning hours MO residents. After the arrest,
of February 21 ended with a the officers discovered that the
suspect being shot
weapon had been left in
on Western’s camthe abandoned getaway
pus by a St. Joseph
car.
police department
Western’s campus police
officer.
officers were on hand to
Two of the susboth secure the perimpects had entered
eter and the evidence
the restaurant via
scene.
the drive through
Miller was taken to
window, and had
Heartland
Regional
the workers held.
Medical Center for the
When the police
injuries to his leg, and
- Ricky Kirtley the other two suspects
department arrived,
former Western student are in custody at the
the two suspects
and robbery suspect Buchanan County Law
entered a waiting
getaway
vehicle
Enforcement Center.
and headed to the area of the Thursday afternoon, the men
residence halls and Missouri were charged with armed robConservation Department offic- bery, first-degree burglary and
es on campus. They exited the armed criminal action. One
getaway vehicle between the of the suspects, Kirtley, was
Leaverton and Juda residence enrolled as a Western student
halls, and fled from the police on during previous semesters. The
foot.
officer that fired the shot was
During the pursuit, one of the put into administrative duty
suspects, Myshodde Miller, 19, as per police department policy
was shot. He ignored the officer’s until the department is finished
commands to stop and show his with the investigation surroundhands, and reached into his pock- ing the incident. et. Thinking he was pulling out a
Western generally
regarded as safe
Heather Fields
News Writer
With both the Virginia Tech
and Northern Illinois tragedies
happening within less than a
year of each other, students
and faculty nationwide are
wondering if their school might
be next. Missouri Western and
the campus police department
are doing everything possible to
ensure that something like that
doesn’t happen here.
Jonathan Kelley, chief of
campus police, says that theft is
by far the most common crime
reported on campus. Another
common crime is liquor law
violation. “I do feel that Missouri
Western is a safe campus overall,”
Kelley said. Students can look at
the statistics of various crimes
on the Western website under
Campus Safety Report. All
colleges and universities publish
a safety report, officially known
as the Clery report.
The Clery report is published
annually as a compiled list of the
reported crimes on campus. The
crimes are categorized and then
published as statistics dating
back three years.
There were a total of 48 crimes
reported at Western in 2006.
That number is up from 28 in
2005 but down significantly from
79 in 2004. Crimes reported
include:
burglary,
robbery,
aggravated assault, rape, motor
vehicle theft and arson.
Clery reports break down
the crimes according to type
and location: on-campus (all
buildings, land, and roads owned
by Missouri Western), residential
facilities, non-campus property
(streets and roads that define
property of Missouri Western),
and public property (land and
buildings on Missouri Western
property that are owned by other
state agencies). Of the 48 crimes reported
19 occurred in the residence
halls, 28 occurred elsewhere
on campus and one (a count of
motor vehicle theft) happened
on public property.
See Crime report, page 5
Marty AYERS/ Senior Photographer
Retired Col. Gregory Fontenot addresses the attendees at the US Army ROTC Pony Express Battalion Military Ball
on Feb 23. Fontenot has a decorated military career, and at one point taught history at West Point. See pg 6
Reforming of student affairs underway
Lisa Crawford
News Editor
lcrawford@missouriwesten.edu
A proposal to re-organize
Western’s Student Affairs was
approved and is currently underway. The proposed Student Affairs
Organizational Chart filters from
the single presiding Dean of
Student Affairs and then moves
to three new positions: Associate
Dean of Student Development;
Assistant Dean for Residential
Life and Services; and the
Assistant Dean of Student
Services and Recreation.
Judy Grimes, the current dean
of Student Services and interim
dean of Student Development,
will become the Dean of Student
Affairs and oversee the entire
department. “This should be extremely positive for students,” Grimes said.
“The Associate Dean will have a
much more focused position and
will be able to concentrate his
time of students.” Duane Bruce was the first
person hired to fill one of the
new positions. He will begin as
the Associate Dean of Student
Development March 3. The other
positions are currently in or will
soon begin search processes.
According to Grimes, the
Assistant Dean for Residential ing all necessary documents for
Life and Services will oversee international students to attend
Residence Life, the Health Center Western.
and Recreation Services to allow Grimes said this position will
Bruce more access in the Blum be necessary as Western gains
union to be available to meet more Graduate programs.
with students individually or in Bragin said, “This position has
groups.
responsibility to grow
Under
the
our international student
Assistant Dean of
body and to provide proStudent Services
grams that complement
and Retention is
classroom instruction in
the proposed posiproviding the Western
tion of Retention
community as well as the
Coordinator. surrounding region with
According to Joseph
a broader and deeper
Bragin,
provost
understanding of other
and vice president
cultures.”
for student affairs,
Junior
Peter
Western is still in
Nelson who works as a
the process of classtudent assistant in the
sifying the retenStudent Services office
- Judy Grimes
tion coordinator
said that by combining
Dean of student services
position.
student services and
“What we can
student development
say about it at this point is that like other universities do will
the retention coordinator will hopefully be more successful with
work closely with academic affairs retention rates by helping stuto deliver services and programs dents.
that materially improve the aca- “Hopefully this will bring posidemic success of Western stu- tive changes to students organidents,” Bragin said.
zations, athletics and academics,”
Another new position on the organi- Nelson said.
zational chart is the International Altogether, the new posiStudent Coordinator. This per- tions and the re-organization of
son will work with admissions Western’s student affairs are
to process international student
See Student affairs, page 5
applications and assist in collect-
Western reaches new students with satellite locations
Ellis Cross
News Writer
Missouri Western State University is making
the investments necessary to establish a long term
commitment to offering classes off Downs Drive.
There are two locations where students can take
credit and non-credit courses. One is the downtown
St. Joseph campus at 6 and Robidoux streets that
some may already know about, but, many students
don’t know about the Kansas City Northland location. Western has been in the Northland facility just
off I-29 at the 64 street exit since August of last
year. Western has a seven-year lease at this location, which is the third location since venturing into
North Kansas City in 1986.
However, this time Western’s seal is set in the
stone and brick mortar of the Tuileries Plaza building located at 6336 N. Lucerne Ave.
Ellis Cross/ Photographer
Provost and Vice President for Academic and
Western’s newest facility, which was opened in August of 2007, is located off of
I-29 in the Tuilieries Plaza area off of 64th St. in North Kansas City. This is one of Student Affairs Joseph Bragin said, “Being in the
Northland exposes us to a population that may not
two locations besides the flagship campus where students can attend Western
be willing to get in their cars and drive up I-29.”
classes.
01 front.indd 1
Bragin also explained that being there fulfills an
obligation to Platte County Missouri residents who
were originally taxed to support Missouri Western
when it began as a junior college.
Not only does enrollment continue to expand in
the education classes offered at the Northland facility, but the university plans to have more classes
there soon in other disciplines. Northland Coordinator Venny Pruitt said, “We plan
to extend our classes soon to include Engineering
Technologies, Criminal Justice and Government.
I am very excited about what is going on at our
Northland location.”
The faculty for these classes, in some cases, have
to commute from St. Joseph to the northland campus, but many of them already live in the area or
between St. Joseph and North Kansas City. For some faculty, the Northland facility is close
to home and not out of their way as they go to and
from Western’s main campus. With other faculty,
the drive is far out of the way. This leads to the difficult problem of coming up with a formula to
See Satellite locations, page 5
2/25/08 1:35:12 AM
Opinions
PagePage
2 |263Feb 2008
15 January 2008
The Griffon News
Editorial
Shooting on campus raises question: What if?
Many citizens of Saint Joseph woke up
Thursday to read the shocking news that
as most people slept comfortably snug
in their beds, there had been a shooting
on the campus grounds. Before knowing
much more, instinct was to think that it
had finally happened. Fear whispered that
the outbreak of students violently lashing
out had finally come to St. Joe. Echoes of
Illinois and Virginia Tech rang throughout the Joe-town zeitgeist. Thankfully by
reading on in the news, it could be clearly
revealed that was not the case at all.
Three alleged robbers of the golden
arches had made Missouri Western State
University a part of their escape route and
one man was shot in the leg in the pursuit
by S.J.P.D. Instead of the horrifying disasters that tore through other schools across
the country this was an example of the civic
security of St. Joe functioning smoothly.
But that single shot rang loud throughout the minds of Missouri Western.
What if? Are we ever going to be truly
prepared for such a truly horrific occurrence? Does it really matter how many
guns the officers have? Or how many
cameras there are on campus? Or how
many people know which system to
tune into for flash news? What if it happened here? Would we really be ready?
This didn’t turn out to be the worst
case scenario. In this case the danger
to students and staff never grew to the
critical level that other schools across the
country have attained. Due mostly to the
quick and efficient response of S.J.P.D.
and a brave employee at McDonald’s making the call for help, a crime that could
have reached catastrophic proportions was
avoided. Bravo to all involved. Missouri
Western was kept safe for another day.
This whole story should serve to remind
us that the danger is still out there.
Preparations could still be made to prevent
future tragedy. We got lucky this time.
Next time shots ring out across campus let
us be prepared to make sure it can be prevented again. Sooner or later this may be
a reality that Missouri Western has to deal
with. We would like to believe that Missouri
Western will be able to provide the same
amount of excellence in security as it has
delivered in all other areas of the universities domain. We would like to believe that
we are safe from harm, but shouldn’t we be
Commentary
The score is in; too much competition damages quality
21st century living has become
one big game with all the players
competing against each other for
the big score. It is all about who
is winning these days. Students at
all levels have specialized in test
taking skills so they can achieve
high marks for their transcripts,
all the while they are dumping
all that information in preparation for the next test. No learning
is actually occurring, just data
transfer and data dumping. We
are building champion Americans
that look good on paper but are
as hollow of substance as the
paper Mache trophies that kindergartners construct all across
the countries’ public
schools.
There are commercials on the
radio that imply that if you have
a high credit rating you will
be more attractive to the opposite sex. People parade around
with tee shirts printed with the
saying; “He who dies with the
most toys , wins” acknowledging
the fact that we all know that
the game is afoot but shouldn’t
seriously give it any thought.
Just keep track of the score, it
doesn’t matter what the rules of
the game are. Get a really high
score and you might beat your
neighbor at the game, so pay
attention to the score. Don’t pay
any attention to the man moving
the pieces across the board of life.
I am telling you that game is
fixed and no one wins. No one get
dandonan
out of here alive and everybody
dies alone, even in a crowd. The
Chess masters themselves must
face that fact. No one wins this
game. But it sure is a fun game
to play. Just imagine how much
of a better game it would be
if we would all stop competing
with each other and started cooperating towards the goals we
have in life. We split ourselves
into as many teams as we can
with nationalism, divine right,
manifest destiny, racial segregation, class and cultural divisions,
bi partisan political parties and
sexual orientation. The list could
go on and on. Whenever we mass
together as humanity we find
some way to internally divide
ourselves. It is hard-wired into
our heads. Watch a group of eight
year old boys play and as soon as
there are more than three boys
playing together, their talks turn
to what teams can be made or
how they ditch the odd man out.
The age of competition carried
us far in the game of human
advancement but it is clear to
see that now it is only hindering the process. At this point,
there are just too many people
on this planet to carry on competing against each other. The
game has grown past the gaming
table and it is time we all put
our heads together to make the
idea of how do we clean up this
mess? Just imagine what could
happen if all near seven billion
of us thought the same thought
for just a moment. Just imagine what could be conceptualized.
Campus Voice
How safe do you feel on Missouri Western’s campus?
Rachelle Batesel, freshman
Tyler Shoemaker, freshman
Lucy Wood, senior
Karyn Daugherty, senior
“One thing that could be
changed is the lighting
on the sides of the buildings. I walk home to the
dorms and it can be a little
scary.”
“I feel moderately safe on
campus, I think the best way to
increase my feelings of safety on
campus would be to create more
surveillance.”
“I feel pretty safe, I don’t think
there is much that could be
done to make the campus more
safe. I have mixed feelings about
security carrying firearms.”
“I think that safety is not so
much a physical place of well
being, but instead safety is a
state of mind.”
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The Griffon News
Addison Ford
Editor-in-Chief
Matthew Fowler
Managing Editor/Photo-Graphic Editor/Web Editor
Lisa Crawford
Emily Gummelt
Ryan Richardson
Charlene Divino
Gregor Avey
Dan Donan
Amanda Adams
Lindsay Moyer
Bob Bergland
02 opinions.indd 1
News Editor
Asst. News Editor
Entertainment Editor
Features Editor
Sports Editor
Opinion Editor
Ad Manager
Copy Editor
Faculty Adviser
Quotation for the Week
“There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime
and the earth is made of glass. Commit a crime, and it seems as if a
coat of snow fell on the ground, such as reveals in the woods the track of
every partridge, and fox, and squirrel.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803-1882)
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).
Copy and advertising must be received by noon Wednesday, the week prior to publication.
Guidelines for letters to the editor:
• All letters to the editor must be typed and double spaced. Letters must be no longer
than 350-400 words and guest 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.
2/25/08 1:37:07 AM
Opinions
The Griffon News
26 Feb 2008 | Page 3
Better faculty = higher salaries and tuition
I don’t know of anyone on campus who could have guessed that
becoming a university would have
caused us not only great pride
but also so many growing pains.
We just began to enjoy the new
title when some members of the
administration and faculty began
to look for the exit signs. Most
of those that were looking found
employment somewhere else,
others are probably still looking.
The fact is that the replacements are costing more. Some
of the responsibility for the additional costs can be blamed on
the market. There is a great
need in the market for good Ph.D.
level instructors in some disciplines and Ph.D. level administrators which means that other
places are willing to pay more for
those who have been successful.
The greater portion of the
responsibility for the costs may be
in the higher standards we have
placed on future administration
and especially future and present
faculty. Many departments such as
business are seeking very prestigious accreditation, which doesn’t
cost very much in and of itself.
Meeting the requirements of
the accrediting board however
carries a large price tag. Most
of the time it means hiring more
Ph.D. faculty with recent publications. These are the “cream
of the crop” type faculty and
are costing nearly $100,000
per year in some departments.
Another problem that is causing
some faculty enough discomfort
to seek other employment is the
elliscross
demands
that are being placed on them to
perform and publish even more to
meet the expectations of an accred-
itation board they have yet to meet.
These additional requirements come with no additional
pay while new staff members are
coming in earning as much as
$20,000 per year more, with, in
some cases, lighter work loads.
There is no doubt that higher
accreditation will benefit students and improve the quality of
education that can be obtained
at Western. In most cases, it
will result in students in some
departments earning higher salaries right out of college. However,
you have to ask yourself at what
cost is the additional growing pains no longer worth it?
Eventually, these additional
costs will result in additional
tuition. If the administration holds
fast to their belief that tuition
should be even across the board
for all students, then everyone
will pay more. The result is someone majoring in a program such
as music or history may be paying
a higher tuition to offset the cost
of another student’s education in
a department with higher costs.
I agree with the Dean of
Profession Studies, Steven Estes.
We may be near to the point where
our low cost tuition will not pay for
the quality university education
that we are receiving. However,
I want to caution the administration that there is another
point out there where the tuition
costs are excessive compared
to the quality of the university
education that we are receiving.
Advice from gonzo journalist Dan Donan helps troubled students
Dan,
Dan,
My girlfriend has been complaining that I am too small.
I have tried all kinds of gels and pumps but nothing seems
to work. She has a device that is much bigger than normal
and I think this is what is causing the problem. Is there
any way to simulate vibration with the real thing, and do
you have any enlarging techniques I could use?
Sincerely,
One-Un-Hung-Lo
I am having a problem. I need for you to please give me
any advice that you can......
I have a really bad yeast infection and I can’t get it to
clear up, I have tried all the over the counter medication
and can not get rid of the problem, it has lasted for about 8
weeks. I have also tried using yogurt which seems to make
the infection worse and now I have given it to my husband
and he can not get rid of it. Can you please help us to get
this infection cleared up SOON.....
Thank you!
Hoping for relief
Seriously? This is the first letter I get? Okay, well I said
I would help out in all cases so here it goes...
I am sorry, but there is no real method to enlarge the
penis with any real results out on the market and let me
assure you that if there was, there would be enough commercials on the television that you would know about it.
There is one surgical technique that involves cutting and
stretching and really does not accomplish the task as well
as one might wish. It is actually in the realm of devices
that you could find a solution to your problem as there
are a number of vibrating enlarging sheaths or vibrating
eggs that can be worn strapped around the base of your
business. Don’t worry, the straps are adjustable and can
accommodate even the smallest micro penis. I say that if
pleasing your girl is the issue, do not fear the device and
just throw yourself in with the mix.
Unless this has been a recurring problem with past lovers, I don’t think size is the issue.
I think the root of the problem here is your girlfriend’s
harassment of something you cannot control. Perhaps the
two of you have, as Dr. Drew Pinsky from Loveline would
say; “incompatible genitalia”, and if that is the case, then
maybe it is time to find better partners. Or maybe it is a
matter of perspective. It reminds me of an old joke where
a woman criticizes the size of her lover’s organ and he
responds by saying “I didn’t know I was going to be performing in a cathedral.”
Dear Hopeless,
Dear Hoping for relief,
Okay, there is no nice way to say this, but you need to
see a doctor. What you believe could be a yeast infection
or Candida could actually be an STD that you may be aiding by using over the counter medication. Before you use
any form of medication on your precious parts it really
does one some good to have a doctor take a first look.
All vaginas have some small level of naturally occurring
yeast but the acidity of said vagina usually takes care of
the problem. With the medication for Candida going over
the counter there have been a slew of cases of self diagnosed yeast infections with every itch that occurred, and
in many cases there was no infection at all and using the
medication only served to make a sort of super infection.
Both you and your husband should stop this madness
by going a seeing a medical professional who can actually
treat your problem instead of just giving you advice.
The many faces of Erica Ricker
I hear you’re the man with the answers, and that’s what
I am seeking. I have a problem, and I am uncomfortable
approaching my friends for advice. I have a crush on one
of my professors. I know it sounds immature, merely a
high school crush, but it’s more. We really have a connection, and I’d love to ask him out for dinner. The problem is
I’m unsure if it would be appropriate to make a move.
I know you’re not Emily Post, but in your opinion, is dating a professor in bad taste? I’m not even sure if the feeling is mutual, and I don’t know how to find out if he feels
the chemistry too. I can’t fight the developing feelings, and
I am not sure I want to.
Thank you
Hopeless Academic Romantic
dandonan
Mr. One-Un-Hung-Lo,
Dear Dan,
Having a crush is so much fun and it is only natural to
crush over one of the authority figures in your life, like a
college professor. Heck, I develop crushes on almost all
my professors every semester. Of course you don’t want
to fight the feelings you’re having. They are feelings, we
usually have them whether we want them or not so why
bother fighting them? The problem I see is you claim there
is a connection between you but they say you can’t tell if
he feels the chemistry. By my experience even the least
empathic couples can tell when they are sharing chemistry. If he feels the chemistry like you do then don’t you
think you would notice by now?
The bottom line is that as long as you are under his
watch as a teacher then it would be unethical for you to
be involved although there are no real laws against it. It
certainly would not find blessing from the higher powers
that be. So let it be a crush, and just that. Let that crush
carry you, butterflies in the belly and all, to class every
day and let it allow you to hang onto every word your professor says. It might just make you an “A” student.
E-mail your problems under an anonymous name to
donanthebarbarian@yahoo.com or to stories@thegriffonnews.com or post them by mail or even just drop them off
on my desk in Newsroom in Eder Hall.
The Griffon News is beginning a new feature in the opinions section
which focus on the many faces of Missouri Western students and their
opinions about life, the universe and everything else. This will be an
ongoing feature every week. If you want to be in the focus then stop by
the newsroom and talk to Dan Donan.
Erica is a Missouri Western junior majoring in business management and she
is an employee at U.S. Bank.
Opinion of Saint Joseph?
What do you think of your field of study?
“I think the politics of St. Joe keep it from expanding. Even though there are over 76,000 people living
here, the town keeps the mentality of a town with 100
people. That’s ridiculous.”
“Being a business major is like stuffing your brain
with a way to get money, money, money and fighting
at the corporate ladder to climb your way to the top. I
like the organization of a business major but I would
rather work for a non profit organization.”
Erica is a locally grown townie.
How about Gay Marriage?
“I am for it, absolutely.”
Ideal pet if cost and care were not an issue?
Guns in the hands of campus security?
“A panda bear, but I am really afraid it would bite
me, because I would want to hug it and love it and I
think it might attack me. But if I had the money and
other resources to own as many animals as I want I
would have a metric shit ton of animals.”
“I don’t like guns, personally, but I am not going to tell any one they can’t have a gun.
That is their decision. It doesn’t bother me that police officers on campus carry guns but
campus security who lack the training that a police officer may have carrying guns. That
makes me a little nervous.”
Athletes and steroid use?
“If they want to shrink their penis so they can play harder then let them. I think it
makes things more entertaining.”
Favorite person in the presidential race?
“Probably Obama, I don’t like the idea of an alternating Bush then Clinton dynasty. It creeps me out.”
03 opinions.indd 1
Pro Life or Pro Choice?
“Pro Choice.”
Cloning and other genetic experimentation?
“I think it is really good. We have the science for
it. It doesn’t make sense not to use it.”
What do you think of Missouri Western State
University?
How about the health care insurance crisis?
“We have some really quality teachers who could
teach at larger schools, so we are lucky that they stay
with us at a smaller school where students can interact with them at a greater degree.”
“I am affected by it and it sucks. I only work
part time and it has been a few years since I was
covered by my parents’ plan so for a few years I
have been uninsured.”
2/25/08 1:38:51 AM
Page 4 |26 Feb 2008
News
Notes
CME to bring
Black Ice to
Western
Spoken word poet Black
Ice will be visiting Missouri
Western at 7 p.m. February
26, in the Kemper Recital
Hall in Leah Spratt Hall.
Lamar Manson, known
as Black Ice, will be lecturing through poetry about
“Current Images of African
Americans in the Media.”
Ice accompanied Mary J.
Blige on her Breakthrough
Tour in 2006 and just performed alongside Destiny’s
Child and Jay-Z at the Live
8 Performances that were
shown worldwide.
He has appeared on
all five seasons of HBO’s
“Russell Simmons Presents
Def Poetry.”
His
album
entitled
“The Death of Willie
Lynch” (KOCH Records,
September 2006) focuses
on subject matters like the
injustices suffered during
Hurricane Katrina and the
importance of proficient
individuals giving back to
their community.
MWSU receives
basic writing
award
Based on its “Granting
Access and Rewarding
Success in a Developmental
Writing
Program,”
Western has been selected by The Conference on
Basic Writing (CBW) as
the winner of its award for
Innovation.
Western was honored for
English 100, Introduction
to College Writing, an
obligatory class for students who scored less than
19 on the ACT English
subtest.
Instructors select essays
for insertion in a book
called, “Discovering the
Student, Discovering the
Self,” and students, families and friends are invited
to a reception where the
students read the essays
out loud.
Western will be presented
with a plaque on Thursday,
April 3 at the CBW Special
Interest Group meeting at the Conference on
College Composition and
Communication in New
Orleans.
Creole fiddler
to perform
Creole fiddler, singer
and storyteller, Dennis
Stroughmatt, will be performing at 7 p.m. March 3,
at Kemper Recital Hall in
Leah Spratt Hall.
This performance, known
as “La Guillanee: Ancient
French Traditions Live in
Missouri through Music
and Food,” is free and open
to the public.
Stroughmatt
was
brought to Western by the
Alliance Francaise and the
State Historical Society
of Missouri. As a teenager, he was introduced to
American French Culture
near Old Mines, MO.
Stroughmatt has been
a touring French Creole
musician and speaker
working across the United
States, Canada and Europe
since 1999.
Along with being a musician, he is a preservationist
who focuses on creating an
understanding of French
Creole culture and music.
He offers workshops,
seminars and solo performances that include
the full range of North
American French Music
and Culture.
– Staff Reports
04 newsnotes.indd 1
News
The Griffon News
Future of world’s climate sought in frozen record
Amanda Flitter
U-Wire
A team of scientists completed the first drilling session of the National Science Foundation’s
West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide)
Ice Core Project last month. The team, including UNH member Joe Souney, extracted a 580meter core, the first section of a 3,456-meter
ice core that will be used to examine the greenhouse gas record of the past 100,000 years. The
goal of the study is to better understand how
climate functions so accurate models can be
made to predict the effect of human greenhouse
gas emissions.
“If you don’t know your past, you don’t know
your future,” said Mark Twickler, manager of
the project and part of the UNH Institute for the
Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS).
One of the key questions the scientists are trying to answer is whether carbon dioxide concentrations increase before, during or after natural
temperature increase. Kendrick Taylor, chief
scientist of the project, said studying the time
lags between temperature and carbon dioxide
requires an ice core with distinguishable layers,
like the WAIS Divide core.
While other ice cores extending as much as
650,000 years back in time have been extracted
before, the WAIS Divide ice core is unique in
the number of individual layers that can be
distinguished.
“We’ll be able to differentiate layers 40,000
years back in time,” said Taylor.
By examining how carbon dioxide changes
affect climate, Taylor said they can better
understand how the mysterious climate machine
worked before human influence.
“It’s another piece in the puzzle, and the more
pieces we have the more complete the picture,”
said Twickler. “It’s amazing how little we know
about climate. Hopefully our core will show a
connection between temperature and greenhouse gases and how they affect the natural
climate system.”
The scientists also want to compare the WAIS
Divide ice core data to data from similar ice
cores from Greenland. This would enable them
to compare climate changes between the northern and southern hemispheres to see how similar or different they are.
“It will help us more clearly understand
what’s driving these changes,” said Joe Souney,
project director and also a part of UNH’s EOS.
“We’ll have a better understanding of how the
southern hemisphere’s climate varies.”
Using the data from the ice cores, they can
develop computer climate models and test them
for accuracy. These climate models can then be
used to predict the amount of climate change
from human greenhouse gas emissions.
“You first try to reproduce how climate has
changed in the past with computer models,”
said Souney. He said they need to be certain
and better understand the past in order to make
accurate predictions about the future.
“The truth is I don’t really care what the
Antarctic climate used to be,” Taylor said.
Instead, he said he is interested in modeling the
future, and he compared looking at greenhouse
gases in the ice core to doing research in the
library.
The ice core is currently on its way to the
National Ice Core Laboratory, which is run by
the United States Geological Survey, in Denver,
Colo. Analysis, which includes examining everything from crystal structure to chemistry, will
begin in June. Some tests have already been
performed in the field, and the core has already
been dated.
The project took over 15 years of preparation,
and it is expected to continue until at least
January 2010. There are at least three more
ice core drilling seasons to complete, along
with measurements and analysis. When the ice
coring is complete, Twickler said they want to
sample bedrock.
The stormy conditions at the drilling site
only allow for a 40-day window each year when
scientists can do field work. Twickler said this
year’s conditions were worse than the previous
two years, making the working conditions and
logistics more difficult.
Souney, who recently returned from Antarctica,
said the drilling is done in an arch-like facility that protects the drill from the elements.
However, there were still some days when the
scientists were unable to walk from their camp
to the drill because of strong winds and low visibility.
Check out the Griffon
News online at
www.thegriffonnews.com
Campus Information
Calendar of events
campus crime report
Tuesday, Feb. 26
• Baseball in Southern
Indiana at 10:30 a.m.
• Baseball vs. Oakland
City in Southern Indiana
at 1 p.m.
• Black Ice Spoken Word
Speaker 7:30 p.m. Kemper
Recital Hall Spratt Hall.
• “Development of
Programs to Treat and
Prevent Childhood
Overweight and Obesity
“ 3:30-4:30 p.m. Spratt
101.
Thursday, Feb. 28
Wednesday, Feb. 27
• Jennifer Lynn to speak
on Eggs and Issues in the
Fulkerson Center at 7 a.m.
• Baseball vs. Wayne
State College at Phil Welch
Stadium at 2 p.m.
• DUI A Powerful Lesson
7 p.m. Kemper Recital Hall
Spratt Hall.
• Baseball vs. Wayne
State College at Phil Welch
Stadium at 4 p.m.
Monday, March 3
• WAC meeting at 4 p.m.
Blum Union Junior College
Room.
• Women’s Basketball vs.
Northwest Missouri State
in Maryville, Mo. at 5:30
p.m.
• Men’s Basketball vs.
Northwest Missouri State
in Maryville, Mo. at 7:30
p.m.
1
4
3
2
• SGA Senate meeting at
5 p.m. Blum Union 222.
Wednesday March 5
• WAC meeting at 4 p.m.
Blum Union Junior College
Room.
• CME Step Africa at 7:30
p.m. in Potter Theater.
If your organization would like to announce an
event, e-mail the information to
griffonnews@missouriwestern.edu
1. SUSPICIOUS PERSON
February 15, 2008 Wilson Hall
Officer responded on a report of suspicious person around Wilson Hall. The officer completed an Offense/
Incident report.
.
2. DISORDERLY CONDUCT
February 17, 2008 Living Learning Center Officers responded to a reported fight in the lobby of the Living Learning Center. The officer completed an Offense/Incident report.
3.
TRESPASSING
February 20, 2008 Potter Hall
Officer checked building passes in Potter Hall after hours. The officer completed an Offense/Incident report.
4.
MINOR IN POSSESSION
February 21, 2008 Logan Hall
Officers arrested minors in possession of alcohol. Officer completed and Offense/Incident report.
2/25/08 1:40:21 AM
The Griffon News
Continued from front: Student affairs
supposed to expand services to students.
“The goal is to provide the best possible services for students making the most efficient use of our funds and our
personnel,” Grimes said.
Bragin said the re-organization has taken more than a
semester of review with extensive discussions to find a
consensus view to create a unified structure under one
dean.
Grimes said the idea began after Paul Shang left
Western in June 2007 when both student services and student development met with Bragin to discuss changes.
“The result was an overwhelming desire to become s
News
student affairs division,” Grimes said. “We have [since
then] spent a great deal of time listening and discussing
with a wide variety of groups on campus and believe we
have developed a strong plan to provide excellent services
to students.”
According to Grimes and Bragin, presentations of this
structure were made to the Student Affairs Division,
the President’s Cabinet, the Faculty Senate, the Student
Government Association and the Staff Council, and each
group expressed general agreement with the structure.
Bruce’s hire began the new structure and Western
hopes to announce the International Student Coordinator
26 Feb 2008 | Page 5
shortly.
“I am excited about the prospects of Western moving
into whole new areas of student programs and services
and by the exceptional quality of the applicants we have
had to fill current vacancies in the division,” Bragin said.
“Returning to the original organizational structure will
allow the student affairs staff who have been doing an
exceptional job in delivery of programs and services to do
even more, and eliminates some of the obstacles that they
have had to deal with.”
Continued from front:
Crime Report
Fourth annual
bright future fair
March 29, 2008 8 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Kansas City Convention Center
301W. 13th Street
Kansas City, MO residents
ages 15-22 interested in
•Full-time
•Part-time
•Seasonal
Applicants can register at
www.kcmo.org/youth
Applicant deadline: March 1, 2008
For more information call:
(816) 513-1276
Hear the latest news about
opportunities:
(816) 513-1377
When a student is caught for alcohol,
drug or weapons violations, penalties are
either arrests or referrals for disciplinary
action. There were a total of 45 arrests
made on campus in 2006 and 113
referrals, which is an increase from 2005,
when 26 arrests made and there were
110 referrals. In 2004 there were only 10
arrests but 133 referrals.
The Clery report is named after Jeanne
Cleary, a 19-year-old student at Lehigh
University in Pennsylvania who was
assaulted and murdered in her dorm
in 1986. After her death, her parents
lobbied lawmakers for legislation that
would require Pennsylvania colleges
and universities to publish their crime
statistics. In 1998, the program was
expanded nationwide and renamed in
honor of Jeanne Clery.
When Missouri Western is compared
to neighboring schools, it appears that
crime is lower on this campus than on
either Northwest or Truman. In 2006,
when Missouri Western had 48 reported
crimes, Northwest had a total of 58 and
Truman had a total of 61.
The MWSU Police Department
employs seven full-time police officers,
two corporals and a police chief. The
Department also uses student interns to
assist during the regular semesters.
Students feel like the campus is a safe
place to be. “My dad’s a cop and I know
that they do the best job possible,” said
freshman Dakota Carroll. “On campus I
feel as safe as I do anywhere else. To me,
it seems that the odds of anything tragic
happening are extremely slim.”
But as the Clery report shows, bad
things do happen. Kelley reminds
students of the blue light emergency
phones located across campus and around
the residence halls and of the three
parking lot emergency phones: at the
east end of Lot H, the east end of Lot K,
and the east end of Lot J. All phones ring
directly to the MWSU police department,
no dialing required.
Recently, the campus police have been
given approval to bear arms. There are
no new hiring policies as all officers are
currently post-certified law enforcement
officers, who now only need training with
their specific weapon. Kelley said that the
officers are all pleased to have additional
resources to help protect the students.
Western is also scheduled to begin
installing a three-part emergency
notification system, which will include a
PA system in the clock tower, a speaker
system in the residence halls and other
campus buildings, a text message alert
system and emergency telephones that
use each classroom’s ethernet connection.
“I’ve always felt safe on campus, but I’m
glad that the campus is going the extra
mile for our protection,” said sophomore
Julia McBeth.
reimburse the instructors for the mileage they are traveling.
Bragin said, “We are trying to
come up with a policy to handle this
because fuel has become a real expense
for that faculty who travel to serve our
students. We do not want to have any
disincentives for our faculty that work
there.”
The commitment goes even further
than the expense of the lease and faculty. Market Coordinator and Analyst
for Western Institute, Christa Byer said,
“Of the newly approved $50,000 Western
Institute marketing package $8500.00
has been set aside for the Northland
location.”
Some of that money is also set aside
to help market the downtown St. Joseph
campus on North 6 Street. This location has been the home of the Law
Enforcement Academy since Missouri
Western leased the Scottish Rite build-
ing in fall 2006.
Recent improvements were needed to
allow for new classes coming to the
downtown location. Those improvements
include the addition of three classrooms,
two offices and a new reception area.
Missouri Western paid for the expense
of the newly developed areas at the
Scottish Rite. Bragin said, “It was a
bargain considering the cost of our lease
at that location. The Masons are also a
great bunch of people to work with.”
The work crew is putting on the finishing touches this week to the new
renovations. One of the new rooms is
for tutoring adult students, which is one
of the future offerings of the downtown
campus.
The other two classes are going to be
used for a variety of credit and non-credit
courses including personal improvement
type classes.
Continued from front:
Satellite locations
The Griffon News is on the web
at www.thegriffonnews.com
05 news.indd 1
2/25/08 1:41:09 AM
Page 6 | 26 Feb 2008
Lifestyles
The Griffon News
ROTC Military Ball celebrates tradition
Story by Jerrod Huber, Photos by Marty Ayers, Layout by Matthew Fowler
ROTC cadets and their commanders
of the Pony Express Battalion traded in the
combat uniforms for their formal dress for
the annual Army ROTC Military Ball held
Feb 23.
The ball was created to give the battalion a
chance to recognize the achievements and accomplishments of the cadets, provide time to
socialize with other cadets and
be entertained by a speaker. It
also provides an opportunity
for the cadets to experience a
formal military event.
During the event, keynote
speaker, retired Colonel Gregory Fontenot, spoke to the 165
cadets and guests about how
the army is a place of change
but yet of continuity; that the
army is changing to meet today’s challenge but still holding on to the lineage of army
that connects each and every
soldier.
Awards were also given out to the cadets
who completed the Ranger Challenge course
and accomplished several levels of academic
GPAs.
Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel
Marcus Majure is proud of his cadets and
their accomplishments so far this academic
year.
“50 percent of cadets at Western got an E
for excellence. The standard across the nation is only 10 percent. 100 percent of senior
cadets from Western got their first branch
choice and that’s unheard of. It is very hard
to get your branch choice, but they did,” Majure said.
There has been increasing
growth within the program.
They have gone from 13 contracted cadets to over 50 in
the past year. The gold bar
recruiters have been largely
responsible for these growing
numbers.
MSgt. Chris Grant explains
the gold bar recruiters and the
reason for their success.
“They get out there and share
their experience and they have
first-hand knowledge of what
has been going on for the last
four years in their careers,” Grant said.
The Pony Express Battalion is headquartered at Missouri Western and consists of
four companies stationed at Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri State University,
UMKC, Rockhurst, Calvary Bible College
and Benedictine College.
Top: The ROTC honor guard
with Cadet Mills leading salutes the commanders.
Middle Left: LTC Marcus Majur presents a letter opener
gift to speaker Col (Ret)
Gregory Fontenot.
Middle right: Cadets Fields
and Kohler dance after the
ceremonies.
Left: Cadets perform the
“Soulja
Boy
Superman”
Pose.
Above: Cadet Kohler ceremonially adds “hydraulic fluid”
into the “Grog Bowl.”
Right: Cadet Hatheway dances with his date after the ceremonies have finished.
06 militaryball.indd 1
2/25/08 1:44:23 AM
Page 7 |26 Feb 2008
Lifestyles
The Griffon News
Alumni celebrate belated Mardi Gras
Amanda Hake
Freelance Writer
Food and fun with a Louisiana flare is what Missouri Western’s Alumni experienced at this year’s 2nd
Annual Griffs on the Bayou event.
The event was held at Boudreaux’s Louisiana Seafood & Steaks last Tuesday, Feb. 19. Over 130 alumni
made reservations to attend, making it a bigger success than last year, which only had about 100 alumni
in attendance.
The event was originally to take place on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 5, but due to inclement weather the event
was rescheduled. “We really wanted to keep with tradition and have it
on Fat Tuesday, because it was a Mardi Gras themed
event, but the weather so poor. They had cancelled
classes that day on campus, so we thought it was best
to err on the side of caution,” Jason Horn, Alumni Association President said. Carol Dunn, Missouri Western alum ‘91 and member of the Alumni Association events committee felt
the rescheduling helped increase the event’s attendance.
“Our numbers went up even though the event was
rescheduled. I think it just gave people more time
to get ready, and the weather is much nicer,” Dunn
said.
At the event Alumni were able to socialize and catch
up with each other over a mixture of Cajun style appetizers in a private room decorated with Mardi Gras
masks themed in purple and gold. “Events like these help all alumni to network with
one another. The newer alumni build relationships
with the older more mature alumni. It also helps to
promote a sense of community; they find commonalities with each other,” Colleen Kowich, Director of
Alumni Services said.
Horn also echoed the event’s networking potential.
He felt a person could never have enough contacts.
AMANDA HAKE/ Freelance Writer
Even for older alumni established in their career,
networking still proved beneficial to an individual’s Missouri Western Alumni mingle at Boudreaux’s Lousiana Seafood and
professional life.
Steaks over drinks and appetizers. The event was originally scheduled
Beyond networking and socializing, alumni were on Feb. 5, but was rescheduled due to inclement weather to Feb.19.
also able to win prizes throughout the evening. These
included Missouri Western t-shirts, cups and window
decals.
Vanities takes a look at the evolution of female friendships
Zane Callister
Lifestyles Writer
Finding who you are through acting like
someone else sounds strange, and well it is.
Think about what your senior year of high
school was like. If you can, think about
what graduating college is going to be like.
Where do you see yourself at thirty?
Vanities, an Alpha Psi Omega production,
is about all these things. The story of three
uber-popular cheerleaders and what their
lives have to offer for each of them.
Vanities is being shown Thursday, Feb.
28, through Sunday, March 2, in the Black
Box Theater in Potter room 106. Tickets
are general admission, costing $4.00.
Grant Metcalf, stage manager and
Missouri Western Theater and video major,
views it as seeing the girls as they grow,
and as they stumble through life.
To Metcalf, being stage manager means
more than just reciting forgotten lines and
making sure people are where they need
be when they need to be there. It’s also an
opportunity to do what he loves.
Along with Grant, Director Don Lillie,
Assistant Professor of Theater and Video,
keeps the wheels oiled.
“Twenty-five years ago I did this same
play with completely different kinds
of people. Doing plays like this [is] an
opportunity for me to meet new people, and
watch personalities blend into characters,”
Lillie said. “This play is very character
driven so the personalities of the character
come out in the performance.”
Vanity is put on by a cast of four girls, one
being a back up to all three of the main roles.
Setting a landscape to the play, you have
three girls that are best friends through
the years. The girls mature throughout
the play as seniors in high school, then
graduating college, and eventually a final
reunion when they are approaching thirty.
Just as Lillie said, seeing how the
characters’ real personalities are portrayed
through their roles in the play is always a
great experience.
The first of the three main actresses is
Amber Redmond who plays Cathy, the head
cheerleader. Redmond finds herself playing
Apha Psi Omega Presents
Vanities
Dates: Thursday Feb. 28
through Sunday March 2
Where: Black Box Theater in
Potter 106.
Tickets: $4.00
the role of an over organized neurotic high
school senior.
“This character is nothing like me, I’m
not organized at all,” Redmond said as she
laughed.
Next in line is Katherine Mick who plays
Joanne, the rich, ditzy cheerleader.
“My character is everything I’m not,
these are qualities I usually don’t enjoy in
people,” Mick said. However, this doesn’t
pose a challenge in playing the part.
“Playing the role is easier, you can
accentuate the parts of the character that
you don’t like because you know what it
is you really don’t like about that kind of
person,” Mick said.
Last of the three is Molly Smith who plays
Mary. Mary is the free bird of the group.
Rather ‘boy crazy’ and free spirited, Mary
doesn’t find herself caring about much of
anything or anyone.
Smith found playing the role to be close
to home, in some sense.
“Sometimes I can be slightly shallow,”
Smith said. “The hardest part about this
role is Mary despises her parents, where I
really care about mine.”
Going back to Lillie’s point of seeing
personality come out in character, seeing
this play will, in Lillie’s opinion, make you
really take a look back and validate who
you were as well as who you really are.
“The play makes you ask yourself, why
did I do that, or what made me act like
that?” Lillie said. “People will identify with
the play and see that there is potential for
growth.”
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07 lifestyles.indd 1
2/25/08 1:45:25 AM
Lifestyles
The Griffon News
26 FEB 2008 | Page 8
Local band raises ‘80s from the dead
Blue Oyster Culture Club resurrects hair metal, pop
Ryan Richardson
Entertainment Editor
rer0482@missouriwestern.edu
Mullets have nearly disappeared from Joetown.
Acid-wash jeans have been relegated to the darkest parts of an aging heavy metal drummer’s
closet. The 80s are finally dead, long live the 80s.
But if you closed your eyes as you walked into
the Rendezvous Saturday night, you would have
believed that you were transported to the time when
MTV played music videos. Blue Oyster Culture
Club is more than happy to facilitate that feeling.
The BOCC, as they are known to their fans,
isn’t a cover band in the traditional sense. Their
lineup reads as a Who’s Who of the last 15 years of
the St. Joseph local music scene, featuring members of Full Power, Blackpool Lights, Seven Mile
Drive and The Messiah Complex. Initially, the
band came together as a tribute band to do songs
they truly liked and were influenced by. Missouri
Western graduate Chris Clark, bassist and singer,
explained their drive to play shows with this band.
“My other band has a different air about them,”
Clark said. “It isn’t a business, but we have to show
up and showcase our own
music. There’s a pressure to
be on every night. This is definitely strange and a relief to
have a show like this, without any pressure or commitments except to have fun.”
Chris Schmidt, Missouri
Western student and guitarist, emphasized his surprise on
how well received they were.
“I have been playing down
here since I was young,”
Schmidt said. “I have played
so many shows here and
everything else is so serious. [We’re] gonna make it,
get signed. This is just fun,
such a wonderful ride. I really don’t know what to think
of the amount of people. It’s
almost a smack in the face,
running into a brick wall.”
The band, staying true to
their eclectic roots, managed
to bring together so many
different tunes from the era.
Being able to include songs
such as Ring of Fire, Holiday
Road and I Ran (so far away),
08 lifestyles.indd 1
is something the band takes pride
in. The show and the setlist were
planned as a loving birthday
tribute for Clover Cooper, wife
of singer/guitarist Todd Cooper.
“We kept the songs secret for
like two and a half months,”
Cooper said. “She got to hear
them for the first time with
the rest of the audience. That’s
what I wanted. It’s cool to have
that kind of surprise for her.”
The band has debated on how
far to take their shows. Even
though the band has no serious plans to extend this experiment into a regular band, they
plan on playing shows as long
as people are still coming.
“We know every minute up
here is something special for us,”
Clark said. “We don’t care. It
might suck, it might be cool. We
keep coming back because this is
an event, an atmosphere.”
Rendezvous owner, Jimmy
Green, is amazed that a cover
band can pack the venue like it did.
“We turned away people
tonight,” Green said. “We
weren’t at full capacity, but we
were packed. This is the show
to host. Between the crowd and
the music, you couldn’t ask for
more.”
For more interviews and photos, visit
thegriffonnews.com
2/25/08 1:46:56 AM
Sports
Johnson’s big night guides Griffons to victory
Page 9 | 26 feb 2008
Jason Ruiz
Sports Writer
Snapping a seven game losing streak and
entering into a three-way tie for the last
two MIAA post-season tournament spots,
the Griffons out hustled the Truman State
Bulldogs, 93-78, at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Griffons, (10-13 overall and 5-10 in
the MIAA) fired on all cylinders as they
dominated most of the game leading by
as much as 25 points. The Griffons were
led in scoring by senior Jill Johnson, who
racked up a career high 39 points and 16
rebounds, followed by teammate Yanique
Javois, who amassed 32 points and nine
boards of her own. Johnson’s double-double
gives her eight on the season and fourteen
in her career.
The team as a whole played well
Wednesday night, as they were able to
stay ahead most of the ballgame. Head
Coach Lynn Plett agrees the team did an
outstanding job.
“The team actually did quite well. In
particular, Yanique and Jill had very good
offensive nights, shooting the ball really
well. I think the team played well overall.”
Intelligence was another key ingredient
the Griffons used Wednesday in the win
over Truman.
“We played very smart and aggressively,
for the first time in a few games,” Javois
said.
The Javois and Johnson duo accumulated 39 of the Griffons 47 first-half points.
The Griffons out-rebounded the Bulldogs
49-32 and always kept the game pace
The Griffon News
up-tempo, the way the
Griffons like to play.
“We did a good job of
keeping up the tempo
and pushing the ball up
the court. Offensively,
we did a really good job
of working the ball and
executing our offenses
better than we’ve done
in the past,” Plett said.
On the defensive side,
the Griffons were efficient at not allowing the
Bulldogs too many offensive boards, as they had
only 10 second chance
points to the Griffons
21.
For the Griffons to
continue their success,
they must stay consistent with the game plan
they employed with the
Bulldogs. Senior point
guard Chemia Woods
also believes in the strategy.
“We’ve got to keep
pushing the ball up and
to Central Missouri in Warrensburg, by two games left in the season as they will
as always, we’ve defiMarty Ayers/ Senior Photographer
nitely got to minimize our
Jill Johnson goes up for a shot against Truman State’s Georgia Mueller and avoids the attempted block.
turnovers. Also, when we
have a lead, we have to
the score of 66-49. The Griffons were led travel to Maryville to face Northwest on
learn to keep it.”
Woods contributed eight points to the in scoring in Johnson and Javois with Wednesday. They will wrap up their reguGriffon victory, followed by freshman 14 points a piece. The Griffons are cur- lar season against Missouri Southern on
rently tied for the last conference spot Saturday at home. The Griffons will look to
Tierra Ford, who harvested seven.
The Griffons lost on the road Saturday with Fort Hays State. The Griffons have finish this season on a positive note.
Struggles continue for Griffons
Gregor Avey
Sports Editor
gavey@missouriwestern.edu
Alysa pike /Photographer
Jay McFarland jams the ball home against Truman State. McFarland and the other seniors will have their last home game
Saturday against Missouri Southern.
The struggles continued for the Missouri Western 9-16
(4-13) men’s basketball team as they lost 73-68 to the
Truman State Bulldogs 5-19 (4-11). The Griffons lost for
the ninth time in the last ten games.
The Griffons jumped out to an early 23-9 lead. The
Griffons had a balanced attack early on as many players
contributed. Head coach Tom Smith attributed the fast
start to playing well offensively.
“We shot the ball well early and we had some good possessions early,” Smith said.
The Griffons had lapse on the defensive end for the rest
of the half as the Bulldogs ended the half on a 28-13 run.
The run was capped by a 75-foot heave at the buzzer by
Banks Estridge, which gave the Bulldogs a 37-36 lead
heading into the half. Sophomore Reggie Bunch thought
the shot took a little out of the team.
“It changed are whole mood, we thought we were going
to go into the half with the lead,” Bunch said.
The Griffons and Bulldogs were involved in a seesaw
battle the whole second half. The Griffons held a small
lead at 53-49 with 9:48 left in the game. The Bulldogs
pulled away with a 24-15 run and ultimately claiming the
victory.
The Griffons were led in the game in scoring by Bunch
who poured in 19 points and also added 11 rebounds for
a double-double. The Griffons add three other players
in double figures as Gus Moss added 16 points. Lonnel
Johnson and Jay McFarland added 11 points a piece. The
successes of practices haven’t translated over to the games
for the Griffons.
“We have been working hard in practice, we just haven’t
been able to win any games,” Bunch said.
The Griffons are currently sitting in last place in the
MIAA. The Griffons will have to win their last three
remaining games to have any chance of making the MIAA
Conference Tournament. Even if the Griffons win out
there is no guarantee they will make the tournament.
Coach Smith believes the Griffons owe it to the university
to finish the season strong.
“They are getting their school played for and have an
obligation to finish out the season,” Smith said.
The Griffons struggled in key areas during this game.
The Griffons were out rebounded in this game 40-31 and
gave up 17 offensive rebounds, which resulted in many
second chance opportunities for the Bulldogs. The Griffons
only had six assists in the game, while they turned the
ball over 11 times.
The Griffons didn’t fair any better on Saturday as they
lost again, to Central Missouri by the score of 69-54. The
Griffons were led in scoring by Bunch, who poured in 21.
The only other Griffon in double figures was Johnson who
added 16 points.
The Griffons will wrap up there season as they will
travel to Maryville to face Northwest on Wednesday. Then
they will be back home on Saturday against Missouri
Southern to wrap up the season.
Western’s Carter: family man first; golfer second
Brian Prater
Sports Writer
Most college students have a hard time juggling between
school, work and playtime. Western’s own Caleb Carter is
a full time student, plays for the men’s golf team, is married and has a kid all the prime age of 21.
Born, raised and now raising a family in St. Joseph,
Carter could not be happier with the safe environment
St. Joseph has provided him. He graduated from Benton
High School in 2005, and has a sister who is currently a
senior there.
Carter, most importantly, is a family man. He has as
full plate in front of him, but his first priority is his wife
Megan Carter and his daughter Grace. Between school,
work, golf and being a father he is most proud of his
fatherhood, but it is the most time consuming also.
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“Golf and school only take a couple hours, being a dad
takes a lot more time than that,” Carter said.
On the other hand, Coach Jim Perry, Western’s Men’s
golf coach as another more lackadaisical and humorous
opinion on Carter and his life juggling abilities.
“That boy does not know what stress is,” Perry said. “He
has a really great attitude, and puts a lot of tough things
in life before a lot of others.”
Carter picked up golf from his father at the age of three.
He loves the sport more than any other, this is his second
year playing for Western and he does not plan on it being
his last.
Carter is attending school as a sophomore; he is working on his criminal justice major and is a cashier at Price
Chopper.
“I love the criminal justice field,” Carter said. “I want to
work for a Federal agency, more specifically I want to be
a U.S Marshall.”
During the busy golf season Carter does not work as
much, nor is he home with his family. Although it is
tough on him, he has a strong comrade among his fellow
teammates.
“We all get along great, although we spend two to three
day a week together in a hotel we kind of have to,” Carter
said.
He has hopes to being a professional one-day, but he is
aware how hard it is. But knows he would need to step
up his game to do so. But he was not bashful to comment
about his few career wins against Westerns best men’s
golfer Aaron Lisenbee.
“I think he is going to be pretty good if he keeps practicing,” said Lisenbee. “ He has beat me a couple of times, he
beat me in the conference championship and was pretty
happy about it.”
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