M T H E M O N TA G E
KAVAHN MANSOURI EDITOR IN CHIEF Students and faculty alike were left in a rush to reschedule classes at Clark Hall on Aug. 16, 2012. The cutoff date for classes to be reviewed for salvaging had arrived, and the final classes that did not meet ‘sustainability’ were given the ax. Approximately 30 courses were cut Aug. 16, yet other courses were cancelled in previous weeks, according to Vice President of Academic Affairs Andrew Langrehr. STLCC-Meramec President George Wasson said that cancellations fluctuated as a result of enrollment numbers increasing and decreasing as the college goes through a time of transition. “It really is a scheduling management
issue in many ways. When enrollment is changing, and enrollment is down this semester – we scheduled courses anticipating we would have numbers like last fall. We have less than that,” Wasson said. “That means that sections aren’t filling as fast, and some will be hit harder than others.” Wasson said that he understands students and faculty members may be upset, but in the wide range of offered courses few classes are affected. “Are people upset? Yes. Would I be upset? Yes,” Wasson said. “But when you look at the overall number of sessions that we have here at the campus, it is a small percentage that actually get canceled.” Story continued on page 3
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2 NEWS August 30, 2012
Summer food drive feeds needy Meramec students and staff participate for charity
JOE MAKOTO STAFF WRITER
FOOD
DRIVE canned food
Corson said the food drive got off to a rough start with close to nothing collected in the first week. “Actually, the first week I sent out an announcement, I was really blunt, ‘We’ve received nothing this week.’ After that we got a bunch of people starting to be really engaged in it,” Corson said. The Circle Of Concern is seeing more business from new clients, Lindsey said. “We’re seeing newer clients, who had full-time jobs, who were doing just fine, and who had lost those jobs,” Lindsey said. “I know we gave out 4,000 bags of groceries just last month. We’re so fortunate that we’ve had friends in the community.” Lindsey said students and faculty will not have to wait for the fall food drive to donate to the cause. “When we’re open, we’re accepting donations,” Lindsey said. “[Students] raised a lot more food this year. Which was fantastic because we needed a lot more food this year. The community has really stepped up.”
2011
“We put a child on every poster. We used an idea that someone at Wildwood had come up with. That was to put the signs in the bathrooms, and it seemed to really make a huge difference for us this year.” Lindsey said that the summer is especially hard on children. “We feed a lot more children in the summer because they don’t have access to the school lunch program,” Lindsey said. “When they’re not getting those meals, it really stresses the family budget,” Corson added. Several classes were active in the drive, each donating over 150 items to the cause according to Corson. “There were about five or six professors that gave points for cans, and they also talked about the drive in their classroom because of that, that made a huge difference,” Corson said. “We really appreciate the teachers taking the time to work it in their lesson plans,” Lindsey said. “Each one of those classes donated over 150 items,” Corson said. “That helped a lot with the drives.”
420
cans
vs
2012 canned food
Summer proved to be ‘successful’ for the food drive at STLCCMeramec, collecting over 1,500 items for Circle of Concern and Kirk Care. “We fed 500 more people this July than last July, that’s significant because we usually feed about 2,000 people a month. So we were up about 25 percent in July,” said Sada Lindsey, pantry director for Circle of Concern. “July is traditionally our slowest month, so the fact that we had 2,500 people is alarming to me.“ Meramec faculty and students who took part in the summer food drive on campus helped meet the growing need for donations. “When the drive ended, we had 1,554 items,” said Debbie Corson, project assistant for the Office of Service Learning at Meramec. “We had to really make a push this year, last year the drive only collected 420 items.” Corson said that this year new tactics were needed to improve results. “We made posters that were more emotionally engaging,” Corson said.
1535 can s
GRAPHIC BY: ANABEL GONZALEZ
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NEWS August 30, 2012
Meramec academics under the ax KAVAHN MANSOURI EDITOR IN CHIEF The Honors Program was one of the heavily affected areas according to English professor and former Honors program coordinator Eric Meyer. “We ended up cancelling five out of nine of the honors program courses; students need these courses. They’ve signed papers that they have to take a course to keep their scholarship; no course,” Meyer said. “They have to have these courses to graduate as honors program scholars; no course.” Meyer added that the cancellations were a ‘disruption’ to the flow of the semester. “It doesn’t serve students. It wreaks havoc on faculty. It’s a mess in the bookstore. It disrupts instruction,” Meyer said. “This is a pretty large speed bump and it has to be addressed.” Langrehr said that the college does everything it can to help a class meet its minimum course enrollment and avoid the cut. “From a student’s perspective, a faculty member’s perspective and the college’s perspective we don’t want to cancel [the classes], so it’s a big deal,” Langrehr said. “We try to avoid it to the best of our ability while trying to be responsible with the limited amount of resources we are given. We hate to change things in the end.” Wasson said that lower enrollment has been a major cause of the cancellation issue. “If we did not have the reduced funding, we’d have more flexibility. If we didn’t have fewer students, we wouldn’t have as many courses on that list for review,” Wasson said. “Right now on the Meramec campus we’re down about 959 students. You can imagine if you’ve scheduled for those students to be here that’s going to make an impact on how many classes are going to need to be reviewed.” Langrehr said the college is always looking out for the student’s best interest. “This year and years in the past we’ve always tried to minimize the number of students affected,” Langrehr said. Wasson said adjustments are made to course schedules based on the budget that is made available to the campus. “We are responsible for our own campuses. Each of the presidents and their vice presidents are working in a similar manner to manage this schedule. Everyone’s looking at this reduction,” Wasson said. “People have to understand that we have to work with the enrollment we have. We have to make those adjustments.” Wasson said that people have to understand the fiscal responsibility that brings on these cancellations. “You have to realize we have to pay for the instruction, the overhead, admissions, registration, financial aid… all of this is part of the system and that’s what it takes to be sustainable,” Wasson said. As financial burdens increase the college will have to continue to be fiscally responsible Wasson added. “We do have financial issues,” Wasson said. “This isn’t our first year, and as these things continue it becomes more and more difficult. This is cumulative. You have $4 million taken out of your budget one year, $4 million the year before, and 4 before that… these are cumulative. It’s not like you get that four back and start over.” Wasson said when revenue is increasing STLCC can be more flexible, and when
revenue is decreasing it reduces flexibility. “The college has to be conscious of how it handles fiscal responsibility. We have to maintain this college for everyone. We have a duty to all of our students, so we try to balance that with the needs,” Wasson said. The Magic Number Classes that did not meet the required minimum of 15 students were considered for cancellation while classes near 15, or had ‘special’ reason to be salvaged, were saved from the cuts. ‘Special’ can mean several things, according to Langrehr. “In normal cases, with 15 students, classes are safe from being cancelled. We’ve kept a number of classes with under 15 open,” Langrehr said. “There’s usually something special about that class; it’s within a program and a student needs it to graduate within that program and there’s not a whole lot of other choices.” Wasson used the example of a Classic Piano II class that had fewer than 15
that classes are sustainable,” Wasson said. “We know that when a class is below that we need to look at it. It doesn’t mean that that class is automatically cancelled.” Classes that are under the 15 student mark are given a chance to make the grade through a review process handled by Wasson, Langrehr and the deans. “The dean makes the case to the vice president and then the vice president presents it to me,” Wasson said. “This is not done haphazardly. You have to be accountable for your actions and we’re accountable.” Being accountable is a major part of the review process, Wasson added. “I can show the chancellor and the district ‘this is why we did this and this is our justifications.’ We need to be accountable to the students and the faculty saying ‘we did review this, this is why we made the decisions we did, these are the things that were used for justification and these were the reasons the class was cancelled,’” Wasson said. Langrehr said that if a class were to
“It doesn’t serve students. It wreaks havoc on faculty. It’s a mess in the bookstore. It disrupts instruction.” Eric Meyer, Former Honors Program Coordinator and English Professor
students to explain what can make or break a course. “We’re looking at the programmatic issues,” Wasson said. “For example there’s a class, Classic Piano II. This class is offered under a low enrollment formula and it’s the only Classic Piano II class offered at the Meramec campus. It’s required to move onto Piano III. We have currently 33 students in Piano I; so we know we have a progression here; we know they can move through. So we save that.” Langrehr added that 15 is not a concrete number. “You can see it’s not a line in the sand; anybody looking at the schedule can see it’s not a line in the sand,” Langrehr said. “There are plenty [of courses] in there that are lower than 15 and there was a good reason to keep those classes. Fifteen and above, we don’t have to discuss anything. Below that we have to have a discussion.” Wasson said that students and faculty should rest assured that the number 15 is a guideline for class sustainability at Meramec and not a definitive rule. He said that 15 is accepted as the nationwide number for class sustainability. “When we say a number, that sounds like anything on one side of the line is good and everything on the other side of the line is bad. The number 15 is actually a number that is considered nationally of what it takes for paying students to make a class sustainable,“ Wasson said. “That’s kind of our breaking point and it’s not just here, it’s nationwide.” The number is not a definite, but a way for administration to know which classes needed to be reviewed according to Wasson. “What I’ve tried to say with everyone is that this is not a line drawn in the sand, so much that if classes are over 15 we know
make a good case for sustainability as well as importance the class would survive the cut. “The deans and the department chairs try to present a case for keeping a class that is less than 15. If there’s a good case to be made we kept it,” Langrehr said. “In some cases, there’s not a strong enough case to represent that it is fiscally responsible.” Langrehr added that he felt the cancellation process was no different than any year before. “I think that the process of scheduling the courses, the department chairs working with their deans to make adjustments in classes that aren’t filling, the deans meeting with the vice president and the rationale people use for keeping classes has operated the same from my perspective,” Langrehr said. “In some cases people feel like nothing was going to make with 15 but you’ll see with a number of courses, they have less than 15.” The Cutoff Date Final cuts to the Fall Semester schedule were made on Aug. 16, leaving students four to five days to get their schedules sorted out. The Aug. 16 cutoff date was scheduled to give classes a chance to reach 15, Langrehr said. “It’s a difficult balance… you don’t want to cut anything in haste. If it has a chance to make you want to give it every chance you can,” Langrehr said. Wasson said there is a balance that had to be reached when deciding the cutoff date. “There’s always a balance. The earlier you cancel the easier it is for people to move around and get other classes. For us we have to move faculty and it’s changing
schedules,” Wasson said. “The earlier you do it the more time people have to adjust, the earlier you do it the less time those classes have to make.” Wasson said that Thursday gave the college the longest amount of time to contact students while still giving the class time to fill. “Thursday gave us the longest amount of time to let the classes make and still gave us time to contact students,” Wasson said. “That’s the tradeoff.” If a student’s class is cancelled the college will try to make contact with them to get the student enrolled in a version of the class that was not cancelled. “When we’re cancelling out sections we try to contact students, sometimes all we get are voicemails,” Wasson said. “Let’s say we had cancelled a macroeconomics class, we’d call you and say ‘I’m sorry to tell you but we’ve cancelled your macroeconomics class. We do have open seats in these other sections, will one of these work for your section?’ If one of those worked we have the paperwork right there and we’ll process your paperwork. You never even have to come in.” The Faculty Dilemma Wasson said that faculty who are below their ‘load’ for the semester would have to pick up new courses to meet the minimum course requirement to teach at Meramec. “The basic load for a faculty member is 30 credits a year,” Wasson said. “That’s divided into two 15 credit hour semesters. So if I were teaching three-credit-hours, that would be five three credit hour classes. Some also do overload; they might do six classes or seven. If a class is cancelled that’s in my load then I need to have another class. That is usually accomplished through rescheduling. Either if there was an open section or there was an adjunct faculty member, that would be assigned to a full time because we have to make the full-time person’s load. So a part-time person may be bumped out in that situation.” Some classes that are similar in teaching formula were combined to save classes and absorb students from courses that were cancelled according to Wasson. For instance, a Color Photography class was merged with a Digital Photography class. Wasson said that a big part of merging classes is making sure that it works for everyone. “You have to be very careful; it depends on how a class is taught,” Wasson said. “This is an accommodation. How can faculty work? How can administration work? How can it work for the students?” Interim Student Governance Council President Gavin Bennet said it is hard to see professors struggling to keep their classes. “Professors work hard, and I’d hate to see their classes get drop because of enrollment,” Bennet said. Meyer said faculty members were ‘panicking’ to make load for the semester while students struggled to fix their schedules. “Students were panicking. Faculty members were panicking. Faculty have to make load and it’s a serious problem if faculty can’t make load,” Meyer said. “It’s serious to them. It’s their job on the line.”
4 OPINIONS August 30, 2012
A TIME FOR ALL
M AT T E R S
Overcrowded classrooms, lost programs and delayed degrees
JOE MAKOTO STAFF WRITER
Incompatible Belief Systems “Faith, as such, is extremely detrimental to human life: it is the negation of reason.” - Ayn Rand “I regard charity as a marginal issue. What I am fighting is the idea that charity is a moral duty and a primary virtue.” - Ayn Rand “I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are.” - Paul Ryan (2005) “It’s so important that we go back to our roots to look at Ayn Rand’s vision, her writings, to see what our girding, under-grounding [sic] principles are.” - Paul Ryan (2005) In this election year, Paul Ryan, widely described as a devout Catholic, has renounced his 2005 self, “I reject [Ayn Rand’s] philosophy,” Ryan told National Review, “It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview.” Pandering is expected, and genuine changes of mind can happen. However, Rand’s atheism is central to her belief that man, through Aristotelian reasoning, is supreme. Neither is the Catholic view of a personal duty to serve society, especially the vulnerable, incidental. As Paul Ryan knows, that belief has created the largest nongovernmental social services network in the United States. Congressman Ryan looks like Mitt Romney on steroids, infamous for his many stances on abortion depending on his perception of the constituency. Saying one thing when it suited him, then saying another when the political constituency shifts, leaving one wondering what his principles really are.
ILLUSTRATION BY: CORY MONTERO
KELLY GLUECK OPINIONS EDITOR On Aug. 20, the first day of school for most students, the registration office was a zoo, the halls of Business Administration may as well have been nicknamed The House of a 1,000 Sighs. Students were crying and shouting out in frustration after seeing the big yellow
EDITORS Kavahn Mansouri Alex Kendall Hans Steinert Lilly Huxhold Kelly Glueck Tomi Storey Spencer Gleason Gretchen Daniels Justin Villmer Shannon Philpott
Editor in Chief Managing Editor Multimedia Editor Graphic Design Editor Opinions Editor In Depth Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor Faculty Adviser
cancelled signs next to their potential classroom. Any class which did not meet the national standard of 15 students had the option of going through an extensive appeal process or hang one of those dreaded yellow signs announcing the cancelled course. Cut courses this
semester have translated to not only the loss of classes, but also the loss of students, faculty and pride. Meramec prides itself on a “wide range of career program selections” and “the largest fine arts program in the [STLCC] college,” however, it may be selling
itself out this year with its “non-official policy” on cancelling classes with less than 15 people. Even if it is a national standard, are we synonymous with national expectation of a standard community college? No, we are an established, dedicated group of individuals from Continued on page 4
MONTAGE STAFF THE MONTAGE Cory Montero Kurt Oberreither Joe Makoto Victoria Barmark Chris Campbell Ashley Higginbotham Endya Goliday Aaron McCall Jenn Roberts David Kloeckener Jake Simorka Alyssa Antonaccci Tegan Mazurek Sam Wise Anabel Gonzalez Jake Hunn
Sr. Staff Illustrator Sr. Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Writer/Photographer Staff Writer/Photographer Staff Designer Staff Designer
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OPINIONS August 30, 2012
“Since my class was cancelled I have to graduate one full school year later because I needed that one particular course in order to graduate and transfer. I thought that people would be signing up for it because it’s an English course but apparently not.”
– Becky Jones, College Composition II
“It wasn’t so much that my class was cancelled but that they [Meramec] told me that my class was cancelled four days before the class was going to start. I had to scramble to look for a course just to replace that one, it was annoying. The school could have at least given me a two week notice about the cancellation.”
– Tom Shuman, Care & Prevention of Athletic Injury
“My Public Relations class was cancelled again. This is the second semester in a row that this has happened to me. I was planning on graduating at the end of this school year but now it’s all up in the air because the course keeps getting cancelled, it’s crazy.”
“I’m on an academic scholarship and I signed up for an Intro to Sociology class which was cancelled. Since I can’t take it here I had to take it at Wildwood and now I have to run back and forth between the Wildwood and Meramec campuses for a single course in able to finish all of my courses and graduate on time. It’s more work than I would like but you have to do what you have to do.” – Janey Lawson, Intro to Sociology
“My course was full and it was still cancelled with no explanation at all. I didn’t even know the class had been cancelled until I went to what I thought was going to be the first day of class and no one was there. It was really irritating. The secretary for the department for the class didn’t even know the class had been cancelled. It was just gone.”
– Lindsey Stevens, World Religions
– Caleb Tofall, Public Relations GRAPHIC BY: TOMI STOREY
Continued from page 4 administration to faculty, students and staff – we are different. Meramec’s mission statement supports that we are “unique.” The statement boasts of its rare programs including architectural technology, interior design, information reporting technology, horticulture, nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Meramec’s information reporting technology program (IRT) is the only certified program of its kind in the state, and one of the few in the nation. However, under the new rule of 15, approximately eighty-five percent of the IRT courses should have cancelled. More than half of the architectural technology courses and occupational therapy courses should have been cut. At least fifteen percent of art classes were at risk of being cancelled this semester and many of those that made the cut have been combined with other studio classes and/or are overloaded; thus, stunting the assistance one professor can offer to an overfilled classroom of students. Small classes provide the intimate classroom environment many students need to thrive and perfect their trade. Meramec’s broad variety in course programs and dedicated faculty retain the schools reputation as the best two-year school in the Missouri according to CNN’s Fortune Magazine. If course programs are cut and faculty are overworked, what do we have left to fall on? Surely not
its outdated, good looks. The list of disappointments continues. This semester the accredited and profitable honors program has dwindled to a mere two classes – both introductory composition courses. The classes cut, both honors and regular courses, bar many scholarship students from a discounted education while still keeping up with his or her chosen career plan. Scholarship students are not the only ones thrown off their academic course, many students will not graduate on time because they cannot receive credits essential to their degree completion. Is this really worth it? What if class cancellations were based on a 50 percent fill rate instead of a cut off number? Think about it. Rather than cutting a class of 18 because it only has 13 people enrolled, try cutting the 117 student art history class with a 31 percent enrollment rate. This way your not selling the small classes short. Classes can stay small and effective while courses with plenty of elbow room are dropped. We understand there is a national standard. We understand courses have already begun and opening closed classes would just create more havoc. However, next semester, Meramec may want to stick to it’s “unique” ways or perhaps reinvent the standard. Smaller programs and class should not get the short end of the stick. Course diversity and class intimacy look good on us. Why mess with a good thing?
REALITY
BITES
VICTORIA BARMAK STAFF WRITER
Comfort Food August 20 marked the beginning of the new academic year at STLCC –Meramec. Brighteyed and bushy-tailed, the students rushed along the campus pathways on the way to their classes. Some ran into their old friends; while others, new to campus, gazed around a bit intimidated. From different backgrounds and with different purposes, all these students were united by one goal: learning about themselves and the world around them. Ready to dive head-first into the pool of knowledge that is college, these students had something else in common: many of them flooded the cafeteria for some much-needed brain food and a break from the anxieties of the first-day experience of college. There is great comfort in familiar foods. After all, there is a reason why some foods are called,
INTROCEPTION
LILLY HUXHOLD GRAPHICS EDITOR
Bumpy Paths At eighteen, real life comes crashing in; people often find themselves sinking. Earlier in our lives, a helping hand was always there setting alarms and making breakfast. Now the road is no longer paved ahead of us and the yellow line that divided right from wrong
well, comfort foods. Pizza, burgers, fries and chicken fingers are on that list and it makes sense that the students go straight for those to alleviate those first-day jitters. The problems arise when students turn to those comforting and nutritionless options all year long. College, the bastion of knowledge, is the place where intellect is nourished, horizons are broadened and consciousness is expanded. That should apply to the food that is offered to our students. These days, one does not have to have a degree in nutrition to know that food and its sources are largely responsible for what happens to our bodies – our mental abilities included. Our health is greatly affected by nutrition. But when one visits Meramec’s cafeteria, one might confuse it with a fast-food joint: deep-fried things are abound. There are other options available, but they are either out of a standard community college student’s price range or are completely not edible for those who have a variety of dietary restrictions such as vegan, vegetarian, raw, paleo, gluten-free or dairy-free. Even the garden salad has shredded cheese and egg on it. It is hard to accommodate various nutritional needs with the choices offered in the cafeteria. Ultimately, the responsibility for making wise food selections lies with students. It would be nice, however, if the college helped.
has yet to be laid. Wrong turns will be made and bad paths will get laid; ultimately, we all get lost. When we lose our destination, there are three instincts that kick in. Confusion, fear then anger. The process can be quick, disorienting and cancels out logical thought, but if you get angry at yourself for making that choice, how are you supposed to find the serendipity along the way? Everyone changes and is ashamed of some of the choices they have made along the way but the ones who succeed will keep moving forward. The point of getting lost in life is not to focus on the choice that put us on that path, but to learn from our experiences and put them towards a better us. The road is not always straight and we cannot run through life without building bridges. But what can be learned in the years of struggling on small roads, creates the highway of our success.
6 INDEPTH August 30, 2012
Sneezes tra 100 miles single snee
100,000
into the ai to popular sneeze wit open, they out of yo
*according to Google Dictionary and Merriam-Webster
WASH YOUR HANDS Soap and water are more effective than antibacterial hand sanitizers, getting rid of three times as many germs. So that trip to the bathroom to wash up before lunch may be the difference between being stuck at home with the flu or going out Friday night.
EATING LEFTOVERS If you are going to eat leftovers from the restaurant you went to last night; make sure it was put in the fridge. Staying at room temperature for more than 4 hours leads to dangerous bacterial growth. So if it stayed in the car while you went shopping, a quick trip in the microwave will not protect you against the unhealthy levels of bacteria the food grew while sitting at room temperature.
5-SECOND RULE Drop a piece of food on the ground? Five-second rule, right? False. Any amount of time an object spends on the floor is long enough to become contaminated with illness-causing bacteria. Just throw it out.
CONTRACTING GERMS Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Touching these areas are a sure way to lead the germs from the door handle to your hands and then right in your body. Constantly doing so can weaken your immune system and eventually get you sick.
Bacteria ar nutrients from In some cases, t body. Bacteria body as they survive for we bed sheets), using infections bac
INDEPTH August 30, 2012
The average kitchen sink harbors more germs than the bathroom since that area remains moist throughout the day. A daily scrub with soap and water can prevent bacteria buildup. If dealing with raw meat or poultry, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly then wash the entire area it came into contact with.
avel at about per hour. A eze can send
0 germs
ir. Opposed belief, if you th your eyes will not pop your head.
Our skin sheds over
10 million cells daily onto anything we come in contact with, from our dining room table to the seats in our friends’ brand new car.
re tiny, one-celled creatures that get m their environments in order to live. that environment may be the human can reproduce outside or within the cause infections. Some bacteria can eeks on dry clothing (including your g sloughed skin cells for food. Some cteria cause include sore throats, ear infections, cavities and pneumonia.
Computer keyboards in the office (or even at home) are
5 times dirtier than a toilet seat. Germs can live on the surface for two or three days.
Viruses need to be inside living cells to grow and reproduce. Most viruses can not survive very long if they are not inside a living thing. Whenever a virus gets inside your body, they can reproduce inside you and make you sick. However, thanks to the body’s immune system, most viruses do not cause serious disease. But if you do contract a viral infection, such as the common cold or the flu, unlike bacteria, viral infections are not affected by existing medicines. *according to webmd
ART&LIFE August 30, 2012
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Students show respect for Sago
Showcase held in memory of photography teacher ALEX KENDALL MANAGING EDITOR
On July 16, 2012, sixteen STLCCMeramec students showcased their photographic work at The Old Orchard Gallery in memory of Professor Jan Sago. Sago, a former Meramec photography instructor and faculty advisor of the Photo Club, passed away at the age of 63 on May 13, 2012. Among the students was Megan Boyd, the coordinator for the art show and a former student of Sago, who attributed her success in photography to Sago. “I met Jan on a train ride to Chicago.
I had not planned on going on the trip but I am a completely spontaneous person,” Boyd said. “I did not really learn photography until I met Jan. She really taught it to me on the train trip. Jan had a way of teaching you and pushing you; she was good.” Boyd, 21, began the Jan Sago Foundation gallery showings in memory of Sago and the mark she left on the students she taught. The first gallery showing featured sixteen Meramec students who contributed three to four photographic
PHOTO BY BROOK WILSON
Meramec students showcased their photographic work at The Old Orchard Gallery in memory of Professor Jan Sago. Saqo passed away at the age of 63.
pieces that “they created in Jan’s class or in memory of her.” “I owe it all really to Jan and that is why I decided to start the gallery. I am not a fan of funerals and I thought it would be a better contribution to her memory,” Boyd said. Boyd said the idea for the show came about as a contribution to Sago but also to give artists an opportunity to showcase their work. “I am a spontaneous person and when I have an idea, I fulfill it,” Boyd said. “I
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Megan Boyd, 21, began the Jan Sago Foundation in memory of Professor Jan Sago, a former Meramec photography instructor and faculty advisor of the Photo Club. Boyd plans to have another gallery showing Oct 12.
loved Jan and I wanted to do something for her but also [I wanted] to get other artists involved. Not only a dedication to her but also to envelope into other artists.” The Jan Sago Foundation gallery will give artists the chance to showcase their work in a gallery setting with different themed events challenging each artist’s skill and creativity. “I want to create other opportunities for other artists. Ihad a friend who created my opportunities for me,” Boyd said. “I created a website to get artists started.” According to Boyd, the next gallery show is to be held on Oct. 12 featuring the theme of mixed media, encouraging artists to create artwork from fields such as photography, painting, drawing and any other type of art. “The next one we are doing is going to be a mixed media event with photographers and painters and we will have a musician there,” Boyd said. Boyd said she plans to host more gallery showings each year at The Old Orchard Gallery. “We are going to try and do three a year so we can make those more special,” Boyd said. Boyd said she plans to make the Jan Sago Foundation a nonprofit organization for artists of all mediums to be able to display their work. “I officially want to make Jan Sago a nonprofit for other artists to be involved in. I essentially want it to be what it has started out as,” Boyd said. “I want it to be a space where artists can show their work, not just photographers although the first one was just photography in memory of Jan.” For more information or to contribute to the gallery, visit http://mphoto8.wix. com/jansagofoundation
10 ART&LIFE August 30, 2012
When passion pays off Professor Amanda White receives Governor’s award SAM WISE STAFF WRITER Sociology professor Amanda White has recently been announced as a winner of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She will receive her award in the spring during a luncheon where she and other winners will have the opportunity to meet the Governor. The Governor’s Award is given to one faculty member from every university and college in Missouri to recognize outstanding teaching. White, who attended Illinois State as a law student, said her passion for sociology and teaching earned her the award even though she was not always on this path. White changed her major to sociology with an emphasis on Family and Gender to feed her passion for the family. “I thought I was going to be a lawyer for low-income families,” White said. “I took an Intro to Sociology and totally fell in love with the discipline.” When White decided to go for her master’s degree, she was teaching courses at Illinois State and a local community college in Peoria. “I was really nervous, wasn’t sure if I would love it… I had pretty much only worked on school work until then…I loved it so I went on to get my Ph.D.,” White said. White moved to Arizona for her Ph. D. in Family Studies, focusing more on Sociology with a concentration in Public Policy, and a minor in Spanish. “When you’re doing your Ph.D., you’re doing a lot of research…so I always found myself going more towards the teaching,” White said. White began teaching full time at STLCC-Meramec in 2006 and teaches Intro to Sociology and Women and
Gender. She said she has not lost any passion for her discipline. “I know it sounds really cheesy, but I feel very fortunate to say that I absolutely love what I do,” White said. White described Intro to Sociology as her favorite class to instruct. “It is such a broad course, students can come in and be like, ‘I don’t know about intro to Sociology, or I don’t know what it is, or I took psych and I liked that,.’ You know there’s going to be something in that class that is going to get to every student…there is something for every student,” White said. White believes the reason she received this award could be because her teaching philosophy has evolved during her time at Meramec. “There is always room to be able to improve yourself, and there is always time to be able to do it,” White said. “I really do try and get the students involved.” Darlaine Gardetto, the department chair for the Behavioral Sciences department, described White as a special person with serious discipline. “It is a special award for the person who receives it, but also a feather in the cap for the department, and the discipline,” Gardetto said. Gardetto has been the department chair since White joined Meramec, and said she feels that winning this award is special because White is still young. White said her favorite hobby has become traveling the world. She has visited Africa, most of Western Europe and Central America, where she is able to put her minor in Spanish to good use. “I really like Central America, that’s probably my favorite area to go, it is
CAREER AnD EMPlOyMEnt SERvICES WEEk (SEPt. 10-14) > Resume Doctor
Monday, Sept. 10; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (SC Lobby)
Your resume is an important job hunting tool. If you are looking for a job, you will need a resume that stands out in a crowd. Bring your resume to a Resume Doctor, and let us provide a remedy for your resume ailments!
> Social Media & Online Applications
Tuesday, Sept. 11; 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (SC 125)
Conducting a successful job search may require you to use social media sites as an opportunity to introduce yourself to potential employers. Social Media may be one more way to increase your chances at landing a job! Plan to attend this session and gain information on ways to increase your visibility to employers using social media.
> CES Open House
Wednesday, Sept. 12; 9-11 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.; Clark Hall Room AD 249
Come by and say hello to the staff members at Career and Employment Services (CES)! Each campus provides services and resources to assist students and alumni in finding full-time or part-time, oncampus or off-campus, internship or co-op, permanent, seasonal or temporary employment. Come by and gain information about available resources.
> Interviewing and Job Preparedness Workshop Friday, Sept. 14; 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (SC 125)
You have achieved the goal of landing an interview! What do you do next? There are preparations to be made such as selection of the proper attire, questions to be asked and learning how to document the connections you are making. Plan to attend this event to learn ways to improve your interviewing skills.
Notable Awards in Behavioral Sciences
Governorʼs Award Vicki Ritts Karen Olson Emerson Award for Exellence in Teaching Terry Cooper Ana Cruz NISOD Cynthia Epperson Sophia Pierroutsakos
GRAPHIC BY: LILLY HUXHOLD
beautiful and the people are absolutely wonderful,” White said. White has turned her travels into an important tool in the classroom as well. “Students need to be able to connect what is happening in the classroom to things that are happening outside of the classroom. To see these as two
F
different experiences, but they should be connected,” White said. White said her hope is to teach until she “drops.” “I hope to teach until I drop, and hopefully I don’t drop in the classroom…I could not imagine doing anything else,” White said with a smile.
M v o t ie s h g i N y a r id
Favorite r u o Y l Al eroes h r e p u S re Coming
Aug. 31 Men in Black 3 Sept. 7 Snow White & the Huntsman Sept. 14 The Avengers Sept. 21 Madagascar 3 Sept. 28 The Amazing Spiderman Oct. 5 Ted Oct. 12 Prometheus Oct. 19 The Dark Knight Rises Oct. 28 Brave
A To Meramec Admission $1
includes a free popcorn and soda
www.stlcc.edu St. Louis Community College is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunities in its admissions, educational programs, activities and employment regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran and shall take action necessary to ensure nondiscrimination. For information or concerns relating to discrimination matters, contact the Section 504/Title II Coordinator, Donna Dare, at 314-539-5285 for matters relating to disabilities, or the Title IX Coordinator, Pam McIntyre, at 636-422-2250 for matters relating to sex discrimination, or Vice President, Student Affairs, Linden Crawford, at 314-984-7609 for any other matters.
All movies start at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center Commons
GRAPHIC BY: JAKE HUNN
Meramec Students: YOU Are Invited to the:
52nd Annual Greentree Festival 2012 September 14, 15, and 16 in Kirkwood Park (Corner of Geyer Road and West Adams)
Catch the FREE SHUTTLE on campus (Saturday & Sunday, starting at 10am), courtesy of SSM St Clare Health Center Friday Night, September 14: That 80s Band performs at the Lions’ Amphitheatre, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Most food booths will be open. Saturday, September 15: 8:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Folklife Festival, Greentree Book Fair, Wine Garden, and MORE! Kids’ Area with Babaloo and Tekno Bubbles Hundreds of Food, Game, and Arts & Crafts booths open! Parade: “Once Upon a Time” theme. Steps off at 10am, winds through Kirkwood, arrives at Kirkwood Park, 11am Sunday, September 16: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Folklife Festival, Greentree Book Fair, Wine Garden Sailboat Regatta and the annual Classic Car & Truck Show: FREE! Hundreds of Food, Game, and Arts & Crafts booths open! OTHER GREENTREE EVENTS: 3rd Annual Greentree Dance: In Kirkwood Park at the Lions’ Pavilion, Saturday, September 8, 7pm-10pm: FREE. Food trucks on site. Beer, wine, & soda available for purchase. Music by Fanfare! Tekno Bubbles for the kids! Bike Ramble: Saturday, September 22, 7:30 a.m. $12 per person in advance, $15 day of race. 10-mile leisurely, non-competitive ride through historic Kirkwood. Benefits Backstoppers and Kirkwood Police Explorers. Visit greentreefestival.com for registration information and route.
12 SPORTS August 30, 2012
Kicking for their goal Lady Archers soccer team has high hopes for 2012 season SPENCER GLEASON SPORTS EDITOR The 2011 Lady Archers soccer campaign ended just shy of a national tournament appearance. While finishing their inaugural season 11-10-0, the Lady Archers took their fourth seeded rank in the region to the Region XVI Tournament, but fell to Metropolitan Community College-Blue River, 3-0, in the championship game. Losing that game just did one thing. It made them hungrier for the 2012 season to begin. “Well I think that you are always going to have some inspiration to do a little bit more,” head coach Juergen Huettner said after their last preseason practice. “Last
PHOTO BY: DAVID KLOECKENER The Lady Archers soccer team practices at the Anheuser Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. Their first home game is Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. at Meramec.
year, we lost in the championship game. If we just take it one step further, then we would like to be in the championship game again and we would like to win it. I think that we have a quality team to do that, too.” Huettner, who coached the STLCCForest Park Lady Highlanders soccer team from 2009-2010, is in his second year coaching the STLCC Lady Archers. Aside from coaching at STLCC, Huettner has also been the women’s soccer head coach for Crusaders at Althoff Catholic High School in Bellville, Ill. since 2001. Huettner’s Lady Archers squad, which holds 21 girls, is predominantly incoming freshman. With only five returning sophomores, Huettner was able to recruit local talent to bolster his roster. While finding players in small groups or pairs from the same high schools, Huettner has found the right mix of players. “I like it because you can tell that the chemistry at practice is great because the kids already know each other. A lot of the girls played together on the same select teams, in the off-season. They have a lot of camaraderie going on,” Huettner said. “The ones that felt a little bit awkward were probably the five returnees because they were walking into a group of kids that already knew each other. But our five returnees are such great kids. It has helped out a great deal.” Sophomore captain, Katie Foytlin, who
scored 5 goals in 2011 and led the team with 17 assists, is ready for the season to begin. “This year we are pretty stacked and have a good team,” Foytlin said. “I am definitely excited to go back to the regional tournament. I think we are going to go farther.” Of the 16 incoming players, four graduated from Seckman High School together. Donna Jolliff, along with Jessica Smugala, Taylor Giese and Alyssa Thiessen all donned the blue and gold for the Jaguars. Although the college game is another level up from the high school game, Jolliff, who was tied for third in goals scored in the Suburban South Conference, with 13, is up for the challenge. “It is a lot quicker,” Jolliff said. “It is more intense. There is more endurance. It is very physical. I like that. It is not something new to me because that is how I always play so I like coming in here and actually being pushed more to play harder and better.” Jolliff, who was a midfielder in high school, is also capable of playing forward. “[Playing] forward is definitely my strong suit,” Jolliff said, “but [when playing] midfield, I am very good at directing how the play is going to go and I am pretty quick.” The interchanging of positions between players is something that Huettner considers a unique attribute of his 2012 Lady Archers team.
“Coaching becomes fun too because then all of a sudden, you literally start taking influence on what is going to happen on the field,” Huettner said. “As opposed to having a really good team that just takes its place on the field or if you have a really bad team where it is what it is and as a coach, your hands are tied. This year we have so much flexibility. I think we can literally manipulate some things.” While only time will tell how the 2012 Lady Archers season pans out, Huettner recalls another team that his current players now remind him of — his 2010 undefeated Althoff Lady Crusaders that won the state championship and who were ranked third in the nation by ESPN. “I am dreamer and you have to be to believe in doing things like that,” Huettner said. “Before that season, somebody asked me, ‘What do you think about this team?’ and I said this team is ‘very capable.’ I did not know those things — being undefeated and winning the state championship — would happen. Those things take a lot of luck. I can say this. I think that if this team has some luck come their way and we play the way I think we are capable of playing, I think that there would be nothing wrong to say that this team could be one of the STLCC women’s soccer teams that picks up on some glory days back in the 1990s. My dream would be that we have a long postseason run.”
Swinging away at a new era Head coach, Greg Ellis, looks to put STLCC softball back on the map SPENCER GLEASON SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTOS BY: ALEX KENDALL Left: Head coach Greg Ellis coaches the Lady Archers softball team during an intersquad scrimmage on Aug. 27 from third base. Right: Freshman pitcher Katie Harper pitches during the intersquad game.
After the Lady Archers softball team finished their inaugural season with an overall record of 27-23 and placed second in the Regions XVI Tournament, the Lady Archers announced on Aug. 14, that assistant coach Greg Ellis would become the newest member to join the head coaching staff at STLCC. Ellis, will be the third head softball coach in three years to call STLCCMeramec home. “We should compete for the regional title every year,” Ellis said. “If I can get the players that I think I can get to come and play here, regions will just be another tournament for us toward nationals. That should be ours to win every year. That is my goal.”
of the crop from the St. Louis area. Every great softball player wanted to come to Meramec. Now a lot of St. Louis girls go other places instead of staying right here. It is more of a challenge to try to get the local girls to come here, which is my goal.” During her softball-coaching career at Meramec, Celeste Knierim became the alltime winningest softball coach in National Junior College Athletic Association history with a record of 1,041-544. Since her retirement in 2004, the then Meramec Magic struggled to break a winning percentage above .500. Ellis will hope to change that and turn the page by bringing in local talent. Although STLCC may be a stone’s
Ellis gives himself five years to make that goal a reality. “In five years, I should be able to build this program up,” Ellis said. “If I do not make it to nationals within five years, I am going to be very disappointed. Of course, if it happens sooner that is great.” Ellis, who was the assistant coach for the now defunct STLCC-Forest Park Highlanders softball team for two seasons under co-head coaches Ken Williams and Sharon Marquardt, has also coached summer select softball teams for ten years. “The summer programs have really put a charge and a ton of interest in the college level,” Ellis said. “Whereas, when Celeste (Knierim) coached here she got the cream
throw away from home with mom and dad for local recruits and they might not get the “quote, unquote college experience as much,” Ellis believes the draw to his Archers is the family atmosphere his team embraces. “I would say, come here and try it out. If after a year they do not feel like they want to play anymore, that is okay and they would not have cost their parents a fortune,” Ellis said. “Another thing too, is their mom and dad have watched them play for years now — every game. Now the kid goes away somewhere where it will be hard for their parents to see another game. If they come here, it will be easier for the moms and dads to see the games.”