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PA I DPERMIT NO. 32St. JOSEPH, MO

GRIFFonMISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITYthe

griffonnews.comnews

vol 93 | Issue 13 January 20, 2011

The Griffon News reviews the latest Seth Rogen film. Written and starring the come-dian, The Green Hornet was first a televi-sion show in the 1940’s.

See page 5 to read if the movie makes sting the box office

The Griffons basketball team takes away another win. P’allen Stinnet (left) wracks up another technical but lead the team with 22 points for the game.

The Griffon News has a new digital look.

visit griffonnews.com for exclusive content.

Sports Sports

Todd Fuller | News Editorpfuller@missouriwestern.edu

Anxiety always runs high for col-lege graduates, with the prospect of having to cope with a laundry list of new responsibilities, including finding that first “real job.”

As commencement for December graduates was nearing the unem-ployment rate for the well-educat-ed was on the rise, according to reports from the Bureau for Labor Statistics, reaching 5.1%, its high-est point since the figure was first recorded in 1970.

The December 2010 rates showed some improvement as the figure dropped to 4.8%, but cer-tainly not the type of improvement those receiving their degrees would like to see.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeanne Daffron certainly sees the issues facing many recent graduates, but she also thinks that Western does a good job in preparing students to enter the work force.

“These are definitely difficult times for any individual who is seeking employment. It is impor-tant to make good decisions about education and to know that the...

Nick McCutcheon | Asst. News Editornmccutcheon@missouriwestern.edu

Student Government Association officials are pushing to get a tobac-co-free policy and an Esry Health Center fee on this March’s SGA and Senate election ballots.

Focus groups will be formed to provide feedback on the proposed changes before both policies are drafted and placed on the ballot.

“It’s our goal to get student opinion on both of these issues,” SGA Director of Communication Allison Norris said.

Student Governor Peter Gregory has been working with SGA, Senate and Administration to research both issues since earlier in the fall semester. A resolution stating that

SGA supported the pursuit of an initiative to make Western tobacco- free passed in the Senate Nov 1.

While the resolution passed unan-imously, it was not without debate. Some senators felt that SGA should not have stated their stance on the issue without receiving student feedback.

“I felt that we should have had the students develop the policy,” SGA Director of Finance Colin Hoffman said. “It sends the wrong message. It seems like we’ve already decided what we want to do before we put it to a vote of the students.”

Gregory said the student focus groups will help SGA form a policy that meets the opinions of students.

New Griffons enroll

New students attend late registration

New students are ushered through the process of registering on open registration day. They move from sta-tion to station filling out forms and learning about the Missouri Western experience. In the past year West-ern’s enrollment has seen increases and has reached notable benchmarks.

Todd Fuller | News Editorpfuller@missouriwestern.edu

The construction for the $35.1 mil-lion for the Agenstein/Remington is nearly complete and the building will be open and dedicated on Tuesday, January 18.

The vision for this project dates back as far as 2002 when funding was believed to be near for planning the project, but decreasing state rev-enues proved to be insurmountable for many years.

In 2007, Missouri finally found a way to fund many of its capi-tal improvement projects for high-er education with Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative.

The total amount allocated for the construction of the project was $35.1 million; $30.1 million came from Missouri’s Lewis and Clark Initiative funds and $5 million from private contributors, Wes and Patsy Remington, for which the addition

was named.Construction began nearly three

years ago with a ceremonial ground-breaking in May 2008 on Remington, which opened in fall semester of 2009. Once Remington was com-plete, faculty and staff moved into the new addition so that the reno-vation of Agenstein could begin, with its completion slated for spring semester of 2011.

According to Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advance-ment, there will most likely be a “punch list” of items remaining to be completed after the dedication, but nothing major.

“When Agenstein Hall opens on January 18, we will have 120,000 square feet of state-of-the-art sci-ence and math instructional space,” Nicoson said. “This is double what was in Agenstein alone before the addition of Remington Hall.

See Agenstein page 2

Agenstein Rededicated

SGA holds first meeting

See SGA page 2

Jobs are scarce fornew grads

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NewsJanuary 20, 2011The Griffon News

Page 2

Campus Information

Calendar of EventsWhere to find the Griffon News

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

stories@thegriffonnews.com

Thursday. January 21• GuestArtistRecital,PotterTheatre,

7:30p.m.

Friday, January 22• GuestArtistMasterClass,Potter

Theatre,9:00a.m.

Tuesday, January 25• “BlacktoRap”TalentShow,

Kemper,6:00p.m.

Wednesday, January 26• Women’sBasketballvsEmporia

StateUniversity,LooneyArena,5:30p.m.

• Men’sBasketballvsEmporiaStateUniversity,LooneyArena,7:30p.m.

Friday, January 28• RobSchaaf Forum,BlumUnion,

5:30p.m.

Saturday, January 29• SpecialOlympicsBasketball

Tournament,LooneyArena,8a.m.

Tuesday, February 1• GriffonInternationalFilm

Festival,Hearnes,7:00p.m.

Wednesday, February 2• GriffonInternationalFilm

Festival,Hearnes,7:00p.m.

Thursday, February 3• GriffonInternationalFilm

Festival,Hearnes,7:00p.m.

1. EderHall:1stand2ndFloors

2. MurphyHall

3. HearnesCenter:LibraryEntrance

4. LeahSprattHall:1stand2ndFloors

5. BlumUnion

6. ScanlonHall

7. VaselakosHall

8. LeavertonHall

NEWSNOTES

MarthaGreer,directorof theCenterfor Community Arts at MissouriWestern State University’s WesternInstitute,hasaddedasecondjobtitleThe Best of Missouri Hands, an

organizationforMissouriartisans,hasannouncedthatGreerwillserveastheorganization’sexecutivedirector.“Greer brings an impressive array

of skills and experience to Best of Missouri Hands,’’ said Peggy King,the organization’s president. ‘’We’redelighted to haveMartha as our newexecutivedirector.’’Greer will continue to lead the

Center for Community Arts. Shebelieves the positions will serve toenhanceoneanother.‘’Bothorganiza-tionsarecommittedtotheimportanceof arts education and the importanceof the arts in our communities,’’ shesaid.Greer has been director of the

CenterforCommunityArtsforthelastthreeyears.Priortothat,sheservedasdirector of the Chillicothe Area ArtsCouncil. She is currently vice presi-dent of the Missouri Association of CommunityArtsAgencies,and servesontheArtsEducationTeamof theSt.JosephAlliedArtsCouncil she servedfor three years on the Missouri FolkArtsgrantreviewpanel.

Missouri Western State Universitypresents pianist Stephen Drury in aguestartist recitalat7:30p.m.Friday,Jan.21atPotterHallTheater.Drurywill play the complete piano

sonatasof AmericancomposerCharlesIves.Drury has performed through-out the world with a repertoire thatstretches from Bach to Liszt to themusicof today.He has appeared atCarnegieHall,

the Kennedy Center, the BarbicanCentre and Queen Elizabeth Hall inLondon,theCitdelaMusiqueinParisandtheLeipzigGewandhaus.Drury is the artistic director and

conductor of the CallithumpianConsort,andhecreatedanddirectstheSummer Institute for ContemporaryPerformancePracticeatNewEnglandConservatory.Charles Ives is “one of the most

extraordinaryandindividualfiguresinthehistoryof Westernmusic,’’accord-ingtotheOxfordDictionaryof Music.“Piano Sonata No. 2,’’ also called

the “Concord Sonata,’’ is one of hisbest-known works, and was inspiredbythetranscendentalismof AmericanAuthorRalphWaldoEmerson.He earned his undergraduate

degree from Harvard College andhas also earned the New EnglandConservatory’sselectArtistDiploma.General admission is $7. Seniors,

Western students and employees withtheir I.D. are $5.Music 101 students,music majors and their families arefree.

Western presents guest pianist Stephen Drury

Greer adds another title

9. CommonsBuilding

10. RemingtonHall

11. BakerFamilyFitnessCenter

12. WilsonHall

13. GriffonIndoorSportsComplex

14. LooneyComplex:2ndFloor

15. PotterHall

16. PopplewellHall:1stand2ndFloors

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Agenstein was previously over-crowded and out of date.”“Appliedlearningisamajorfocusat Western and the new researchlabs in Agenstein will be of greatbenefit to those engaged in facul-ty-student research projects. Thenewclassroomswillbebrighterandmoreuptodate,providingthebestinlearningenvironments,”Nicosonsaid.JeanneDaffron,provostandvice

presidentof academicaffairs,said,“This project is essentially com-plete, with the exception of theplanetarium.The completion datefor that is sometime in February.I believe that theremay be a fewsmallthingslefttodoonthegreen-house,also.”“It seems to me that the

Remington Hall and AgensteinHallprojectshavegonewell.Theywere each completed on sched-ule and lookwonderful. The fac-ultymoved in over the break andthose towhomIhave talked seemthrilled,”Nicosonsaid.Mel Klinkner, vice president for

financialplanning,saidthatchangeorders were still coming in so thetotalcostof thefacilityisnotknownatthistime.“Part of the plan was to have

some endowment money left forthe operation, and we [WesternAdministration] thinkwe’re in the$800,000 range at this point forthat endowment,butwe’ll have towaitandsee,”Klinknersaid.

...unemployment rate for collegegraduates is less than half that of individualswithonlyahighschooleducation,”Daffronsaid.Daffronreallybelievesintheedu-

cational benefits of the workplacelearningexperiencethatisrequiredformoststudents.“I do think that many Western

graduatesmay have an advantagebecause of our focus on appliedlearning,” Daffron said. “Themajority of Western graduatescompleteatleastoneappliedlearn-ing experience before graduation.Employerstellusthattheseexperi-enceshelpnewgraduates tomovemore efficiently and successfully

into regular positions. Studentswho complete internships are fre-quentlyofferedregularpositionsatthesameorganization.”Recent Western graduate

Brandon Edwards, a convergentmedia major, spoke about hisrecent experiences trying to findajobaftergraduation.“I graduated in May, and I’ve

onlybeenononeinterviewatKQ2,whichiswhereIdidmyinternship,sothatwasmyonly‘in,’”Edwardssaid.Edwards is pretty disheartened

withtheprocessasaremanypeoplecurrently pursuing employment intheirchosenfield.Hesaidthathe’s

not sureWestern can do anythingfor him right now. “No one evertoldme, ‘Heygotothisofficeandthey’ll get you a job,’” Edwardssaid.“I had been working at Tractor

Supply, but I lost that job and Ihavebeendrivingatruckdeliveringflowers since then,”Edwards said.“I’mhopingtogetonwithaprisonsoon,I’vebeenthroughtheirback-groundcheck,andI’mjustwaitingtohearbackfromthem.”Edwardssaidthathiswifeiscur-

rentlyattendingWesternandwon’tfinish her degree for another twoyearssohecan’tleavetheareauntilthentoseekemploymentelsewhere.

“The purpose of the focusgroups is to make sure that thepolicy reflects the opinions of thestudents,” Gregory said. “It’s thestudentsdevelopingthepolicy.”His planwas to draft a prelimi-

nary proposal that hewould pres-ent to the focus groups for theiropinions.“Weexpecttoseesomedisagree-

mentbetweenthestudents,butit’sreallyabouttryingtofindahappymedium and what’s best for theuniversity and the students in thelongrun,”Gregorysaid.The necessary steps between

thebeginningof the semesterandMarchcouldpreventthemeasuresfrom making it to the ballot, butGregorysaidhewasalmostcertainthatatleastthetobacco-freepolicy

wouldmakeit.Gregory acknowledged that one

of the biggest obstacles in draft-ing the proposal was settling onhow the policywould be enforcedif passed. Gregory also said thatenforcement was the primary rea-sonSGAwanted togo foracom-pletely tobacco-free policy ratherthan just smoke-free ordesignatedsmokingareas.“Itiseasiertocomplyif itisblack

andwhite,”Gregorysaid.While talks with administration

and health center officials wereonly preliminary, Gregory saidthe health center fee would likelybe $25 for full-time students persemester.Thecostwasbasedontheco-pay that students are currentlychargedpervisittothehealthcen-

ter.“If a student were to use the

healthcenteronceasemester,theywould already get their moneyback,”Gregorysaid.When the feewas initially pro-

posed to the Senate,Gregory saidthat health center officials feltthat they were not able to pro-vide enough services to studentswiththeircurrentbudget.Thefee,which is charged by some otherlocal universities, would allow forthe center to be open more andpossiblyhaveadditionalstaff.“Therearestillalotof detailsto

work out,”Gregory said. “A largepartof ithas todowithchangingthe system of how they do thingsnow, that’s our biggest obstaclenow.”

Jerrod Huber | Lifestyles Editorjhuber@missouriwestern.edu

The Center for MulticulturalEducationrecentlybroughtpeopletogethertomakeaquiltremember-ingoneof America’sgreatleaders,MartinLutherKingJr.Leah Hayes is the program-

ming assistant for the Center forMulticulturalEducationandhelpedorganizethisevent inBlumUnionfor participants willing to sharetheirthoughtsandfeelings.“Everyonegetsasquaretowrite

on about what peace and unity isand what MLK really means tothem,”Hayessaid.This event startedonMLKday.

Therewereabout30peoplegath-eredaroundthetablesintheBlumlobbyworkingontheirsquaresandsharingtheirthoughts.Sophomore Jump Coordinator,

Christina Jennings, was there inhonorof MLKandexpressedherfeelings about the mood everyonewasin.“I noticed how everyone was

comingtogetherandsharingstorieswith each other and making newfriends,”Jenningssaid.“Random thoughts from people

Inevermetbeforewereveryinter-esting.”It was a celebration of history

and the achievements of MLK.For some it was not about a dayoff,butadaytogivebacktoalltheaccomplishmentsand thingsMLKdidforsociety.Jacob Scott is a student senator

who attended the event and wasserious about showing respect andappreciationforMLK.“I care aboutDr. King’s contri-

butions to society and strive to bethatkindof example,”Scottsaid.When thequilt is finished itwill

be displayed in Blum Union forall to see the hardwork each andevery person put in to it. Scottsaid the quilt is a great examplefromWestern students aboutwhatfreedom, justice and values meantothem.WAC and CME are sponsor-

ing amarch on Jan. 23, in honor

of MLK Day. It will start at 3p.m., at the corner of Noyes andMessanie streets and end at theBartlettCenteron18thSt.The march is intended to get

the community to come togetherin awareness of the peace MLKfoughtsohardfor.Thelocationthemarch takes place has witnessedseveral violent crimes recentlyandwas chosen for this reason. Hayessaid with shootings in that area,they thought it would be a goodplacetobringthespiritof MLK.“Wearetryingtogototheplaces

whereweneedthemostpeaceandunityandgivebacktothecommu-nity,”Hayessaid.After themarch ends, there will

be a community gathering at theBartlett Center with pizza andentertainmentforeveryone.Lastyearabout50peopleshowed

upforthemarch,buttheyarehop-ing to have more this year. WACandCMEare arranging for a bustotakepeoplefromWesterntotheNoyesandMessanielocation.

CME hosts events in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.MLK EventsSunday1/23-MLKMarchat3p.m.,StartingatNoyes&Mes-sanie(AcquaticPoolParkingLot)

Tuesday1/25-“BlacktoRap”Talentshow,KemperRecitalHallat6p.m.

Thursday1/27-“MLKAwardsandRecognitionReception,”Spratt214-216at6p.m.

Friday1/28-“WWKD:WhatWouldKingDo?”TownHallMeeting-ProgressonPeace,EastHillsMallat6p.m.

Monday1/31-“WWKD:WhatWouldKingDo?”ResolvingConflictinourCommunity,BartlettCenterGymnasiumat6p.m.

Jobscontinued from front

SGA continued from front

Agensteincontinued from front

02.indd 1 1/18/11 12:23 PM

Page 3

ads January 20, 2011The Griffon News

$

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Playa’s ClubWednesday Nights

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The Belt Bowl210 N Belt Hwy., 233-1054Part of The Belt Sports Complex

Friday will be karaoke night. Sing your favorites with your

host.... The Sound Ninja Nick Neimeier. Saturday will be open mic night....Do you have talent? Show it off on our stage.

Every Sunday will be crappy beer nightYou can find some underappreciated brands of beer at a very special price all night long. You’ll also be able to get some great specials if you want to bowl: $1 games and $1 shoes from 7 to close along with $1 specials in the snack bar. When you come in for fun, you’ll get great music do dance to with videos and amazing drink specials every night.

For those of you who’ve been drinving up to Maryville, there’s no reason anymore... just drive down the Belt Highway and stop at The Griffon’s Nest, in The Belt Sports Complex across the street from Hy-Vee.

Intramural Bowling to BeginMWSU has it’s own intramural bowling league at The Belt

Bowl. The season will start Tuesday, January 25 and will continue through the semester. The cost is only $5 each week for three games (which includes your shoes). Teams are made up of three students each (any combination of guys or girls). Bowling starts at 7 p.m. each night with free practice starting at 6:45 pm. For questions, call Wanda Berry in Recreation Services at 271-4247

Thursday night we’re having a Bud Girls contest!

The winners will get the chance to work promotions for Budweiser. Anyone 21 and over is eligible. The fun will start at 9 p.m. Come cheer your friends on, then dance to our great sound and video system!

We are also looking for contestants! Be sure and enter!

After talking with MWSU students and finding out what you wanted, we’ve listened. The grand opening of The Griffon’s Nest is all week long. We started it out on Sunday, January 16 with a Madden Tournament and the Miller Girls. It continued Wednesday night with our Playa’s Club special (all you can bowl and all you can drink) and will keep on through the weekend ahead!

It’s OPEN! The Griffon’s Nest at The Belt Sports Complex

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Texas Hold Em Poker 7 p.m. ($10)Buck Night Bowl $1 games/shoes/snack bar 7 -11 p.m.

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03.indd 1 1/17/11 10:55 PM

Page 4

opinionsJanuary 20, 2011The Griffon News

The Griffon News is written and published by students of Missouri Western State University during the fall and spring semesters. The first copy of each issue is free; additional copies are 50 cents. Content of this paper is developed independently of the faculty and administration, or other campus organizations or offices. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas, information and advertising to The Griffon News office, Eder 221, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, Mo. 64507, or by phoning (816) 271-4412 (advertising and news room). You may also e-mail thegriffonnews@gmail.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.

• 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.

Design EditorGraphic & Photo Editor

News EditorAsst. News Editor

Lifestyles Editor Opinion Editor

Sports Editor

Ad ManagerFaculty Adviser

Dave HonEditor-in-Chief

Charlene Divino

Brooke Carter

Todd Fuller

Nick McCutcheon

Jerrod Huber

Eboni Lacey

Matt Gleaves

Ryan Scroggins

Bob Bergland

The Griffon News Staff

Western rededicates Agenstein as new science center

As new students are ready to get started and old students are return-

ing, have graduated or have just gotten fed up with this school, this semester is now in and ready to roll. Professors have started emailing their students with future tasks and the business office is already apply-ing ridiculous dollars to our student accounts. And for those students on certain scholarships, bills and fees get applied weeks and weeks before scholarships are even subtracted. Stupid holds continue to get placed on student’s accounts and soon enough, students will either need to set up a payment plan with another fee, or suffer some pricey conse-quences. So, my question to you all is this: What are webe welcomed

to; unfair expenses, ridiculous fees, rude employees in numerous offic-es and, of course, mediocre over-priced food and housing opportu-nities?

Well, I say no more to this. No more crazy, unfair things happen-ing to our peeps and our campus. It’s time for us as students, admin-istrators and employees to stand up for things we know are just abso-lutely unfair. And how we do this is through me, Eboni Lacey. I am your new Opinions Editor and my job is to examine and acknowledge the things that need to be changed at our school. This semester I plan to ask, question, study, review and

inspect all policies and procedures that are ultimately not in a student’s best interests. I want students to use me as a source to write and com-plain honestly about things that bug, anger and depress them about our school. Instead of complaining to your peers, why not use your voice and let your beliefs be seen by thousands of students and admin-istrators, including Esther Peralez, Dave Williams and President Rob-ert Vartabedian, all that read and respond to many of our articles and issues. Many changes that have been made through our university have been because of the Griffon News acknowledging and respond-

ing to certain topics. So, give it a chance and use our 12 issues this spring semester to let your voice be heard. John F. Kennedy once said, “We must use our time as a tool and not a crutch.” So, Missouri Western, we have an opportunity in our time here to change the things we know need to be changed. What will we do with this time? Will we use it as a tool and write in this opinions section about the things that bring us to headaches, heart-breaks, anger and tears? Or will we use this time as a crutch with the excuse of; “I’m leaving here soon, it’s not that big of deal.” The choice is yours!

Does it come with

cup holders?

Welcome back Western, it’s time for change

Why did you enroll at Western?

Campus

Voice

Tim Dewey

“I’m choosing Western for its Nursing Program.”

Tanner Ingram

“I’m going to Western for Marketing.”

Austin Hunter

“It’s closer to home and I’m currently going to be involved in Criminal Justice. They have a good criminal justice program.”

Austin Goacher

“I’m a returning student and want to be successful someday.”

Student feels complex added to Chiefs’ success

The Chiefs 10-6 year and strong turn around after going 4-12 a

year ago can be arguably due to the Kansas City Chiefs making a change and coming to Missouri Western for training camp.

After many years of training camp in River Falls, Wisconsin, the Chiefs chose to relocate to MWSU in 2010. The significance of this move would later be more than just a change; it would result in the team winning six more games, an AFC West Championship crown and a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs have not been division champs since 2003. No one saw this coming from a team that has been struggling over the years, with little expectations. I am a Chiefs fan, but I also think realis-

tically. I felt that the team would go 6-10. Well, I thought wrong about the potential of what this team could do, and they proved every-body wrong.

Some of the special things that were accomplished this year start-ed off with a win on Monday Night Football. The chiefs have not played on Monday Night Football in a long time, so the anticipa-tion was high for this one. To give you all a mental picture of how long its been, Trent Green was our quarterback and Priest Holmes was running in the backfield for the Chiefs. The Chiefs battled the San Diego Chargers in this game. They and won a tough game in the end

21-14. It was hard as a Chiefs fan to feel like the winning couldn’t continue but it did. The Chiefs were the last team to go undefeated at 3-0 and at that point the season started to look promising. The suc-cess had me thinking of the camp at our university, and I began to think that was a big part of why the team did so well. My thoughts were that the training camp at Western and the location made it a lot easier for the team to be more relaxed. Being at home made this a great situation for the Chiefs and the fans. The support from the community showed in the big crowds everyday at the practices with record numbers.

Chiefs players DeWayne Bowe, Jamal Charles, Matt Cassel and Tamba Hali benefited from Chiefs camp more than the teams other players, with these players break-ing their own personal records. Bowe caught 15 touchdown passes, Charles ran for about 6.4 yards a carry, Cassel had his best season throwing the ball with 27 touch-down passes and Hali led the AFC with 14.5 sacks. A lot of people would not have believed in a mil-lion years that Missouri Western could have given the team that much stability, but it was the foun-dation for their success.

Editorial

DeAndre Bradshaw | Staff

Eboni Lacey | Staff

Despite a harsh economy and increasing cuts from the state, Missouri Western State U n i v e r s i t y continues to

become a better institution of high-er learning us students.

On Tuesday, January 18 Missouri Western opened up another newly renovated building, notching in another accomplishment in Griffon progress. The new building will offer science-related majors oppor-tunities to new technologies that they will most likely be using in the real world. All of this comes as administrators are facing even more cuts from the state.

What does it mean for the stu-dents? Well, consider us lucky. As state funded education is cut across the board in Missouri, we’re lucky to have a new science building. Western is taking these cuts more

harshly than other intuitions, so all of these renovations appear to be a miracle.

With these cuts also comes the fear that the building may go to waste. Even with a newly renovat-ed building and new technologies, does this mean Western faculty are prepared to teach with these new technologies? If not, Western may not have the funds to viably sup-port such a facility. These fears are pushed aside with the reminder of Missouri Western’s dedicated staff, faculty and administration.

The quality of education at Western is just a testament to the overworked administration. Dealing with cuts means losing a lot of budget, but somehow Western still appeals to students. Our faculty remains highly distinguished with more professors receiving the high-est degrees possible in their fields. Finally, Missouri Western’s staff remains dedicated through change and cuts as they too weather the

harsh state of affairs. We also must make the best of the situation.

With this hard work comes a burden of responsibility for us, though. We should feel lucky and thus act accordingly. A newly reno-vated building can only be kept in pristine condition if we keep all of the above in mind. If we don’t, our administrator’s hard work could go to waste. Remington Hall has been open for a year and we have been able to handle the responsibility that came with that building. We should also be able to handle taking care of Agenstein.

The opening of Agenstein Hall is just another step up the staircase to a better university. Fortunately, this staircase has no limit; it is as tall as we can see. Missouri Western is only held back by the sad truth of limited resources and time. But, given enough of both Missouri Western will continues to make its way up this staircase to an ever-changing tomorrow.

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04.indd 1 1/17/11 10:52 PM

Page 5

A&E January 20, 2011The Griffon News

MWSU BookstoreBlum Student Union

Check out the rental and digital options on many titles

The only source for MWSU testbooks where a portion of every dollar spent goes directly to Missouri Western State University.

Great selection of school supplies

The Bookstore Staff Thanks You For Your Patronage!

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Shop In-Store or Online at whywaitforbooks.com

located next to Dillards

In East Hills MallCome check out our:

custom prints, embroidery,fan schwag, and of course

MWSU apparel

10% off With This Coupon Offer good thru 1/27/2011

Not valid with other offers

816-387-4440

Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chiefdhon1@missouriwestern.edu

What is it called when two come-dians write an action film? A trage-dy. That’s exactly what “The Green Hornet” is, which Seth Rogen starred in and co-wrote.

The film, which also stars Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz, is about a media empire prince who loses his father to an apparent accident and decides to fight crime.

The origin of The Green Hornet is unlike most super heroes, but closely resembles Batman. Brit Reid (Seth Rogen) fights crime with a different tool by posing as a crimi-nal himself. Fortunately he also has the help of Kato (Jay Chou), who

seems to have limitless knowledge about cars, guns and coffee.

Once the two start their quest against crime in Los Angeles, they quickly meet resistance.

Unknown to them is that the crime lord Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) doesn’t want to give up his turf. Soon, Chudnofsky turns from crime lord to super villain and the pieces begin to fall into place for Reid and Kato as the complex cor-ruption in LA stretches all the way to the West Coast.

While having good source mate-rial may seem like a good excuse to make a movie, it doesn’t always mean you should, especially with Seth Rogen.

Rogen has no place in trying to

fight crime, on or off screen. In the film, it’s obvious he didn’t take the writing or his character seriously.

Brit Reid’s irresponsibility makes Tony Stark’s alcoholism look like child’s play. This would be accept-able, if the character actually devel-oped, but Rogen somehow still seems to bumble across the screen.

It’s unknown if this was because of his writing or his acting, but it’s obvious that Rogen should not have been involved in the film.

The best actor in the film was a Chinese actor who has mainly starred in independent and Chinese films. Chou brings development to the original character. The fact that he can whirl nun-chucks and write music for the movie is a testament

to Kato. The multi-talented actor knows where to place his skills. Perhaps his co-star should have taken a hint.

Finally, if you want to see this movie because Cameron Diaz is in it; don’t.

Diaz has very few lines and her character could be removed entirely from the film without much notice. As a matter of fact, some of her character’s actions at the end of the film don’t quite equate and would be better left out.

In all, “The Green Hornet” was a great concept for another hero-action film, but due to Rogen’s goofiness, the film doesn’t seem to develop and flops over its self in the middle of the film.

If you’re looking for slapstick action movie that tries to be the next “Iron Man” but fails, wait for “The Green Hornet” on Netflix.

Advertise with usCALL THE GRIFFON NEWS FOR DETAILS 816-271-4412

Stoc

k Ph

otos

Q What does being VP of WAC mean to you?

AIt has helped me learn more about myself, and as a lead-er I look at accountability in

a positive way.

Q What exciting things do you have planned?

A Myself, and my e-board, including my members, are finding programs that are

not costly, but will have the same effect with students. We are going to have a membership week and a night of madness with a Wii, Play-station, a big, giant Twister and a movie series. We will have the Spring Concert and lots of good things in store.

Q What specific things would you like to see happen this semester?

AEveryone really enjoyed the comedy shows, so I will be working on putting together

a series of comedy shows. We are going to have some local hip-hop artists from Kansas City and St. Louis come and showcase what hip-hop is about making the enter-tainment educational.

QGiven low attendance in the past, what is going to be done to increase atten-

dance?

AAttendance always goes up and down, but our ap-proach is called gorilla mar-

keting. We post flyers around cam-pus and word of mouth is always a good thing. Networking and build-ing connections with other groups is a plus to bring in crowds too, but we have to be creative marketing our programs to make them suc-cessful.

QWhen planning these events, what type of audi-ence are you targeting?

A Working with other organi-zations and targeting people outside about certain events

and helping them remember ones from the past will help. We really need to get the word out in advance more; that will really help.

Jerrod Huber | Lifestyles Editorjhuber@missouriwestern.edu

Q&A: WAC VP discusses organization’s upcoming plans for Spring 2011

Keisha Caldwell | WAC VP

Review: The Green Hornet fails to sting

05.indd 1 1/17/11 10:49 PM

Page 6

A&EJanuary 20, 2011The Griffon News

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We offer 9 & 12 month lease terms and work closely with the students of MWSU

3601 Genefield Rd. - St. Joseph, MO 64506Phone: 816-364-2421 Fax: 816-364-4849

CapricornOld Dates: Dec. 22-Jan. 19.New Dates: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.Symbolized by the goat, Capricorn is the epitome of professionalism and traditional values. Capricorns are known to be good managers and hard workers, preferring to stick to practicality and reason in their daily lives.

AquariusOld Dates: Jan. 20-Feb. 18.New Dates: Feb. 16-March 11.Water-Bearers can take on a two-faced personality: some are quiet and shy, while others are loud and energetic. No matter which side you tend toward, Aquarians are problem-solvers with an independent, imaginative spirit.

PiscesOld Dates: Feb. 19-March 20.New Dates: March 11-April 18.Denoted by a fish, Pisceans are understanding and compassionate, with big hearts. They are comforting to be around, with a spiritual aura that inspires others.

AriesOld Dates: March 21-April 19.New Dates: April 18-May 13.Rams are fiery and boisterous, displaying the utmost courage and determination when taking on a task. Aries are pioneers and leaders who are not limited by fear.

TaurusOld Dates: April 20-May 20.New Dates: May 13-June 21.The bulls are known to be dependable and hard-working, and they enjoy the material rewards of their labor. Taureans’ stubbornness helps them to always complete a job to perfection.

GeminiOld Dates: May 21-June 20.New Dates: June 21-July 20.Symbolized by twins, Gemini has two sides. One twin is flirtatious and outgoing; the other is more pensive and calculating. They are curious about the world and able to adapt to new surroundings.

CancerOld Dates: June 21-July 22.New Dates: July 20-Aug. 10.Crabs are emotional and pensive, with a deep connection to family and home. Cancerians have the welcome ability to empathize with anyone thanks to their sensitive personalities.

LeoOld Dates: July 23-Aug 22.New Dates: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.The overly creative and energetic lions command everyone’s attention. Brimming with self-confidence, their zeal for life is unmistakable. Leos enjoy taking center stage with a warm, inviting attitude.

VirgoOld Dates: Aug. 23-Sept. 22.New Dates: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.Denoted by the virgin, Virgos are intellectuals who were born to help others. They are humane and loyal in their jobs and personal lives, preferring calmness and order in life.

LibraOld Dates: Sept. 23-Oct. 22.New Dates: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.Symbolized by the scales, Librans like to find balance in their daily lives. They promote peace and cooperation, thriving best in the company of others.

ScorpioOld Dates: Oct. 23-Nov. 21.New Dates: Nov. 23-29.Scorpions have an intense passion for life underneath a calm and collected exterior. Scorpios are true friends who have a distinct curiosity about the world and won’t shy away from any challenge.

OphiuchusOld Dates: N/ANew Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.Welcome to the Zodiac, serpent holders. The brand-new Ophiuchis are known to take charge of any situation with wisdom and knowledge. They command the admiration of their peers and have big dreams for themselves.

SagittariusOld Dates: Nov. 22-Dec. 21.New Dates: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.Archers are energetic yet pensive, frequently seeking the answers to life’s big questions. Sagittarians are extroverts who enjoy the company of others, and they thrive in a constantly changing world.  - Horoscope by Time Magazine

New astrological calender causes confusion

C H E C K I T O U T :

theGRIFFONNEWS.com

AQUARIUS

ARIES

CANCER

CAPRICORN

GEMINI

LEO

LIBRA

OPHIUCHUS

?

PISCES

SAGITTARIUS

SCORPIO

TAURUS

VIRGO

Who areyou

now?

What is your opinion on the new astrological

calender?Share your views at 

www.thegriffonnews.com by participating in this week’s poll.

•  I think it’s great! I really identify with my new sign.

•  This is terrible. My old sign was more “me.”

•  Who cares? It isn’t real anyway.

•  This is bad... Now my as-trological sign doesn’t match my tattoo.

06.indd 1 1/17/11 10:51 PM

Page 7

FeaturesJanuary 20, 2011The Griffon News

Eboni Lacey | Opinions Editorelacey@missouriwestern.edu

We hear this phrase every year, “New year, new you.” But what does this phrase truly mean? Maybe this year will be the year that you lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight to make yourself a bet-ter person. Maybe this year will be the year that you set aside the pota-to chips, get up off the couch and go for a run around the block. Or you can use your free membership to Missouri Western’s fitness cen-ter and actually accomplish those weight goals that you’ve been plan-ning to get around to for the last few years. Whatever your goal may be, a little push in the right direc-tion is never a bad thing. By brows-ing this page and seeing what some of your Missouri Western athletes are doing to keep fit, you might just gain some motivation to truly make yourself a better you.

Soccer player Jeana Ross explains that cardio and core work are many simple things that can help a person reach their fitness goals.

“Running and cardio with a lot of leg and core work is a lot of our exercise focus,” Ross said.

On top of running and doing core exercises, nutrition is a huge focus when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. According to www.weightlossresources.com, follow-ing a well balanced diet plan that enables you to include your favorite foods, yet still reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories per day, will help you lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. According to Ross, eating right is a big focus for soccer players, as they burn numer-ous calories running a few miles everyday at practice.

“If we don’t get all the right nutrients, we can’t expel the right calories that we need for our prac-tice,” Ross said.

Staying away from a lot of grease and fast food is also a good way to reach healthy weight goals. Football player Andrew Mead explains that the football team must stay away from greasy foods because they effect the body’s athletic perfor-mance in harmful ways.

“We have to stay away from fast food entirely during our season,” Mead said. “All the grease shuts the body down.”

Mead also feels that drinking the recommended daily servings of water is a great way to keep the body full and hydrated.

“A big focus for our team is hydra-tion,” Mead said.

A huge benefit to living healthier is not necessarily looking great and achieving goals, but feeling ener-gized and adding years on to your life. So on top of making yourself a better you for 2011, you can make yourself a better you for the rest of your life.

Volleyball player Alex Behnke feels that the greatest factor of liv-ing healthier is having the ability to live a longer life.

“Proper nutrition keeps you feel-ing healthy and helps in maintain-ing a good weight,” Behnke said. “It’s something that can not only improve your health, but will also lengthen your life.”

If your New Year’s resolution was to stop drinking,

here are the top ten tips to becoming a sober Griffon

#1 Don’t hang around people and places where you might be tempted to drink too much.

#2 If you have a roommate who drinks alcohol, kindly ask them to respect your decision to quit.

#3 Encourage your friends to throw a nonalcoholic party.

#4 Seek the support and encouragement from family, friends and people who know how to have a good time without getting smashed.

#5 Reward yourself when you don’t drink alcohol. For every day, week, or month that passes alcohol-free, buy yourself a new video game with the money you saved or get a rock star hair cut.

#6 Visualizing how much better you will feel sitting through an 8 a.m. lecture will keep you on track.

#7 Maybe you can’t miss all the parties, so perhaps you could just limit the amount of time you stay. As soon as that drink starts sounding real good it is time to leave.

#8 Many people begin drinking alcohol to get away from problems or stress; others just want to have too much fun. Find someone you feel comfortable talking to about making changes.

#9 Find positive and meaningful hobbies to keep you busy.

#10 Have a plan in place to avoid that drink when the cravings come.

Jerrod Huber | Lifestylesjhuber3@missouriwestern.edu

Almost everyone has a New Year’s resolution, but few people truly stick to those decisions and have success.

One resolution made by many smokers is to quit. Quitting an addictive habit is difficult, but has many rewards for the smoker and the people around them.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smok-

ers in general. Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits for you and your loved ones, especially children.

There is no easy way to quit, but setting yourself up for a quit date is very important. Every website, book or any other source you use to quit will tell you to prepare for it.

Get rid of all the paraphernalia such as ashtrays, lighters and the Joe Camel poster on your wall. Clean your house and car using odor eliminating products to get rid of any smells that could trigger a craving.

Know your addiction and what

makes you crave. Use this informa-tion to form a plan of what to do to take your mind off of it. If it’s after you eat, plan to do something that requires both hands. Play a video game or type up that homework you’ve been procrastinating about.

Gaining weight is what detours many smokers from quitting. It is true that people tend to snack more and gain weight from quitting, but it’s what you’re snacking on that makes the big difference in weight control.

Healthy snacks are the solution. Sunflower seeds and dried fruit are popular and work really well

without packing on the pounds. Chewing gum is said to produce results, but remember that it leaves your hands with nothing to do. What works for others may or may not work for you. Finding what does is where you will find success in kicking the habit.

Smokefree.gov claims that people who go cold turkey have a higher success rate than people who try to quit slowly. Just one puff will make the cravings even stronger and cause the person to lose focus on staying smoke free.

Making up excuses is called “smoky thinking.” You feel like you

have had a long, hard day and need a smoke to relax. Maybe some kind of tedious task is stressful that makes you give in, but the real dan-ger is thinking you are doing so well without smoking that it is ok to light up this one time. That one smoke will throw you off track.

Addictions are tricky: they cause smoky thinking which clouds your vision of quitting. You can easily fail at first, but look at it as a mis-take and keep trying. Don’t give up.

Directions: 1. Go down to the Missouri Western football track and

place two markers, one on a starting line and the other one 300 yards away.

2. Then sprint as fast as you can from one line to the other while having someone time your speed.

“300 yard shuttle runs are the perfect measuring tools of how healthy and hydrated the athlete is,” Andrew Mead said. “We test all our players at the beginning of the sea-son.”

Football Exercise: 300 yard shuttles

Volleyball Exercise: Squats

Directions: 1. Place a barbell with a comfortable amount of weight on

your shoulders behind your neck. Your legs should be a bit wider than shoulder width apart.

2. Simply squat down until your thighs become parallel to the floor. Visualize sitting down into a chair and be sure that you keep your back as straight and upright as possible throughout the entire movement. Return to the start position and repeat.

“Squats are a good exercise for women,” Alex Behnke said. “However, the lifting should be minimized at moderation to maximize health improvement.”

Directions: 1. Hang from a pull up bar with your legs straight down. 2. Slowly Raise your legs by bringing your knees up

toward your chest.

“Hanging abs is my favorite exercise,” Jeana Ross said. “It really works the core.”

Soccer Exercise: Hanging Abs

Tips for eliminating tobacco from your life in 2011

A Griffon’s guide to 2011 resolution success Staying lean for the new year Exercising with the pros

07.indd 1 1/17/11 10:46 PM

Page 8

SportsJanuary 20, 2011The Griffon News

Matt Gleaves | Sports Editorjgleaves@missouriwestern.edu

Western’s change of tempo approach to the UCM Mules helped to propel them to a 91-72 victory Saturday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons came out looking like a team that was on a mission and more importantly, on the same page.

Western started the game on the defensive end of the floor and it was evident from the opening pos-session that the team was sending a message on defense.

The team gave up an early three point shot to UCM’s Ryan Harris. However, Western made him work for the shot by pressuring the ball handler and trying to force the Mules into uncomfortable situa-tions.

The Mules held a lead for the first three minutes of the game but the momentum changed quickly when T.J. Johnson drove into the lane and made a move to free him-self up for an open layup.

The Mules inbound pass would be careless and P’ Allen Stinnett stole the errant pass and dunked it to help add to the Griffons first lead

of the night at 8-5.Stinnett was given a technical

foul for hanging onto the rim after the dunk , but was able to recom-pose himself and continue playing at a high level.

“I live for plays like that but there’s nothing I can do about get-ting the technical except go on and keep playing ball,” Stinnett said.

The Griffons would trade baskets with the Mules for the majority of the first half until they were able to shut down the Mules’ offense for a few possessions and take a 10 point lead into halftime.

The second half was all Western

though. The Griffons lead was cut to nine with 19 minutes remaining in the half, but it quickly swelled to 13 points and then eventually reached a high of 23 points mid-way through the second half.

Western dominated the Mules in the paint all night as Brandon Beck pitched in with 12 points and seven rebounds, both of which were a career high. The Griffons finished the night with 46 points in the paint compared to the Mules’ 12.

Western had six players finish the night in double digits as Stinnett led the way with 22 points, 14 of those coming in the second half.

“This season we have played at a fast-break pace and tonight we were able to slow it down and become a little more deliberate with our offense and it worked to our advantage,” head coach Tom Smith said.

Western’s team defense was a major factor in the win. They only blocked two shots and forced four steals, but relentless effort and play-ing together as a team on the defen-sive end of the court.

“Our entire team defense was great tonight and I think it was the main reason for this win tonight,” Brandon Beck said.

T P SCORERS

P’Allen Stinnett 22 pts

Lavonte Douglas 18 pts

Brandon Beck 12 pts

T.J. Johnson 11 pts

Jonathan Phelps 10 pts

DaJuan Harris 10 pts

Team defense boosts Griffons past Mules

Matt Gleaves | Sports Editorjgleaves@missouriwestern.edu

The new spring sports complex that is being built on the north side of campus is really starting to take form.

The softball and baseball teams have to enjoy not driving off cam-pus to practice and for games three or four days a week. For the money that is being spent on the project, it is a top notch facility from the road.

Not many have been inside the complex to see everything just yet, but there is one very notice-able thing that any driver going by can see. The baseball field has a turf infield. Now that may not be uncommon for some places to have turf instead of grass, but this field has turf instead of dirt.

Now the question has to be raised of how this will affect the players. Playing on a turf infield with regu-lar dirt is a difficult task, but how will it be taking on an entirely turf infield?

I guess we will all have to wait for the season to start but the ath-letic department is making a very smart decision. We get a lot of snow in the winter and sometimes even in the early spring. Basically, this translates to a lot of cancelled games.

With the turf baseball field this will cut down on the number of cancelled games and therefore making the season a little colder for fans, but also adding a little bit of a home field advantage.

Matt Gleaves | Sports Editorjgleaves@missouriwestern.edu

The first home loss of the sea-son for the women’s basketball team proved the importance of free throw shooting as the Griffons fell 56-53.

The Griffons shot just over 58 percent from the free throw line in the game, connecting on 14-24 shots.

Western jumped out to an early lead with five straight points from Kallie Schoonover to give the Griffons the advantage. The lead swelled to eight with 11:26 to play in the first half.

UCM would cut the lead to 22-21 with just over five minutes remaining in the half, but the Griffons would finish the half on a 9-7 run to take a 31-28 lead into halftime.

The Jennies gained their first lead of the game four minutes into the second half. Western would battle back and make the game close, but down the stretch free throws would make the dif-ference.

Turnovers and second chance points were the other two factors leading to the Griffons downfall

in the game. Western committed 19 turnovers as well as 16 offen-sive rebounds.

“We would shut them out on the first shot and then let them get a rebound and then they would put it in,” Rachel Luteyn said. “We just needed to do a better job of boxing out and tak-ing away those second chance points.”

The second half remained close as the Griffons traded bas-kets with the Jennies until it came down to the final possession. The Griffons were down by three points with seconds left to play when coach Lynn Plett called a timeout and huddled his team around him to get one final play together.

The pass was thrown to Jessica Koch who immediately looked for an open teammate but couldn’t find one. She was forced into a rushed shot that came up short as two UCM defenders came up with the block to end the game.

“The last play definitely didn’t go the way we planned it. Jess didn’t have anywhere to go with the ball and she had to force it up,” Plett said.

W MEN 9-5TOP SCORERS

Rachel Luteyn 13 pts

Jessica Koch 12 pts

Kallie Schoonover 10 pts

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Jessica Koch battles past a UCM defender for a layup Saturday night. The Griffons lost the game 56-53

Women lose close battle to Jennies 56-53

SportShorts

T.J. Johnson shoots a jumpshot over a UCM defender Saturday night. Wesern won the game 91-72.

P’Allen Stinnett shoots an open jumpshot in the second half of Saturday night’s game.

08.indd 1 1/17/11 10:42 PM