Unapproved posters desir-ing student workers to unite were hung anonymously around campus last Thurs-day, Sept. 13.

Outlining student worker grievances, the posters have yet to be claimed.

Let me clarify, we are not sure how that approv-al came about, Dean of Students and Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Judy Grimes said. We only approve posters and flyers that are from our clubs and organizations, or our aca-demic or university depart-ments. Weve checked with all of our students. We dont know how it got stamped so it should not have been out there to start with.

The posters were removed from campus buildings by the Center for Student En-gagement the next day. Stu-dent Government President Jacob Scott clarified who has access to the approval stamps.

Well as far as I am aware, I believe the stamps are actu-ally provided by the Center for Student Engagement, and I believe the student

workers of that office are in charge of reviewing the posters and then a poster that meets the guidelines for approval receives a stamp by the student worker, Scott said.

The posters may have

sounded as though there is a large group of student work-ers behind them, but that has not been confirmed.

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PA I DPERMIT NO. 32St. JOSEPH, MO

Vol 95 | Issue 27 griffonnews.com September 20, 2012

See photos of last weeks WAC Talent Show

Page 5

Read our review of Resident Evil: Retribution

Page 4

See who won this weeks Athlete of the Week

Page 8

Above and to the right are the exact copies of the posters that were hung on bulletin boards around campus.

When it comes to danc-ing with electronics, there is none better than our very own adjunct cinematogra-phy instructor and active free-lance cinematographer Jason Cantu.

The way that I feel about cinematography in music videos is that you really have to feel the music in order to make the camera move, Cantu said.

Cantu has been very suc-cessful in his ongoing career, filming multiple indepen-dent films and many music videos, including a long list of Kansas Citys own rela-tively famous rappers.

I shoot all of Tech N9nes high end music videos, Cantu said. I have also done projects for Jackyl and Run-DMC.

Cantu is into music, which helped him to eventually specialize in shooting music

videos.I am a music lover; I was

a little Indie rock kid, Cantu said. I liked going to the clubs and see the touring bands, and thats really how I got my start in music vid-eos. I started doing low bud-get Indie rock videos.

Having a professor like Cantu on board at Missouri Western offers a very unique perspective for the students.

Longtime friend and co-worker Dallas Henry be-lieves that it offers students the critical opportunity for real hands-on experience.

First off, it gets the stu-dents involved with some-one who is actively work-ing, Henry said. Also, though, he is providing jobs; if he is shooting something and he needs someone, he brings his students along.

One of his current stu-dents, Kelsey Houser, agrees that his ongoing and up-to-date experience is very valu-able to a student in this field

of study.His experience in the real

world is what makes him more respected, Houser said. You know that he knows what he is talking about.

Cantu is also very excited about having a film he shot almost five years ago making it to the big screen on Sept. 14.

Ive done quite a few films, and I actually [had] a film being released in 1,500 theaters [last] Friday called Last Ounce of Courage, which is pretty exciting, Cantu said. To get a movie into theaters -- I mean that is pretty exciting; some people work a lifetime and never get a movie into theaters.

Cantu had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted to do when he was at a young age. His father used to be big into a program called Amiga which is kind of like Photo-shop. While he and his broth-er were shooting his movies,

his dad used Amiga on their footage in some funny ways.

In Amiga, you can do paint programs and some basic Photoshop stuff, Can-tu said. My brother and I used to shoot movies and my dad would crop out the background and put in some surreal background, and so I kind of grew up messing around in it.

The future looks pretty bright with Cantu on board at Western, and students look forward to all the hands-on experience he brings and the exciting and unique projects he can offer.

Along with his friend Henry, they are looking to do some pretty big and innova-tive things within the depart-ment.

We are combining our editing, scriptwriting, direct-ing and his cinematography classes together to do some really big projects, Henry said.

Katelyn Canon | Staff Writerkcanon@missouriwestern.edu

Controversial student worker flyers posted

Sean Starwars has argu-ably one of the coolest last names of all times. But thats not all that stands out. Star-wars is a master of woodcut-ting.

Starwars has been doing woodcuts and printmaking for 20 years now, and his purpose for coming to Mis-souri Western on Sept. 10 was to produce a multicol-ored woodcut with Western art professor Geo Sipp and work with students on cam-pus. He stayed for four days and spent most of his time woodcutting and speaking with students.

Starwars and Sipp have been friends for about 10

years and felt he should drop in for a visit.

I have been Facebook friends with Sipp for a num-ber of years now, Starwars said. So I just figured that now was the time to do it.

Starwars is an art teacher at Hattiesburg High School in Hattiesburg, Miss. His school has been very flexible with letting him do visits to different schools around the country.

Sipp just told me to do whatever I wanted to do, Starwars said. So I have been able to just cut all day and talk to some students that are interested. I love to do demonstrations.

SEE FLYERS PAGE 2

New cinematography instructors film released in 1,500 theaters

Jason Cantu, new adjunct cinematograph instructor, works on the set of Craig Morgans International Harvester music video shoot. He currently has a new film out in theaters titled Last Ounce of Courage. *Submitted photo

Andy Garrison | Staff Writerjgarrison3@missouriwestern.edu

Printmaker makes a visit to Missouri Western from a land far, far away

Sean Starwars poses with one of his many woodcut prints. Chad Hammontree | Graphics Editor

SEE STARWARS PAGE 2

Matthew Hunt | Opinions Editormhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

If your organization would like to announce an event, e-mail the information to

stories@thegriffonnews.com Assault 3:23p.m.,Tuesday,Sept.11,JudaHall LiquorOffense 3:07a.m.,Friday,Sept.14,DownsDrive Stealing 4:36p.m.,Friday,Sept.14,DownsDrive

NEWS September 20, 2012The Griffon News

Page 2

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CAMPUS INFORMATION

NEWS NOTES

Missouri Western Presents Brazil Cul-

tura Sept. 19

Traditional Brazilian culture was featured as the Center for Multicul-tural Education at Missouri Western State University presented Brazil Cultura on Wednesday, Sept. 19 in the Fulkerson Center on Mis-souri Westerns campus. The event was free and open to the public.

Mid-Autumn Day Chinese Festival

Oct. 1

The Mid-Autumn Day Chinese Festival is a celebra-tion of harvest and a family reunion. There will be poetry, folk art, chorus and releasing of sky lanterns. Traditional festival tea and foods will be served. The even is held in Murphy Hall, room 224, and starts at 7 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2012. The event is free for Western students. For more information, contact Juan Wang at 816-271-4156 or jwang1@missouriwestern.edu.

Convocation on Critical Issues with T. Boone Pickens on

Oct. 4

T. Boone Pickens speech at Missouri Western will be titled Leadership and Get-ting Things Done: Reflec-tions on a Lifetime of Come-backs and Americas Energy Future.

Ranked by Forbes as one of the worlds richest people, Pickens serves as the chair of BP Capital Management. He is a noted energy activ-ist who is also an innovative, committed philanthropist who has donated nearly $1 billion to charity. His impact on American culture reflects his many interests and pas-sions, including an unyield-ing belief in the entrepre-neurial spirit, leadership and corporate fitness, the need for alternative fuel develop-ment and prudent steward-ship of American lands.

The event will take place at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 in the gym of the Loo-ney Complex.

CAMPUS CRIME REPORTS

However, faculty and staff believe it was a student act-ing alone.

My sense is there was an isolated incident, maybe even one student who is not happy about a situation that might have provoked some-thing like that, Grimes said.

Donnell Turner, direc-tor for Career Development Center, agreed.

It really appears, at least from the posters that I saw, that its representative of a number of students or a good deal of the student body, but

thats not what were hearing and thats not what we are seeing or experiencing.

Student Employment Co-ordinator Matthew Gregg would like to encourage the students that hung the post-ers to partake in an open dia-logue.

To me, just putting up posters doesnt solve any-ones problem, Gregg said. Putting up posters and then having open communica-tions with whoever is fine. You are entitled to your opinion. I just think it is best to go through the proper channels to make sure your voice is heard.

Gregg also feels that stu-dents should utilize SGA if they feel uncomfortable coming to faculty or staff.

If they dont feel comfort-

able coming to us (Student Employment), let SGA come to us, and then lets meet together and take it from there, Gregg said.

SGA addresses all student concerns that are submitted through their proper griev-ance policy.

Certainly we would be happy to listen to their con-cerns and do what we can to advocate on their behalf, but if you cant sign your name to it its going to be difficult to address, Scott said.

The Career Development Center also has an open door policy for student workers.

I want students to feel that they have an open door here and that they have someone

that is here to listen, Gregg said.

That doesnt mean Im always going to agree or dis-agree with that group, but were going to be objective about the situation.

Former SGA student Sen. Amber Nold denied to com-ment on the situation, yet ad-mitted to hanging the post-ers around campus.

If any students involved in creating and hanging the posters are interested in shar-ing any information, please contact the Griffon News at 816-271-4412 or via email at thegriffonnews@gmail.com.

Woodcutting may not be one of the more-known types of art, but that happens to be the reason Starwars enjoys it so much. He feels that its something that takes a lot of energy, which he happens to always have.

I really like the feeling of cutting into the wood with the chisels and sharp tools, Starwars said. Theres a re-sistance when you cut into that wood because its forc-ing back against you. So you really have to put some en-ergy in it.

He stated that he drinks a lot of Mountain Dew so he is always ready to work and make new art. Painting was something that he took up but he feels that painting is more of a calm style of art to him.

Cutting into that wood fights back, Starwars said. I like to paint, but its very meditative. With woodcut-ting, youre really fighting it.

Sipp stated that the print-making community is rather small and if you dont know someone personally, you know them from the art work they put out.

I respect Starwars, Sipp said. His work is loose, en-ergetic and fun. I respect the fact that he is a worker that just continues to make more and more prints.

Sipp said that Starwars poster work is incredible as well. He feels that its the

type of art that everyone can respond to.

One of the things that Star-wars wanted students on campus to take away from his visit is that theres more forms of art out there that are contemporary uses because of the digital era that we are in.

In order to give some-thing that human touch, even in that digital world, some of those things come from woodcutting. I like the fact that I can take my wood-cutting piece with me with-out having to plug it in an outlet.

Art education major Kat Furlong loved the visit from Starwars and said that she learned a lot. She felt that he was a quick-paced type of guy and was always ready to accomplish something.

I learned how to be con-fident with my work, Fur-long said. I had to learn that you have to have fun with art and let loose. I want to be an art teacher some day so I wanted some pointers on that as well.

As for Starwars, he said he will continue to make more woodcutting pieces as well as t-shirts and posters.

Starwars ended his visit by stating that students should really take advantage of art-work like woodcutting be-cause it helps you expand your knowledge in art.

You guys use a lot of com-puters for art now, Starwars said. Sometimes art does need that human touch, and there are other styles out there that can get it done.

FLYERS: CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Judy GrimesInterim Vice President for Student

Affairs and Dean of Students

Participants urged to voice opinions

STARWARS: CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Printmaker Sean Starwars is known for his wide range of colors and his use of random objects and juxtapositions. Here are some of Starwarss woodcutts entitled Shit Village (Above) and Hot Dog Party (Below). *courtesy of seanstarwars.com

Traveling artist educates students about woodcutting

Thursday,Sept.20 InstrumentalFacultyRecital

7:30pm

Friday,Sept.21 GriffonVolleyballvsCentral

Missouri7:00p.m. GriffonWomensSoccervs

NorthwestMissouriStateUniversity7:00p.m.

GuestPianoRecital7:30p.m.

Saturday,Sept.22 GriffonVolleyballvsLindenwood

University1:00p.m.

Tuesday,Sept.25 BlackHolesPlanetariumShow

7:00p.m.

Thursday,Sept.27 PoliticalScienceFilmSeries:

ElectionPolitics7:00p.m.

NEWSSeptember 20, 2012The Griffon News Page 3

FREAKY FASTDELIVERY!

2011 JIMMY JOHNS FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

FREAKYFAST!FREAKYGOOD!

Constitution Day promotes student activism Matt Hunt | Opinions Editor mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

Constitution Day at Mis-souri Western focused on freedom of student activism.

Dr. Angus Johnston, his-torian at City University of New York, was the guest speaker for the Constitu-tion Day event held on Sept. 17 and co-sponsored by Western Activities Council, Student Government As-sociation, Political Science Students Association and Philosophy Scholars Asso-ciation. Johnston said that campus activism today was something that people have not seen in over 20 years.

Students rally and pro-test, Johnston said. We havent seen this level of at-tention since the 1970s.

The event covered the speakers address to students and faculty and focused pri-marily on how far we have come as a nation. Once the

speech was complete they had students break down into small workshops to fo-cus on student organizing strategies.

Student Activist Nicholas Brothers said the purpose of the event was to celebrate the Constitution. He said bring-ing in Johnston, a historian

who specialized in student movements of the mid-20th century, was great. He said the main objective was to help instill a new recognition in our student body.

Johnston said a small group of students cant change a major policy, but said they should have some say in what the university does. He said before students were able to vote at the age of 18, the only form of democ-racy was through protest.

The vast majority of un-dergraduate students were unable to vote, Johnston said. It wasnt until the 1972 election when students were able to vote.

The reason behind Consti-tution Day at Western was to bring students ideas on the reasons to protest and how far we have come. Johnston expressed that a university is more for students than fac-ulty and administration.

Students work on cam-

pus, and hangout on cam-pus, Johnston said. Its a place where students estab-lish meetings and organiza-tions.

Brothers said it was an enormous opportunity to see an expert speak about the power that students have had, and continue to have, in shaping a political destiny of this country and world. He said he hopes that students who attended the event will realize that together, stu-dents have power.

Daniel Radke, adjunct in-structor of political science, said students need to get involved in the political pro-cess. He said Johnston was an excellent speaker for Con-stitution Day and covered many issues on student par-ticipation.

I believe the speaker was fantastic, Radke said. We were grateful to have him here on our campus.

Angus Johnston, historian at City University of New York, speaks to a crowd of students and faculty. Johnston was the guest speaker for Constitu-tion Day on Sept. 17. Matt Hunt | Opinions Editor

The last chance to see a super massive black hole in Agenstein Hall will be on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.

Before you freak out, how-ever, know that it is only a show over Black Holes in the Bushman Planetarium, locat-ed in Agenstein 147.

The department of com-puter science, mathematics and physics is behind this show that is full of 3D-like effects.

This show is an introduc-tion to what a black hole is and how we observe them, physics professor Chris God-frey said. It speculates a bit on what black holes might allow us to do if we could somehow harness their tech-nology, so its kind of a neat program.

Adding to the entertain-ment value, fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation may be in for a surprise. Some may recognize the voice of John de Lancie, better known as Q from that series.

What this show does is kind of debunk some of the myth but it leaves in some of the more extreme possibili-ties. Anybody interested in science or science fiction will enjoy it.

Linda Chism attended the show and believes viewers can learn a thing or two from the show.

I actually felt as though I learned a few things I didnt know before, Chism said. It still left a few unanswered questions, though.

Beside the educational value of the show, Chism explained why she could go without experiencing the ef-fects of gliding over surface of Jupiter.

It reminded me of why

I dont like roller coasters, Chism said.

Department Chair and physics professor Michael Ottinger describes how the planetarium is a lot bigger in size than many may think, allowing the show to physi-cally affect observers, like Chism.

The dome looks flat, but its actually two stories high, Ottinger said.

Overall, however, Godfrey thinks Black Holes is a show people will take something from.

Sometimes the science stuffs a little too dry for the average viewer, Godfrey said. But I think they did a good balance between try-ing to explain what we really know about them and how we learned it.

The show costs $4.50 for children 12 and under, se-niors and Missouri Western students and employees with a school ID. Adult tick-ets are $6.50. Tickets can be purchased at www.missouri-western.edu/planetarium.

Black Holes swallows viewers in at Westerns planetarium

New Greek Plaza to brighten Juda Halls backyard

Greek life at Missouri Western will soon be en-hanced even more with an outdoor plaza behind Juda Hall.

The new circular plaza will be used by Greek or-ganizations for ceremonies and as a recruiting tool. Greeks now have a place to call their own. The place-ment of the plaza next to the Greek Village and close to Downs Drive was no ac-cident.

The location of the plaza was Dean of Enrollment Management Howard Mc-Cauleys suggestion, Di-rector of Residential Life Mark Stier said. When you visit other campuses, you see the presence of Greek life and we didnt have that.

Stier credits the initial vi-sion for the plaza to West-erns President, Dr. Robert Vartabedian, and the Greek organizations themselves.

The leaders in Student Affairs and the Greek them-selves really deserve the credit for the work on the Greek Village, Vartabedian said. I have just encour-aged them to promote an expansion of Greek Life on our campus.

He also noted that the plaza could help students to better connect with each other and with university life in general.

We are focusing on in-creasing opportunities for students to be engaged on campus and to feel part of the campus, Interim Vice President for Student Af-fairs and Dean of Students Judy Grimes said. We want to encourage more students to live on campus and have increased many late-night events for them.

The Greek Village and Greek Plaza are parts of the response to the consultants report that was completed a few years ago Grimes said. She also pointed out that the report is still on the stu-dent affairs website.

Ten Greek organizations will be represented with one of 15 benches with the name of the organization and the Western emblem. These benches will be placed in a large outer circle with three benches in the inner circle. In the center of the circle will be a rock that is to be painted and maintained by each group with their col-ors, name and handprints at different times of the school year.

This project was financed with monies left over from the Residential Hall Asso-ciations budget.

Their sole purpose is the enhancement of residential life for the betterment of the community, Stier said. Because the Greek village is a part of residential life a portion of the project came from them, the other por-tion came from Dr. Grimes and student government.

Stier also credits a great deal of the planning suc-cess to the SGA as they as-sisted him in getting all of the Greek organizations to-gether for several meetings to get their input for the de-sign of the plaza.

Usually freshmen at West-ern are not allowed in Juda. Stier is making an exception to the rule for those who pledge Greek. There are still spaces available in the original west wing of the Greek Village in Juda. There are nine units available and they could be doubled up if necessary.

With 70 new men show-ing interest in pledging Greek and the womens side still pledging, those spaces could go fast. At most Juda could hold 120 Greeks if the entire building was used for Greek housing.

Ellis Cross | News Editor elliscross@yahoo.con

This bench is just one of the additions to the new Greek plaza located in Juda Hall. *submitted photo

Brian Ramsay | Staff Writer bramsay@missouriwestern.edu

LIST OF PLANETARIUM

SHOWS-9/25/20127:00 p.m. Black Holes

-10/2/20127:00 p.m. Sea Monsters

-10/9/20127:00 p.m. Sea Monsters

*All shows are held in the Bushman Planetarium located in Agenstein 147

According to physics professor Chris Godfrey, the Black Holes planetarium show visually shows the audience what black holes might allow us to do if we could somehow harness their technology. *submitted photo

The planetarium show uses 3D imagery, effects and bright visu-als (like the two images above and below) to give the audience a realistic replica of our solar system. *submitted photo

ROTC goes hard in the paint ROTC is back in action for the fall with a long list of events from Sep-tember to December. Some of these events include a ranger challenge and a combat water survival testing. On Thursday, Sept. 13, ROTC held a leisure, yet educational paintball training where the cadets suited up,

went out into the woods and prepared for battle.

Evan Roberts | Photo Editor

FEATURES September 20, 2012The Griffon NewsPage 4

SEptember 21, 28 October 5, 12, 19, 26, 2012

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RENT?

There have now been five Resident Evil movies, and this one should have been given to the SyFy channel.

Resident Evil: Retribution uses horrendous acting, embarrassing writing and cheap com-puter-generated imagery to easily become one of the worst films of the year.

The story follows Alice (Milla Jovovich) once again, as she is now stuck in a facil-ity built by the Umbrella Corporation that is filled with several of the virus-infected mon-sters that have plagued this series.

The inside of the facility was constructed to replicate several large cities and civilizations such as Moscow, Tokyo and New York City. These replicated cities were created for the corporation to sell the secrets to countries on how to help themselves survive against the virus.

Each of the replicated civilizations are pop-ulated by thousands of clones that resembled actual people in the real world. Alices clone was a suburban housewife with a daughter. Alice comes in contact with her fake daugh-ter and develops feelings for her and brings her with her as she tries to escape.

Paul Anderson, the writer and director of this movie, tries to explain this lavish story, but fails miserably.

One of the opening sequences of the film is a cut-scene where Alice, literally, explains the entire series to the audience. This is done to catch up any audience member who has not seen any of the films before, but its a cheap solution to telling the story and a rather weak sequence.

The first fight scene between Alice and Ada Wong, a former employee of Umbrella, is ac-tually rather entertaining but interrupted by Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) and goes into yet another unbearable scene.

Wesker, who is an arch-enemy of Alice, now wants to escape from this facility. He is also the one who explains the entire replication idea to her.

So yet again, everything is being cheaply told to the audience, instead of us finding it out for ourselves.

As Alice is helped by her one-liner spitting friends to escape the facility, the audience is thrown into a barrage of sickening action scenes.

Each scene is there just for the sake of ac-tion and not a bit entertaining. The characters bore us, the visuals are completely unattract-ive and we are taken out of the movie way too often.

The CGI resembles something we would see on a really bad SyFy movie like Snakes on a Train or Mega Piranha. There is a car chase where Alice is being chased by this giant four-legged monster and it was so uncomfortable to watch because of how obvious the CGI is. You can even tell that the car is fake.

The acting is flat-out atrocious. Jovovich has a really good game face throughout the film but it feels like she is still stuck at the table reading.

All of the $65 million put into this produc-tion wasnt worth it.

So please, do yourself a favor, and dont even consider seeing this film. It is not even close to worth it.

Punishing viewersBrian Duskey | Multimedia Editor bduskey@missouriwestern.edu

*Courtesy of allmoviephotos.com

Resident Evil: Retribution wrecks the movie screen

www.GriffonNews.comViewourvideomoviereviewat

We give this movie 1/2 out of 5 stars

FEATURESSeptember 20, 2012The Griffon News Page 5

Jerome Love

Spratt 101Sept 20th7:00PM

Get up, G

et out and D

o Something!

Motivational Speaker

Missouri Western knows Dr. Jonathan Yordy as the vice president for Univer-sity Advancement and as a champion of fundraising. However, beyond his many accolades, Yordy is accom-plished in many of the fine arts -- especially the culinary ones.

The two things that Yordy likes to do most in his free time is host get-togethers among faculty and friends and cook for them. Korean food is the particular interest in the Yordy household, as they love to cook shrimp and

Kimchi fried rice.From the great reviews

from other faculty mem-bers, it appears that a lot of Yordys coworkers like Ko-rean cooking as well -- or at least they do now that he has arrived. Director of De-velopment Jerry Pickman is just one of the many cowork-ers to attend a Yordy family cooking session.

There is no doubt that he and Jean have a passion for cooking, and they are definitely chefs in their own rite, Pickman said.

Another faculty member to attend three get-togethers is fellow fundraiser and Di-rector of Athletics, Kurt Mc-

Guffin. He, too, had nothing but great things to say about Yordys cooking.

Let me tell you, he and his wife Jean, they know how to put on a party as far as food, McGuffin said. The style of the food is unbelievable.

Yordys passions doesnt end with culinary mastery, however.

Yordy is also an avid nov-elist and a songwriter.

I have written the lyrics to many songs, around a couple hundred, Yordy said. I have written the books and lyrics to five musicals, two of which were published and performed.

His writings include the

libretto to a full-length opera entitled O Pioneers! and a 10-minute opera scene that premiered last November in Carnegie Hall.

If that wasnt a big enough portfolio, as one walks through his office one may begin to notice the colorful, abstract and very well done multimedia art adorning the walls hes also an artist. Us-ing mostly acrylics, swirls of color interact almost play-fully with one another across the canvas of his works.

He is very expressive and I think if you combine the two, with his cooking and with his painting, its defi-nitely a way for him to ex-

press who he is, Pickman said.

It begs the question, Where does all this passion come from? The answer is a relatively simple one.

I come from a faculty background, and that is something that I share with all faculty, is the love for learning and the life of the mind, Yordy said.

With all of that drive in his hobbies, Western can expect truly great things from Yordy in the future when it comes to his greatest endeavors of fundraising, creating ben-eficial relationships in the community, and cooking up some mean Kimchi fried rice.

Vice president savors culinary arts

Dr. Jonathan Yordy, vice pres-ident for University Advance-ment, not only works hard in the office, but the kitchen, too.Tevin Harris | Asst. Photo Editor

Andy Garrison | Staff writerjgarrison3@missouriwestern.edu

T. B O O N E P I C K E N S

L E A D E R S H I P A N D G E T T I N G T H I N G S D O N E :R E F L E C T I O N S O N A L I F E T I M E O F C O M E B A C K S A N D A M E R I C A S E N E R G Y F U T U R E

S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

For more information, visit: www.missouriwestern.edu/convocation 816-271-5646Supported with funds from Missouri Western Foundation.

T. Boone Pickens Legendary Oil & Gas EntrepreneurThursdayOctober 4 10:30 a.m. Looney Complex

Missouri Western State University presents

Missouri Western is an equal opportunity institution.

The 9:30 a.M. claSSeS Will diSMiSS early and 11 a.m. classes will be cancelled

WESTERNS GOT TALENT CHECK OUT SOME PHOTOS OF

LAST WEEKS TALENT SHOW

AND THE

WINNER IS...

DEREK THOMPSON

(Top) Martinez Jones serenads a member of the audience while he sings Stay by Tyrese at the WAC talent show on Friday, Sept. 14. (Middle Left) Trevor Vinder plays the gui-tar for the audience. (Middle Right) Jordan Barron performs a dance number. (Bottom) Winner of the talent show Derek Thompson plays the Ukulele and sings along on stage.

OPINIONS September 20, 2012The Griffon NewsPage 6

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; addi-tional copies are 50 cents. Content of this paper is developed independently of the facul-ty 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.com. Copy and advertising must be received by noon Friday, 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.

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Views expressed on the opinion pages are not necessarily those of The Griffon News staff or Missouri Western State University.

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Blair Stalder Chad HammontreeAndrew SetterEllis CrossEvan Roberts Tevin Harris Kyle InmanChristian MengelAlbert Shelby Matthew HuntBrian DuskeyLauren DillonHanna Greenwell Andy InmanKyler PenlandBob Bergland

The Griffon News Staff

CAMPUSVOICEWhats your favorite fall

activity?

Check out the full responses at GriffonNews.com

Jesse GrahamSophomore

CheyenneVanden BosFreshman

Laura Ryczek Senior

Im looking forward to the fall festivals.

Jumping in a pile of leaves, and football.

Deer hunting and Halloween.

My favorite fall activity is rock climbing.

Nick BrewerSenior

If you have noticed the posters around campus hanging up that state, Warning, you have entered a student worker rights-free zone! you should probably just turn the other way.

Amber Nold, former SGA senator and student worker is just one of the students behind this plot. In an email between a Griffon News staff member and Nold, we asked for the names of those participating and what the purpose behind this under-ground group was. She would not give the names or any information besides what the posters tell the stu-

dent body.Nold admitted that she

was fired from her job and wrote a proposal to solve some small issues. She said she wasnt part of the orga-nization, yet she assisted in posting the fliers on bul-letin boards. The idea of free speech is one thing, but going around the system is another.

Judy Grimes, interim vice president for Student Affairs, said the posters were stamped, but were never approved by the dean of students.

The stamping had to be done between those posting the fliers and someone with-

in the Center for Student Engagement. Posters that are approved are typically from organizations formally approved by the university, and this was not one.

The poster states that stu-dents have no benefits, they work for minimum wage with no raises, are harassed by employers and given no genuine respect. The poster gives numerous points, but the majority of them are untrue.

Student workers are given the opportunity to have a work-study job which is not like any other job you will find outside of the univer-sity. Students dont need

benefits considering they are not full-time employees and are not granted vaca-tion days. In fact, student workers are not allowed to work over 20 hours a week, which can be consid-ered a benefit as there is no worry about over-time pay or being overworked with hours.

The point about students working for minimum wage is true. However, Student Employment Coordinator Matthew Gregg is working on getting student workers pay raises.

The next point of harass-ment from employers was brought up, and there are

better ways to go about these issues, such as report-ing this to the chair or the deans if you have a prob-lem.

The last point about no genuine respect in the work place is untrue. The hand-book clearly states that a students job is both an edu-cational and an employment opportunity. Supervisors should take the time to give both praise and constructive criticism. Its easy, and as long as you do your job, you should receive respect.

Student workers should be thankful for a job where they dont have to travel or work full time.

Editorial: Ungrateful student workers should shut up

When student athletics and academics combine, they cause chaos not only for the players themselves, but for the team as well.

Proposition 48 was a regulation voted on by the NCAA in 1986 for Division I schools to force require-ments both academic and drug-related for college athletes to continue playing sports. The idea behind this regulation is very similar to the one here at Western which is a Division II school.

The regulation was put in place to ensure that athletes were focusing on their aca-

demics first. Yet one oppo-nent believed its purpose was to cut minority groups.

John Thompson was the Georgetown Universitys black basketball coach at the time of the new law. He believed the new rules would prevent minority youths from playing. The other interesting fact is that if you read his bio and why he was against this law, it is just so absurd. He believed that his star athletes were unprepared for college.

Imagine hearing this statement from a univer-sity coach today. The nega-tive coverage over the

Thompsons statement would most likely cost him his job.

The reality is not every-one can be talented in both sports and academ-ics. We have all witnessed it firsthand. Some of you are student-athletes and know that if you dont keep your grades up, you wont play.

The purpose of Proposition 48 is phenom-enal. A student-athlete who is being looked at by a university to play at their school should work hard, not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. Even

at Missouri Western you find student-athletes that dont seem to get it.

Some are here on full scholarships which is unfair as well, but that is a story for a later column. The sole purpose of college is get-ting a degree to further your opportunity in the job market. Its quite humorous to hear athletes on campus discuss how they dont have time to study, and that they would rather be on the field.

Well, if they only knew once they graduate life wont be that easy for them. Today more players are sent to pro-camps and dont ever

get drafted with the hope of making that team.

However, Western has done a great job with their athletic department and staying true to the code.

Players we have seen on the field are now aver-age students like us. The requirements Western set is being met, and if not, they are gone. Many schools have forgotten the law and have tried in their power to keep players in the game.

Here at Western, they do the right thing. If you dont pass, you dont play.

Opinion Editor | Matt Hunt | mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

OUT FRONTWITH HUNT Student precedes athlete; academics come first, then play

The problem with our nation is that we are no lon-ger under God. As report-ed in the Huffington Post, President Obama said --we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. Basically he said we are a nation under no god. There is no higher authority to quote concerning the state of our nation and its rela-tionship to God than the leader of our country. If we have no god then we are truly a godless nation. It begs the question, how did this happen?

Recently Bott Radio Network sponsored a rally of ministers and religious leaders held in Kansas City, Mo. where Congressman Bob McEwen spoke about how Christians are losing

a battle they refuse to fight.Politics is simply a ques-

tion of whether decisions are made for people, or whether people are allowed to make decisions for them-selves and we make that choice when we cast our ballot, said McEwen. He shared statistics during the presentation revealing that only half of the people who consider themselves conser-vative Christians are regis-tered to vote. Of those reg-istered only half are actually voting.

If conservatives want to see and understand why America is getting further and further away from God, they need to look no further than the mirror. McEwen quoted statistics show-ing nearly 60 percent of Americans consider them-selves Christians. If those

people would vote consis-tently for Bible based con-servative legislators, the country would have no other course than becoming a godly country. We would then, it should follow, be in line for his blessings.

In his book Politics: Easy as P.I.E. McEwen tells us what those blessings really mean. Keep in mind that America has only 4 percent of the worlds population. McEwen writes:

Have you ever wondered why America is the rich-est, most powerful nation on earth? It isnt that we work harder or that were smarter. It isnt by accident that we create every year more inventions than the rest of the world combined. It isnt by accident that we have won more Nobel peace prizes than the rest of the

world combined. We cre-ate more jobs, more music, more books, more commu-nity plays, and more sym-phonies than the rest of the world combined, because we have the most freedom to do so.

That freedom that he speaks of was brought to us by God-fearing men who set this nation up as a Christian nation. Twenty-nine of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were semi-nary graduates and acting ministers of God. Under God for more than two cen-turies we have developed, with Gods blessing, into the strongest and greatest nation in the world. Things have been going so well that conservative Christians have become complacent when it comes to their gov-ernment. Political participa-

tion has dwindled the rep-resentation of 60 percent of the nation to only 25 per-cent of them voting.

So, how do we turn this godless nation around? First look into the mir-ror. Are you registered to vote? If not find a friend who is involved in poli-tics. Chances are he or she is able to register you. If not, go to the county court house and get registered. It is simple and you can reg-ister up to 30 days before the election. Then educate yourself about candidates and issues. Consider how you feel about the issues and vote for those candi-dates that best meet your convictions. America is a Christian, Godly nation and it is high time we prove it in the ballot box.

WITH ELLIS CROSS

News Editor | Ellis Cross | elliscross@yahoo.com

America: The nation that isnt under God

GRIFFABLES COMIC SERIES

BY ANDREW SETTER AND CHAD HAMMONTREE

MORE COMING SOON...

SPORTSSeptember 20, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 7

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Griffons move up in rankings:Griffon football moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 in the AFCA

Top 25 Division II Coaches Poll released on Monday. The Griffons are ranked No. 5 in the D2Football.com media poll and are off the a 3-0 start for the fourth time under coach Jerry Partridge.

Michael targets all-time record:Griffon running back Michael Hill needs 57 yards rushing

this weekend at Fort Hays State to become Westerns all-time career rushing leader. The current record stands at 3,396 and Hill has ran for 3,340 on 683 carries.

Hill ranks third in the country in rushing on the season with 179.67 yards per-game and is averaging 8.2 yards per-carry. Hill has ran for 539 yards on 66 carries in the Griffons first three games.

Kempf racks up goals:Katie Kempf has scored four of the seven goals for Griffons

soccer after six games including two game-winners.

Hattey and Faubel lead Griffons: Stephanie Hattey leads the Griffons volleyball in kills with

82 and assists with 223. Sarah Faubel has a team best 124 digs.

sports shorts

MWSU WOMEN LAND 6TH PLACE

1 Augustana (SD) 2 Grand Valley State 3 Nebraska-Omaha4 Concordia-St. Paul 5 Drury University 6 Missouri Western7 Bemidji State 8 Winona State9 St. Cloud State University 10 Upper Iowa Universityt 11 - Concordia-St. Paul Bt 11 - Sioux Falls13 MSU Moorhead 14 Minot State 15 Minnesota, Crookston 16 Wayne State (Neb.) College

Rank TeamConcorida University Invitational Tournament Standing

It is a great time to be a Griffon, especially in sports. All of Missouri Western sports at this point in the season are already showing

big improvements from last season.

Take football for example. Theyve basically been step-ping over opponents. At this point last year they were al-ready at a record of 2-2. This year, although no one wants to say it and jinx it, they have a legitimate shot at staying undefeated for quite some time. Yes, our toughest games will be near the end of the regular season, but its not crazy to think we could be going into the toughest game of the year at Pittsburg State being 7-0 on the sea-son. Even though weve lost some key players to injury, (one that may or may not have been a cheap ass shot)

our depth is as solid as any teams. This is the best West-ern football has looked in a while. This is no doubt the best time to shine if Western wants to prove something. Two players have already been shining bright. Senior defensive end David Bass will be adding onto West-erns all-time sack record for the rest of the season. After this weekend, senior run-ning back Michael Hill will be doing the same with all-time rushing yards. Dont forget that the Griffons are ranked No. 7 in the nation at the moment. Pittsburg State has the top spot, Washburn is currently sitting in at No. 9 and Northwest Missouri

State is in No. 12. Those three teams happen to be three of our last four games. The MIAA being nicknamed the SEC of Division II is no joke.

Although volleyball has hit a rough patch as of lately, there are plenty of things to be happy about looking to-wards the future. First off, this team is already better at this point in the season than they were last year. They are currently 7-4, when last year they were 5-6. We lost some important players in the off season, but that didnt seem to push us backwards any. This team is young, explo-sive, and when playing con-fident and smart they look

like they could beat any-body. The problem is this team is young. Depending how you look at it, it may not be a problem at all. These young bloods, especially the freshman class, have ridicu-lous offensive potential. It doesnt matter who is killing it, because they all can do it. No one wants to play a team that has multiple dynamic kill hitters to choose from. There is no one better to lead this young team of hard hit-ters than Stephanie Hattey, who is quietly climbing up a record board herself. Still early in her junior season, Hattie is already sitting in fourth place as the all time assist leader at Western and

will likely move up before the season is over.

So much for Western soc-cer being picked in the pre-season to finish dead last in the conference. This soccer team is doing nothing but proving people wrong. The girls are only one win away from tying their number of wins for all of last season. Currently sitting at 3-3, they look like they are going to keep on getting better. Like volleyball, there is some tal-ented youth on this team. Combine that youth with the veteran players who are hungry for a winning sea-son and this team could ruin some other teams season hopes.

WOMENS GOLF RESULTS AT WILDWOOD

Griffons Womens Golf finished sixth out of 16 at the Wildwood Invitational. Freshman Callie Wilson finished in a tie for seventh with a score of 155, while Natalie Bird tied for tenth, finishing with a 158. Chad Hammontree | Graphics Editor

The fall is lookin' good: western sports have come a long way since last year

Christian MengelAsst. Sports Editor cmengel@missouriwestern.edu

Patriotism was in the air as the Missouri Western football team improved its record to 3-0 by defeating Nebraska-Kearney 38-14 on Military Appreciation Night at Spratt Stadium.

It was a gritty win, coach Jerry Partridge said. I think we did some things early to keep them in the ball game, had some penalties and a turnover.

Travis Partridge made up for an early interception by throwing for a career-high four touchdown passes to four different targets.

As an offense we have so many weapons, the quarter-back said. Thats what we expect. Our receiving core is so deep. Its fun to be me and distribute and watch them work.

Partridge connected with Reggie Jordan, Michael Hill, Tyron Crockom, and Derek Libby for scores through the air and showed his own versatility by running in a 27-yard touchdown run. He finished the day with 198 passing yards and 78 rushing yards.

Crockom scored his touch-down in spectacular fashion as he caught a short pass on the left side of the field and took the ball all the way across to the right side, turned the corner and out-ran the defense.

I just let my feet do the work, Crockum said. I saw three dudes coming, and I didnt want to get smacked by them.

Jordan scored his third touchdown of the season in as many games and has be-come one of the Griffons go-to guys in the red zone.

Hes a threat, coach Par-tridge said. Hes a tough match-up for people and catches the ball really well.

Hill ran for 165 yards on 24 carries for an average of 6.7 yards per carry and caught a short pass that he turned into a 19-yard touchdown. Hill has rushed for 539 yards in the Griffons three games this season which ranks first

in the MIAA and third in the nation.

I thought he ran the ball really well, coach Partridge said. He is the very best back in the MIAA, I believe that. I wouldnt trade him for anybody.

The Griffon defense was burned for a 58-yard touch-down run from Tommy Fla-nagan after calling a blitz on fourth down, which led to the game being close at the half with Western up 14-7.

We sent the blitz to the weak side and it was an ex-cellent play call by them, defensive end David Bass said.

The Lopers only other score of the day came on a

trick play that ended in a 43-yard touchdown pass after the Griffons already had a commanding lead.

Westerns defense was solid all day, but suffered a huge loss as standout Yomi Alli suffered a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.

Alli is the Griffons season leading tackler with 13 as-sisted and 10 solo and also grabbed an interception be-fore the knee injury. Coach Partridge is disappointed Al-lis season is going to ge cut short, and the players arent too happy, either.

Thats terrible, Bass said. The player that he is with

his attitude and the energy he brings to this team, Im hurt that hes out.

Bass recorded his third sack of the season while Ben Pister and Austin Baska were both credited with a half sack. Defensive back Michael Jordan intercepted a deep pass thrown by Eric Kaiser in the second quarter.

The Griffons are off to a 3-0 start for the fourth time un-

der coach Partridge.Going 3-0 is definitely a

great confidence booster for our program, Bass said. It

w i l l just al-low us to stay h u n -g r y

and keep getting better week by week.

The Griffons go on the road for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 22, when they travel to Hays, Kan. to face Fort Hays State. The Ti-gers are currently 0-3 on the year.

SPORTSSeptember 20, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 8

Missouri Western fumbled their MIAA opener against Truman State on Friday, Sept. 14 in Kirksville, Mo., but came back just a couple days later with a big win in overtime against Linden-wood on Sunday, Sept. 16 in St. Charles, Mo.

Truman State -- 2 Missouri Western -- 0

The Griffons opened up MIAA conference play Fri-day Sept. 14 at Truman State. However, the Bulldogs came out ready to play, with Kelsey Twellman scoring

in the fourth minute put-ting them up 1-0. While the girls played much better in the second half, they never caught back up. Twellman added one more goal off of a free kick making the score 2 to 0. Western would fall to 2-3 this season and 0-1 in MIAA.

Senior goalkeeper Kelly Voigts recorded another nine saves, but the girls were out-shot 21-2, with sophomores Katie Kempf and Teddi Ser-na (off of K.C. Ramsells cor-ner kick) recording shots.

We came out flat and we struggled, coach Chad Ed-wards said. But coming out of halftime, we settled down and played better. I was re-

ally proud of our effort in the second half.

Missouri Western -- 2 Lindenwood -- 1

With only 13 shots com-bined between the two teams, the first 25 minutes of Westerns game at Linden-wood wasnt much of an of-fensive display. Lindenwood finally got the game going with a forward Bailey Cody-goal at the 27-minunte mark, putting them up 1-0 going into halftime. Senior forward Abby Widrig put the Grif-fons on the board with a goal of her own at the 53-minute mark. The score would re-main tied 1-1 until the end

of regulation, sending it into overtime.

We knew that we were the better team, and if we could score one more goal, then we could walk away as winners, Forward AJ Pow-ers said. Coach Edwards always says, Be mentally tough, and thats exactly what we did.

Just three minutes into overtime, Kempf would put in her fourth goal of the sea-son, ending the game. The Griffons sealed their first MIAA victory over Linden-wood with a final score of 2-1.

The team now stands at a record of 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Kyle Inman | Sports Editorkinman@missouriwestern.edu ATHLETE of the WEEK

TravisPartridge#12 - Quarterback

Travis Partridge threw for 198 yards and 4 touchdowns, and he ran for 78 yards total, 27 of them resulting in a touchdown in the Western 38-14 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

The Griffons sport their black and gold camouflage jerseys for Military Appreciation Night as they dominate against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers.

Evan Roberts | Photo Editor

Mica Cummins | Staff Writermcummins1@missouriwestern.edu

Soccer falls short versus Truman 2-0, regains ground against Lindenwood

The weekend was split for Griffons as they beat Mis-souri Southern State (25-19, 25-15, 25-20) on Sept. 14, and fall to Emporia State (28-26, 25-23, 25-20) the day after.

For playing the Lions, who came in to MWSU Field-house with a record of 0-8, they sure didnt look win less. It was a tight shootout in the beginning, but once the Griffons made adjust-ments, the game was more controlled.

The 5-4 Emporia Hor-nets were a much tougher contest, being a little more athletic than the Lions, and much more experienced. The Hornets game play seemed to mirror much of the Grif-fons style. All three sets eas-ily could have gone either way, but the Hornets unfor-tunately closed out the Grif-fons late in the sets.

Coach Cory Frederick still sees youth as a major factor in these match-ups.

I still thinking they are putting way to much pres-sure on themselves, Freder-

ick said. Its kind of one of those humps to get over with youth and weve got to get past that. Were still working on it, but its getting better.

Adjustments were needed after the loss to Northwest Missouri State on Sept. 11. There was more emphasis put on the player placement in practices leading up to the

weekend, according to fresh-man Melissa Cairns, who fin-ished the two games with a total of 18 kills.

We worked on our po-sitional play, like where were standing, Cairns said. Rather than just working on where we should be, we need to be reading the game more to understand where

we have to be.Aside from the win against

the Lions, the biggest thing to be happy about over the weekend was the outstand-ing athleticism that came from the freshman class. Be-tween Cairns, Holly Pollock and Jessie Thorup, the three young players combined for 44 of the teams 77 kills over the weekend (22 kills both games). Fans can easily look forward to seeing this class get more comfortable and continue to grow in the fu-

ture.Were a solid freshman

class, Pollock said. We all work really hard and it shows on the court, and over the next few years well keep improving.

A great student crowd, whose yells and cheers may or may not have assisted in the Lions surprisingly high of 14 serving errors, backed the team Friday. The crowd was much more thinned out, with 56 less fans the next night against the Hornets.

It was obvious to everyone in attendance that there was pressure put on every Lions player as they served.

We should get them to come back as often as they can, Frederick said. They definitely helped us, thats for sure.

In the second set against Missouri Southern, there was a scary moment when senior Lindsey Williams fell to the floor after an explosive jump serve that resulted in an ace. Unfortunately, she did not return to the game after an apparent knee injury. There are still tests needing to be done before the team can verify if and when a possible return could be.

Its always hard to tell with those, Frederick said. It could be nothing and we could get her back in a week with some rehab. If its a mi-nor tear to some cartilage it could be 10 days, but if you get into some ligament dam-age it could probably end her career.

The Griffons play at home against Central Missouri at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 and Linden-wood at 1 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Christian Mengel | Asst. Sports Editorcmengel@missouriwestern.edu

(Left) Freshman Melissa Cairns attacks the ball in mid-air. (Above) Amanda Boender (14) and Jessie Thorup (16) attempt to block the ball at Tuesdays game against Northwest Missouri State. Jason Brown | Photo Contributor

Volleyball takes both win and loss over weekend

Western triumphs over Nebraska-Kearney 38-14

Sophomore Teddi Serna headbutts the ball in the 2-0 win over East Central University. Jason Brown | Photo Contributor

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