2.8.11

Don’t be Cupid Plan your Valentine’s night right

P a ge 4 Tuesday • February 8, 2011 • Vol. 104 Issue 19

Briefs Meeting for student body elections info

Students wanting to run for student body president and vice president, as well as senior class president, need to attend an informational meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 in the SGA office (PSU 123). Campaign managers need to be in attendance as well.

In case of a class or other foreseeable conflict, or if you would like additional information, please contact Chief Elections Commissioner Sam Hooker at Hooker2113@live.missouristate.edu.

SGA looking for sustainability leader

The Student Government Association is currently seeking a student from the College of Arts and Letters to become a student commissioner on the Sustainability Commission.

Commissioners aid studentinitiated proposals that are submitted to the commission and assist in follow-up procedures.

Qualified students with an interest in this position are advised to contact Chief Sustainability Commissioner Madison Wilson at Madison724@live.missouristate.edu.

For more information, please contact Kinsley Stocum, director of communications, at kinsley17@missouristate.edu.

Entreprenuer club welcomes speaker

Jack Stack, the founder and CEO of SRC Holdings, will be speaking to the Missouri State Entrepreneurship Club from 5 to 6 p.m. tonight in Glass Hall 108.

The MSU Entreprenuer Club has been granted approximately 150 seats for the presentation.

Seats will be given on a firstcome, first-serve basis.

Calendar February 8 to February 14

Tuesday

Blood drive 11 a.m., PSU Ballroom West “What the Experts Expect in 2011” 11:30 a.m., University Plaza Hotel Student Activities Council meeting 4 p.m., PSU 313 PRSSA meeting 5 p.m., Craig Hall 325 Student Senate meeting 5:30 p.m., PSU 313

Wednesday Blood drive 11 a.m., PSU Ballroom West

Interfraternity Council meeting 5:15 p.m., PSU 313 Panhellenic Council meeting 6 p.m., PSU 313

Thursday

Blood drive 11 a.m., PSU Ballroom West Board of Governers Academic Afairs Committee meeting 1 p.m., PSU 317 Board of Governers Student Afairs Committee meeting 3 p.m., PSU 310 Faculty Senate meeting 3:30 p.m., PSU 313 Students for a Sustainable Future meeting 4 p.m., Temple Hall Pit Staff retirement panel 5:15 p.m., Taylor Health conference room Board of Governers Finance Committee meeting 7 p.m., Carrington Hall 203

Friday

Board of Governers meeting 10 a.m., PSU 313

Monday

Residence Hall Association meeting 4 p.m., PSU 313

Snowpocalypse

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

Students take advantage of the canceled classes last week to play in the snow that covered Plaster Field.

Winter weather strikes Springfield

By Jason Johnston The Standard

When the blizzard hit the Missouri State University campus Feb. 1 through Feb. 2, about 10 feet of snow and an inch of ice surrounded the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house.

“Someone rented a Bobcat and cleaned out the driveway,” said Zane Eulinger, the vice president of recruitment for Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Missouri State canceled classes for Feb. 1 through Feb. 3 because of snow and ice. On Feb. 3, university administrative personnel and staff had to report from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. if possible.

Classes resumed Friday.

The Office of Admissions resumed Thursday to send out and receive applications and communicate with new and potential students, said Dr. Earle Doman, the vice president for student Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD affairs and dean of students. Maintenance perBattles were fought to keep roads and parking lots around Springfield clear of snow. sonnel and resident hall workers stayed on during the snowstorm.

“We were crossing our fingers when the food trucks arrived on Wednesday afternoon,” Doman said. “If for some reason they could not have made it in, we would have been rationing food for the people who eat on campus.”

On Friday, most of the roads were passable if drivers took their time, he said. If students were in a situation where they felt it was too dangerous, then hopefully they made arrangements with faculty, he added.

“Our enterprise is education,” Doman said. “If we can possibly be open, we are going to be open.”

The maintenance crews got on the ice at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 1, said Bob Eckels, the director of facilities management. They got to the ice before it stuck to most of the walkways, sidewalks and parking lots. The crews used utility vehicles with snow blades.

He said the university used a contractor to plow the parking lots on Wednesday morning because the snow was heavy.

“When we do have snow again, it is very much appreciated when (commuters) use the Bear Park North and Bear Park South to park as Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD opposed to using lots. It becomes difficult when Students roamed the campus, not for class but for the joy the snow brought by last we have to clear the lots and cars are on the week’s storm. lots,” Eckles said.

Student witnesses Egypt crisis firsthand

By Megan Gates The Standard

In Cairo, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the past few weeks demanding the removal of their president, capturing media attention around the world. To many, these demonstrations seem like a world away, but for one Missouri State student, they were happening right down the street.

Weston Bland, a senior Middle Eastern studies and global studies major, left for Cairo the third week of January, intending to stay until August to complete his study away program at the American University in Cairo.

“I’ve been planning to study in Egypt since the

spring semester of my freshman year when I first declared a Middle Eastern focus to my degree program,” Bland said in an email. “My studies on the Middle East focus on politics and language; my adviser recommended Egypt as the place to go for both.

Cairo’s been the starting point for many of the major political and social ideologies and movements that have shaped the Middle East.”

When he first arrived in Cairo, Bland said the atmosphere was a bit overwhelming—in a positive way.

“The city was constantly moving and busy. People were out and about all hours of the day,” he said. “Streets and traffic were also relatively unorganized. The

driving and pedestrian system were very aggressive and based on forcing your way into places. Despite all of the bustle of the city, most of the people we met were very friendly and welcoming and were usually willing to help us out with any issues we had trying to handle the city.”

Over time, however, Bland said the atmosphere of Cairo began to change as protests against the government began and curfews were enforced.

“The atmosphere began to change slightly when the protests started, although it wasn’t entirely visible until Friday the 21st,” he said.

“The people were still friendly; however, there was a noticeable feeling of stress and apprehension. The

Image courtesy of Weston Bland

Weston Bland was in Egypt when the protests began.

gradually increasing curfew also changed the environment quite a bit. Social life in Cairo usually starts around 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and typically goes on until two, three or four in the morning.

With 6 p.m. curfews starting that Friday and gradually increasing to 1 p.m. Tuesday, the streets of Cairo were suddenly a lot See EGYPT page 9

2

News

The Standard

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Study reveals critical-thinking issues

‘First two years are multiplechoice years’

By Amanda Hess The Standard

A new national study has started a conversation around campus about how much students really learn while in college and possible ways to improve student learning.

The Associated Press published a story about a new study that looked at more than 2,300 students from 24 different colleges around the country. The study showed that 45 percent of the undergraduates that were observed did not show any significant increases in critical reading, complex reasoning and writing skills after the first two years of college.

According to AP, the study came out in a book titled “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” by Richard Arum of New York University and Josipa Roksa of the University of Virginia.

Mary Mobley, a senior history major, said she can see how students do not increase their critical thinking or writing skills the first two years.

“The first two years are multiple-choice years,” Mobley said. “You may have one short answer question, maybe two, but you don’t get into real in-depth thinking until the last two years. Most of the time it depends on the teacher though.”

Samuel Ledesma, a sophomore special education major, said he hasn’t learned much more than he did in high school so far. He believes the main thing students learn in the time they are at college is how to balance work and play.

Rebecca Latzig, a junior political science major, agreed and said most of her beginning classes were easy.

“I didn’t have a lot of required reading for most of my classes,” Latzig said. “The teachers made it really easy where reading was an option; reading didn’t benefit or hurt you. But students aren’t going to complain that the work is too easy. I’ve heard professors say before that they had to change their classes because students complained if it was too hard.”

Mark Rushefsky, a political science pro-

fessor, said he was one of those teachers who had to change his course plan.

He said he used to have more reading and writing in his Introduction to American Policy class, but after feedback from students who said it required too much work, he switched to multiple-choice tests.

Rushefsky is not the only teacher to do so. Numerous others have done the same thing.

Kathy Shade, the lab coordinator for Fundamentals of Chemistry and Chemistry for the Citizen, said she’s noticed a change in students over the past few years and has changed her classes accordingly.

“It feels like students are coming in less prepared and less willing to want to learn more,” Shade said.

Shade said she has rearranged her classes to require more thinking skills, problem solving and cooperative learning to push students. She requires students to say why they answered a question a specific way and encourages students to talk amongst themselves to figure out problems.

Michael Frizell, director of the Writing Center, said the need for supplemental help on campus has increased over the years.

“The Writing Center sees about 15 percent of the student body, and 95 percent of those students were referred to the center by faculty members,” Frizell said.

“The teacher can only teach so much; it’s up to the students too,” he added. “Not always is there a connection from a professor’s mouth and a student’s ears. I would hope we reach every student, but it’s not possible. There is a disconnect between students and faculty.”

This disconnect is obvious when it is shown that students believe classes are easier and teachers believe students aren’t as motivated or skilled as they used to be. But if both are true, it’s hard to put blame solely on teachers or students.

Stephen McIntyre, a history associate professor, said he doesn’t think MSU is unique to this issue or worse than other colleges around the country.

“If I had to choose someone to blame, I would say administrators because they are in a customer service model for education,” he said. “In business, there’s a need to satisfy customers. We are treating students and their parents like customers rather than what they are — students.”

“I’m not sure in the short run it makes them happy to be pushed for critical thinking,” he added. “I’m not saying students

don’t like being pushed, but when we adopt a mental framework of students as customers, we do ourselves a disservice on how to treat them. I’m not sure what we want is the immediate feeling of happiness.

In the long run, I think students will recognize the benefits of being pushed to think critically.”

Ledesma said he thinks the average college student doesn’t know what to do the first few years at a university because they don’t realize school is important.

“Students will go out and party and slack off when it comes to school work,” he said. “Until they get the wake-up call and have to get into the college program of their choice, they will just try and get by with the least amount of work possible.”

Rushefsky said he blames everyone in general for student’s lack of increase on their critical thinking and writing skills.

College is less rigorous than it used to be, he said.

“In general, students demand easier courses and faculty don’t demand as much from their students,” Rushefsky said.

“There used to be a comic strip called ‘Pogo,’ and one of the strips said, ‘We have found the enemy, and the enemy is us.’ I believe that applies to this.”

With everyone to blame, the only question left is how to fix it. Students and faculty had numerous ideas on ways to change general education classes for the better.

Tim England, a junior philosophy major, said his first few years of college have been review and basic information.

He said that, in high school, there was the same problem: instead of making it new and challenging, year after year they just recapped what happened the year before and built on that.

“I went to a community college, so it’s not a reflection of this university, but classes should stop reteaching the basics and push forward with a strenuous workload,” England said. “A lot of education lacks it.”

Justin Wolf, a senior political science major, said changes would have to be made before students even got to college.

“Growing up, my parents made me do a lot of reading, and it helps development,” he said. “I’m not sure if parents are doing enough in children’s early years for building complex reasoning. Maybe a stronger, more in-depth curriculum at the elementary or middle school level would help.

More enforcing measures of education in general would help.”

McIntyre said long-term measures of classes would be better than short-term measures. Students who value the education they received and the preparation it gave them for their jobs might be a better measure than a teaching evaluation at the end of the semester. Students might not understand how much the course helped them at that early stage.

Frizell said he believes MSU has been trying to better connect with students in multiple ways to help them learn.

“I think MSU has made great strides in making it better,” he said. “There are more freshmen initiatives; we have the BearCLAW, linking courses and Supplemental Instruction.”

Linking courses try to connect two similar courses, such as Writing I and Fundamentals of Public Speaking together to help students glean similarities between classes, he said. Supplemental Instruction uses various activities to force students to think critically with the information they learn in class. The BearCLAW helps tutor students in various subjects, like writing or math, to help them better understand what they are learning.

The university still has room for improvement on its general education courses, McIntyre said. He said the biggest challenge for the university is that teaching critical thinking is labor intensive, and with shrinking resources, it is hard to have smaller classes to make that happen.

“There are a lot of factors that can cause it not to be possible,” McIntyre said.

“Class sizes, funding, faculty workload and expectations can all play a part. Is it realistic to ask faculty to juggle research with multiple writing-intensive classes and everything else they have to do? What kinds of classes increase critical thinking or writing skills? How can we fund this? I don’t think we’ve been asking those types of questions about general education courses.”

McIntyre said he hopes with the general education classes being reviewed, courses could incorporate more ways to improve students’ critical thinking.

“President Cofer has talked about reallocating funds; there have also been recent looks into the general education classes.

With this new study that came out, I believe all three items should come together and find out how to reallocate funds to better serve students and fund classes that would increase those skills,” he said.

Tuesday

Cartoon by Rachel Brown

February 8, 2011

Macs are better than PCs

So your laptop’s screen has big black lines creeping up the desktop, the hard drive has been replaced three times and you’re not sure what it feels like to carry a laptop that weighs less than eight pounds. It’s time for a computer upgrade, but what should you invest in? The heated debate between everyday users and computer nerds across the globe is simple: Mac or PC? The memorable commercials of the confident, young “Mac guy” versus the older, heavy-set and accident prone “PC guy” brought attention, from a humorous angle, to the basic differences between the two battling operating systems. Macs are indeed PCs (personal computers), but instead of running with Windows, the Microsoft standard operating system, they use what I would argue is the most beautiful and intuitive operating system money can buy — Mac OS X. When you open your Mac laptop, the navigation through your computer is unusually simple and elegant, not to mention stuffed full of useful features that make your life easier and your computer fun to use. As an added plus, unlike the virus prone Windows OS, Mac OS X is stable and secure because it is built on top of the Unix environment, which greatly reduces its vulnerability to viruses, spyware and other harmful malware.

When you first purchase a regular PC laptop, you get a computer that is preloaded with trial software that is most often embedded into the operating system, making it difficult for average users to

Brittany Forell uninstall. This trial software is known for running ads and pop-ups and encouraging you to upgrade to a full edition of the unwanted software.

Macs are different: They are preloaded with an impressive software bundle that allows creative but also elementary users to edit photos, download and professionally edit video footage, publish these video projects through iDVD, edit tracks and create tunes in GarageBand and publish the newly laid tracks to iTunes. Apart from these seamlessly interacting programs, you are set up with a first-class media player, messaging software, a speedy Web browser, industrial strength e-mail and calendar tools and access to endless applications through the App Store.

Although Apple computers are a favorite among creative professionals for their graphic capabilities and software, the company has made a computer that is perfect for the average user, or even a first-time user, with its user-friendly interface.

Apple prides itself on being both creative and intuitive. In everything they do, they believe in challenging the status quo. They believe in thinking differently. As a result, they make beautifully designed, simple-touse computers that are as impressive on the inside as they are on the slim, outer aluminum casing.

Columnist

From the unibody enclosures that increase durability to the newly designed lithium-polymer batteries that increase battery life and reduce size and weight, Apple considers every element of design and perfects every detail. With their durable design and secure operating system, Macs are known for outliving the average PC by a few extra years.

As the writers of “The Independent Guide to the Mac” describe it, “Apple’s advertising team could be forgiven if it took a leaf out of Volkswagen’s book and highlighted how many of its machines go on and on and on and how many (Macs) get resold online or passed on to friends ...

Invest in a Mac today and you could still be enjoying its benefits in 10 years’ time.”

PC pushers argue that, with all of Apple’s loyal and sometimes infatuated customers, the company still only holds a small portion of the total market share of personal computers. At first glance, the Microsoft-dominated industry seems barely affected by Apple’s efforts.

However, research firms Gartner and IDC recently released their quarterly personal computer shipment data, offering up a picture of the industry’s performance during the last quarter of 2010. According to Gartner‘s report, Apple landed in fifth place, grabbing a 9.7 percent share, up significantly from a 7.4 percent share in the prior-year quarter.

While a nearly 10 percent market share may not seem significant, Gartner’s report also indicated that Apple’s fourth-quar-

ter unit growth in 2010 was an astounding 24 percent in comparison to the computer industry trend of -6 percent.

The college-campus market, however, is a different number altogether.

College students are often considered “early adopters” of new technology. In a study done by Student Monitor, a research firm that has been tracking higher education computer sales for 22 years, 27 percent of laptop owners owned a Mac, and among those students who were planning to buy a new laptop, 47 percent planned to buy a Mac. In a suffering economy, Apple’s personal computer sales have grown significantly whereas other computer manufacturers have declined. So, for now, Apple is growing like crazy, but it still has a long way to go in the PC market to catch up to Windows. Remember, they are only one manufacturer going up against dozens of popular manufacturers.

It will undoubtedly be a gradual change.

All in all, there are many reasons to make the conversion from a Windows computer to a Mac. With the excellent and recently improved compatibility between the two, there is nothing that should scare you from making the switch. Mac applications are great at reading Windows’ files, and the same is true in the reverse, making it easy for you to work between the two operating systems if it is necessary. The Mac will be happy in any home or office, but it is also an excellent fit in a student’s backpack.

Snowy sidewalks are a burden to pedestrians

Last week, catastrophe struck Springfield in the form of … well, some people were calling it “snowmageddon” or “snowpocalypse,” but we prefer to call it like it is: a blizzard.

(Who came up with the name “snowmageddon” anyway? It sounds like the name of a more-awful-than-usual Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.)

On Tuesday, it snowed all morning and most of the night. It took the plows almost two days to clean the streets, and what work they had accomplished on Wednesday and Thursday was ruined when it snowed another two inches on Friday.

City maintenance did a pretty decent job clearing off main city streets like National Avenue. However, while the streets are clean, the sidewalks are not.

Probably because the city relies on homeowners to clean the sidewalks.

Not all students who walk to school live on campus. There are plenty of students living in Greek housing and in apartments or houses located on the streets surrounding campus who walk to class every day.

With cars still stuck in snow and ice, even more students are probably walking to campus, and they have to trudge through a rough terrain of blackened snow and ice to get there. The melting ice makes pockets where walkers’ feet sink into the disgusting sludge.

The most difficult part is the gigantic walls of snow and ice where the sidewalks meet street intersections, courtesy of snow plowing.

This leaves walkers with a bit of a dilemma. Do you walk on the edge of the street and risk death by vehicular slaughter, or do you walk on the plateau of sludge and risk slipping/falling/crashing to your death?

Most of us students are young and able-bodied. Despite being slightly fatter than we were in high school, we can still scramble over foot-high walls of snow without too much of a problem.

But what about the other people who walk on sidewalks? The young school kids who walk home from bus stops? The elderly people who walk to the grocery store and back?

Last we heard, cars didn’t rule the world. Perhaps the city of Springfield and its inhabitants should make it safe for all forms of travelers — motorists, walkers, bikers and hovercraft flyers.

Tell us what you think.

Log on at www.the-standard.org

Other reasons exist to go green besides global warming

There may be a number of reasons why it is smart for America to go green, but no matter what President Obama says, the threat of global warming is definitely not one such reason.

After the snowmageddon that slammed most of Missouri last week, it should become increasingly obvious that global warming is a sham. Over the years, countless reports have all but completely debunked past global warming research, and the American public should quit having to hear global warming as an excuse for trying to become more sustainable and green.

Now, people like Al Gore may try to tell you that the coldness of a winter doesn’t affect the realness of global

The Standard

Greg Edwards Columnist

warming, but what does he know? The man flunked out of Vanderbilt Divinity School and thought it was a smart idea to be Bill Clinton’s vice president. Enough said.

Global warming is without merit, and everybody knows it.

Instead of jumping on the going-green bandwagon because of propaganda that makes about as much sense as a bunch of camels predicting a “global cooling,” America needs to become more sions are also welcome. The Standard reserves the right to edit all submissions for punctuation, spelling, length and good taste. Letters should be mailed to The Standard, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65897 or e-mailed to Standard@Missouri State.edu.

Editorial Policy The Standard is the official student-run newspaper of Missouri State University. Student editors and staff members are responsible for all content. The views expressed do not represent those of the university.

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environmentally friendly because it is the most logical and economically feasible thing to do. It’s no secret that, in the long run, green inventions and ideas will save people money.

America needs to keep up with its going-green efforts because doing so can create jobs. If we make government buildings equipped to be greener, then there you go.

New jobs will be created to install and produce the energy saving materials. New jobs can also be created to build windmills or even research all possible types of alternative fuels.

The ozone (which is not really going to become more and more depleted and kill us all) is the limit to possible job creation. As long as we don’t

The Standard reserves the right to edit or reject any advertising copy at any time. The Standard encourages responsibility and good taste in advertising. Political advertisements must show clear endorsement, such as “Paid for by (Advertiser).” A sample of all mail-order items must be submitted prior to the publication of the advertisement. Advertising having the appearance of news must have the word “advertisement” printed above. Such ads must be bordered.

Clear sponsorship must be shown on each advertisement. Position requests will be honored when possible but are not guaranteed.

In case of error or omission, The

go completely crazy about things and spend large amounts of taxpayer dollars or impede on individual rights, then all of these ideas are great.

The next reason America needs to embrace greenness (besides Al Gore’s harebrained global-warming ranting) is because our country is way too dependent on foreign oil. Yes, this “dependence on foreign oil” phrase is usually thrown around a lot during elections but for good reason.

We need cleaner-burning, cheaper alternatives.

In the real world, one of the first steps to becoming independent is getting your own place to live and saying “bye-bye” to Mom and Dad. Keeping that logic in mind, America is currently a 40-

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something-year-old bachelor who lives in his Middle Eastern parents’ basement. We’re too dependent. We need to move out already and stop being held hostage by the oilproducing countries.

Researching and implementing alternative forms of clean-burning energy will help curb that problem and eventually save America some much-needed cash.

Lastly, like you all have heard since your days back on the playground, it’s important to go green because the world’s resources may run dry one day. Yeah, this is a cheesy, cliché reason, but it’s true. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources. When they’re gone, they’re gone.

On top of that, destroying the rain forest and killing thouThe Standard Physical address: Student Media Center 744 E. Cherry St. Postal address: 901 S. National Ave. Springfield, MO 65897

sands of plants and animals just isn’t very nice. However, all of this green brouhaha could help us not have to worry about running out of resources and killing trees and plants as quickly.

So, the main lesson for everyone to keep in mind today is that Al Gore and President Obama are both full of crap.

Okay, that’s not really the main lesson, even if it is true.

The main thing to remember is that, even if global warming is a made-up-scaretactic-evil-propaganda-lie, it still won’t hurt America to go greener. We can get jobs, move out of our Middle Eastern parents’ basement and make Momma Nature proud.

Shouldn’t that in itself be reason enough?

Editor in Chief Sarah Bennett 417-836-5272

Multimedia Editor Bridget Rapp 417-836-5272

Managing Editor Leah Randazzo 417-836-5390

Head Copy Editor Jessica Reynolds 417-836-5272

News and Sports Editor Phone: (417) 836-5272 Jon Poorman Fax: (417) 836-6738 417-836-5390 Standard@Missouri Life Editor State.edu Bobbie Sawyer The Standard is pub417-836-5272 lished Tuesday during Photo Editor the fall and spring Matt Kile semesters.

417-836-5272

Advertising Mgr. Sandy King 417-836-5524 Faculty Adviser Jack Dimond 417-836-8467

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

Calendar February 8 to February 14

Tuesday

Crazy little thing called Love

As Valentineʼs Day swiftly approaches, you may be freaking out about who to ask out, where to go or what gift to give. The Standard presents you with a quiz that we hope points you in the right direction.

How did t? you mee en’t yet because I

Gender and Music Composition: A Personal Perspective 12:30 p.m., Craig Hall 205 MSU Composition Festival: Concert II with guest composer Cindy McTee 7:30 p.m., Jaunita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts

A. We heanv’t met anybody

hav ough. good en in class.

B. We met a bar/club. at C. We igmhett have been drunk.

Im t much. ’t get ou n o d I .

D

Wednesday Messy Jiverson with CattyWOMP and Salad Bar Jam 9 p.m., Outland Ballroom

SAC Films Presents: “Due Date” 9 p.m., PSU Theater

Rate your hotness.

“Musical of Musicals” 7:30 p.m., MSU Balcony theatre

A. 10.

B. 8 on a good day.

C. Average.

D. Please don’t make me

When you’re getting down to What do you business, on what fills up normally do ht? your playlist? a Friday nig

SAC After Hours Presents: Skate Night 9 p.m., Mediacom Ice Park

Friday

Moon City Faculty Reading 7 p.m., PSU theater

Speakeasy concert 10 p.m., Outland Ballroom

A. Tchaikovsky’s

Musical: “Beauty and the Beast” 8 p.m., Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts

me. /she to find e h r fo it a A. I w s with friend B. I hang ougto to a bar. and/or raging and C. Clubbing,ping all night long. fist pum ll of Duty” D. I play “Caheetos. and eat C

“1812 Overture.”

B. A mixed tape

Jazz Aria concert 7:30 p.m., Savoy Ballroom

prepared in advance

Queen City Shout concert series: Archimedian Point 7:30 p.m., Borders

C. Rap. D. “My Heart Will Go

Saturday

On” by Celine Dion.

Chris Thomas King concert 8 p.m., Nathan P. Murphy’s Best of the Past Decade Film Festival 7 p.m., PSU theater Queen City Shout concert series: Brian Hom 7:30 p.m., Borders

Missouri State University Concert Chorale concert 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception Church

C. Brown chicken brown cow.

D. What are

Bitter Valentine 7 p.m. Canvas Art Gallery

SAC Presents: Valentine’s Day double feature 5:30 p.m., PSU theater

Briefs

The College of Humanities and Public Affairs, BiGALA, VOX, College Democrats and the Association of Black Collegians will host “Shawn and Gwenn: a Boy, a Girl, a Virus and the Relationship that Happened Anyway,” at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday in the PSU theater.

The program features Shawn Decker and Gwen Barringer, a couple who have spent the last decade traveling the nation, using their relationship to educate the public on safe sex, intimacy, partner communication and the HIV infection.

The event is free and open to the public.

What is your go-to bar in Springfield?

A. Fedora or Red Room.

B. Patton Alley Pub or Finnegan’s Wake.

C. Icon or Zan. D. I don’t go out. I play

A. Martini. Shaken, not B. Boulevard Wheat.

Shots! Shots!

C. Shots! Shots! Shots!

Shots!

D.

What kind of gift would you give for Valentine’s Day?

Program to teach with love story

supposed talk about on dates?

you to

What is your rage? choice of beve stirred.

A. Chanel. Acqua Di Gio. B. Shampoo and fabric softener.

C. Ed Hardy.

D. Axe and corn chips.

Monday

alco Bawlz. PBR, non-

holic.

A. I don’t give. I receive.

B. Mixed tape and chocolate.

C. Massage oils.

D. Flowers. A teddy bear. A balloon. Chocolates. A homemade card with a poem.

Revue to feature tales of romance

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It’s so bad your friends can’t keep track of who you’re dating. Slow down; check out the scenery.

Maybe be single for a little while, and definitely remember birth control.

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So you’re one of those people who sits and stares at a person you like for weeks before saying anything.

Here’s a piece of advice: It’s not as scary as you think. Or, you know, there’s always online dating. Talking through a computer is easier than talking in person. n sig De

You have ridiculously high standards.

Not everyone is as awesome as you think you are. Maybe you should stop quizzing your dates on 19th century composers and, for the love of Hades, stop talking Thank you for being normal. You should about yourself have a perfectly “cute” Valentine’s so much.

Day. Though, you know, maybe you could spice things up a bit.

Get freaky. Take your date Little to Saigon instead of Applebee’s.

OMIGOD! Ch-ch-changes

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The Stupid Cupid Cocktail Party, a charity event benefiting Isabel’s House, the crisis nursery of the Ozarks, will be held 7 p.m. Monday at Finnegan’s Wake.

Tickets for the event are $10 at the door and $8 in advance.

Admission includes appetizers, dinner and desserts provided by Finnegan’s Wake, Ophelia’s and AmyCakes Bakery, as well as the opportunity to participate in the silent auction featuring items donated by downtown businesses. All proceeds go to benefit Isabel’s House.

in general.

the “Harry Potter” drinking game at home.

How would you describe your scent?

Sunday

Valentine’s party to benefit charity

A. Me. B. Books. Music. Life

answer that.

Thursday

The Gillioz Theatre will present “Women On Love,” a musical revue chronicling the love lives of five women, beginning 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and running through Sunday.

Tickets are $15. Students and seniors pay $12.

What is typically discussed between you and the person you’re interested in?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Life

The Standard

5

‘Winter’s Bone’ provides opportunity for local filmmakers

By now, most of us have seen “Winter’s Bone.” If you haven’t, then you are one of the few.

Just in case you are one of Karman those few or it’s been a while, Bowers I’ll recap: The film tells the story of 17-year-old Ree (JenMovie nifer Lawrence), an Ozark Columnist Mountains girl who searches for her meth-cooking, bail-jumping father to save her family home.

“Winter’s Bone” is an all-around good film. It’s realistic, and the story is compelling. The actors were great, and the Oscar nominations for this film are well deserved.

The question, however, isn’t a matter of how good the film is; it’s why is this such a big deal for southwest Missouri?

This is the first film that’s been filmed in Missouri that has received any real attention. It was filmed on location in Taney and Christian counties, and it starred

actors from our very own Missouri State. Lauren Sweetser and some other students had the opportunity to work on the film.

Jayson Wilkins, a recent graduate of MSU, had the good fortune to get some real-life experience on a film set.

How did he score a real internship on a real film set?

Craigslist. That’s right. But, just be careful. We all know how that can turn out.

Anyway, the point is the attention that “Winter’s Bone” has garnered could mean positive things for southwest Missouri as a growing hub for filmmakers. It’s not necessarily going to mean we’re going to see a huge influx of Hollywood filmmakers because, let’s face it, our weather is what you might describe as unpredictable. But some filmmakers have been snooping around Joplin, searching for locations to shoot the remake of “Bonnie and Clyde” starring Hilary Duff.

What this is really going to mean for the aspiring filmmakers of the area is opportunity. We’ve already been growing as a hub for rising stars, but now we’re more than

just a spot on a map. People have proven that you can make an award-winning film here. Who knows? Maybe the next time someone needs a rural Midwest setting, they’ll think about shooting on location instead of building a set.

Yet, the biggest opportunities that these kinds of films are going to bring is something that Wilkins found out firsthand: networking. Everyone always says how important networking is, but he never realized just how true that was until he started working on “Winter’s Bone.” He said every job he has gotten since has been through people he met while on set.

Now, as for the chances at the Academy Awards, there is no way to tell what the Academy is thinking. It’s definitely cool that “Winter’s Bone” has received some welldeserved recognition.

So what’s the lesson to be learned here? Go for it.

There are always films being made in the area. Sometimes they’re student films, but they’re still an opportunity. So take it. You never know where it might lead you.

Roommates: tips to find the best and worst

By Bobbie Sawyer The Standard

Sarah Owens, a senior dietetics major, said on the bad roommate scale, cleanliness falls after economic stability in importance.

“Cleanliness is a big deal, but if they pay their rent, I really don’t have a problem,” Owens said. “I don’t want to get evicted.”

If, unlike Owens, your idea of excitement is being on the verge of homelessness, track down the least ambitious of your troop and make a go of it.

If you’ve ever longed for the stench of a roommate’s six-week-old pile of laundry festering in the corner of your joint living room or the thrill of a live-in deranged stalker a la the new dorm room screamfest “The Roommate,” you’re in luck. Bad roommates are easily acquired, and by ,following the guide below, you’ll be sure to stumble across a little domestic drama of Move in with a stranger your own.

Why ruin the excitement with getting to know a potential roommate beforehand? If Check Craigslist you’re looking for the worst of the worst, What better place to find a no-good, ter- take the blind date approach to roommates. rible roommate than the center of Internet By avoiding background checks and genersketchiness, Craigslist? On Craigslist, you al common sense, you take an exhilarating can peruse nameless, faceless roommate gamble. prospects, find a date for this weekend and shop for a couch to furnish the shack you’ll Room with someone who hates you soon inhabit, all in one afternoon. It’s basiRachel Flanigan, a junior theater major, cally a one-stop shop for bad decisions. said the most important quality she searches for in a roommate is respect.

Get a slob “You don’t have to be best friends, but it If Craigslist doesn’t work out, you could is a relationship,” Flanigan said. “You have always try rooming with your most hygien- to respect each other’s space.” ically challenged acquaintance and candiA disrespectful roommate with a persondate for A&E’s “Hoarders” program. Be al vendetta against you could seriously liven sure to look for someone with an extrava- up your living arrangement by stealing your gant collection of exotic rodents or towering clothes, eating your food and torturing you 12-foot stacks of magazines and pizza with obnoxiously loud and terrible music. boxes for the best chance of achieving real- What could be worse than waking up to the ity show glory and reaching an all-time musical stylings of Nickelback every mornroommate low. ing?

Reunite with your unemployed friend from high school

You know the one. He was fired from Taco Bell. Twice. He would make an excellent bad roommate.

For more information on leasing season, check out our Housing Guide.

If you’ve had your share of bad roommates, don’t despair. Good roommates do exist and can be found by following these simple steps: Sarah Owens, a senior dietetics major, said she found her roommate by asking friends and finding a shared connection.

“She's in the same program as me, and I found her through a mutual friend,” Owens said. “I just asked around with friends to see if they knew anyone who needed a roommate.”

Talk to friends

Alex Harden, a junior marketing major who lives off-campus with her best friend, said sheʼs found that the best approach to finding a great roommate match is through social outlets.

“Try to join a club or group with someone you have similarities with,” Harden said. “Ask through friends.”

Anthony Milfelt, a senior musical theater major, lives off campus with three roommates he met through the theater program.

Milfelt said, though the four werenʼt well acquainted, their common interests helped form a bond.

“We all get along. We werenʼt extremely close beforehand. Iʼve heard horror stories about living with your best friend from high school,” Milfelt said. “It was good. We got to learn about each other.”

Get involved

partner on Craigslist freaks you out, youʼre not alone. But there are a variety of less-ominous roommate-finder services online.

One such option is RoommateClick.com, which freshman psychology major Taylor Homeyer refers to as the “Match.com of roommate finders.”

RoommateClick.com allows users to post free ads, which include cost preference, anticipated move-in date, personal requirements and a descriptive “about me” section. Users can browse the ads of candidates in their area and contact the best match.

Of course, with all online ventures, precaution is necessary. Be sure to take a friend along or meet in a public place when you decide to contact a potential roommate in person.

Jackee Smithhart, a sophomore math education major, said itʼs important for roommates to have open communication about their personal interests, schedules, likes and dislikes from the beginning.

“During the first week, we had share time,” Smithhart said. “We talked and got to know one another. We had girl time.

Your personality definitely comes out at three in the morning.”

Smithhart said having a good roommate experience is dependent on patience and consideration from both parties.

“You donʼt want to live with someone that you butt heads with all the time,” Smithhart said. “Be civil and understandLog on If the idea of finding your future living ing that they have to live with you too.”

Be open

Tuesday

February 8, 2011

Scorebox

Men’s Basketball Wednesday, Feb. 2 Evansville Missouri State Saturday, Feb. 5 Indiana State Missouri State Women’s Basketball Friday, Feb. 4 Bradley Missouri State Sunday, Feb. 6 UNI Missouri State Ice Hockey Friday, Feb. 4 Lindenwood Missouri State Saturday, Feb. 5 Lindenwood Missouri State

42 35 – 77 32 33 – 65 36 30 – 66 31 42 – 73

31 42 – 73 36 32 – 68 32 35 – 67 32 29 – 59

13 0 6 1

Calendar

February 8 to February 14

Wednesday

Men’s Basketball home against Bradley, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday

Women’s Basketball away at Indiana State, 7:05 p.m.

Friday

Track and Field away at Tyson Invitational, 9 a.m.

Saturday

Men’s Basketball away at Illinois State, 7:05 p.m.

Women’s Basketball away at Illinois State, 7:05 p.m.

Track and Field away at Tyson Invitational, 9 a.m.

Sunday

Women’s Golf away at Claud Jacobs/Texas State Challenge, 8 a.m.

Briefs Football team waits on letters of intent

After the Football National Letter of Intent Party was canceled on Wednesday, Feb. 2, due to weather, the Missouri State football team announced the receipt of letters of intent from 22 high school and junior college students who have committed to play football for Missouri State this fall.

Weather complications and school cancellations have delayed some commitments, so MSU is still expecting additional recruits.

Among the recruits are three junior college commitments: Nate Davis, a linebacker from Garden City Community College, Randy Richards, an offensive lineman from the College of Sequoias and Clay Spruill, an offensive lineman from Tyler (Texas) Junior College.

Butzine leads the way for track team

A small group of sprinters and throwers began preparation for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Feb. 26 and 27 by competing at the Fazoli’s/ Baymont Inn Invitational this past weekend.

Ariel Butzine was the story for the Bears, as the freshman finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.52, which was the fastest of any Bear this season and the third-fastest of any MVC runner.

Bears vs. Shockers on national television

The Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday that Missouri State will earn a spot on ESPN2 as part of its “Wildcard Weekend” on Saturday, Feb. 26, when the Bears play their final game of the season against rival Wichita State.

The game will mark the sixth time the Bears have been on ESPN’s family of networks this season.

Six inducted into Bears Hall of Fame

Missouri State's 2011 Athletics Hall of Fame class includes softball pitcher Nora Cagwin Whitcomb (1996-99), baseball pitcher Kirby Cannon (1977-80), basketball player LaTanya Davis (1992-96), basketball player Danny Moore (1996-99), football player Brad St. Louis (199699) and volleyball player Linette White Randle (2000-03).

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Senior Adam Leonard drives past Indiana State’s Aaron Carter. Leonard finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

Responding to adversity Leonard powers Bears to victory

By Jon Poorman The Standard

Adam Leonard had one of the worst games of his college career against Evansville last Wednesday as he fouled out with zero points. He responded on Saturday with 19 points, most of which came from timely three-pointers that helped the Bears hold off Indiana State 73-66.

The day after the Evansville game, Leonard tweeted about putting in extra work on his shot: “Just put up 400 (shots). Practice at 2:30. Then putting up another 250+.”

The work paid off as Leonard went 5-for-8 from the three-point line on Saturday against the Sycamores.

“I went in the gym the last two days and put up a little more extra shots than I have been,” Leonard said after the game. “It turned out

2011 Football Recruits The Missouri State football team has received letters of intent from 22 players.

High School Players Charleston Antwine (6-4, 290, OL) Robert Booker (6-2, 290, OL) Eric Christophel (5-10, 170, ATH) Dondelaro Crosby (5-11, 200, LB) Richard Darden (6-4, 220, TE) Emerson DePeel (6-4, 300, OL) Corey Feagin (6-3, 230, DE) Robert Fields (6-1, 180, WR) Josh Hampton (6-4, 265, DL) Kierra Harris (5-11, 190, QB) Ryan Heaston (5-11, 175, (ATH) Christian Hoffman (6-1, 210, LB) Maddy Johnson (5-8, 165, RB) Jake Lasater (6-6, 300, OT) James McDonald (6-3, 250, DE) Patrick Morse (6-4, 275, OL) Rufus Sullivan (6-3, 215, OLB/DE) Bernard Thomas (5-11, 172, DB) Jordan White (6-6, 280, DL) Junior College Transfers Nate Davis (6-2, 215, LB) Randy Richards (6-5, 300, OL) Clay Spruill (6-5, 300, OL)

tonight that it was well worth it.”

Senior Will Creekmore has seen what his teammate can do from the three-point line and knew Leonard would eventually break out of the shooting rut.

“He’s the best shooter in the Valley,” Creekmore said. “It was just a matter of time before he started hitting (shots) again.”

Indiana State coach Greg Lansing said his team prepared to guard against Leonard but couldn’t always find a way to stop him.

“He’s just a really good player that can make big shots,” Lansing said. “He obviously did that today. It’s just a really good player stepping up and making shots.”

Along with Leonard’s hot shooting, the Bears used strong defensive play to close out yet another tight game.

“We just guarded the ball better, I think,” junior Kyle Weems said. “If you just do your own job and guard your man, you’ll be fine.”

Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin said he liked the defensive intensity his team played with in the second half.

“I think we did the things we needed to do in

the second half to get stops,” he said. “That was the thing I liked seeing in the second half.”

Leonard said the improved defense was due in part to more physical play.

“We felt like we were more physical in that second half than any other half of the season,” he said. “We need to keep doing that.”

The Bears were able to hold the Sycamores to 30 points and a 38.5 shooting percentage in the second half compared to 36 points and 46.9 percent in the first half.

Another factor that played into the final outcome was the experience of Missouri State. The Bears were able to make clutch plays, get stops on defense and sink free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

“You have to have people that aren’t afraid to make plays,” Lansing said. “You look at Missouri State, and they’ve got a whole bunch of them, a whole bunch of veteran guys that can make plays.”

Creekmore said that keeping the team’s goal in mind helps all of them to stay focused on the See BEARS page 9

Struggles in the Valley

By Benjamen Loewnau The Standard

The Lady Bears now find themselves sitting at fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference after they wrapped up the weekend with two losses.

The 67-59 loss on Sunday to the conferenceleading Northern Iowa Panthers capped off a weekend for the Lady Bears that started with a 7368 loss to Bradley on Friday night.

“We’ve got to keep fighting through the adversity,” junior guard Casey Garrison said after the loss to UNI. “We’ve got to overcome it.”

After losing to Bradley on Friday night, the Lady Bears showed improvements in their play in the paint by outrebounding Northern Iowa 46-37.

“We rebounded with more passion,” head coach Nyla Milleson said. “We did a lot of detailed things much better.”

To go along with rebounding and intense play in the paint, Northern Iowa presented the Lady Bears with a physical matchup, and as a result 45 personal fouls were committed.

Due to their strong presence inside, the Lady Bears were able to outscore the Panthers 28-8 in the paint.

“It was real physical inside, but overall I think we did good,” sophomore forward Christiana Shorter said.

Matt Hart/THE STANDARD

Casey Garrison scored 20 points Sunday.

Despite outscoring UNI in the paint, the Lady Bears’ only lead of the game was short-lived late in the first half as the Panthers soon pulled away.

“They made big shots,” Garrison said. “I think they got some defensive stops. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well.”

A majority of the big shots for UNI came from Panthers’ junior guard Jacqui Kalin who scored a game-high 29 points against the Lady Bears.

Kalin’s 29 points proved to be the dagger down the stretch that put Missouri State away in the second half.

“Jacqui Kalin knocked a couple right down in

See LADY BEARS page 7

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sports

The Standard

7

Handball team joins Missouri Sports Hall of Fame 11 national titles earn recognition

By Harrison Keegan The Standard

The Missouri State handball team, past and present, was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Jan. 30.

Compared to the Yankees of collegiate handball, Missouri State has won 11 national titles since 1993, never finishing worse than second during that span.

“It’s a pretty important accomplishment, not only for me but for everyone who helped build what Missouri State stands for in the handball world,” junior Scottie Moler said.

The induction marked how far the team has come since professor Tommy Burnett formed the team in 1987.

Burnett, who still coaches the team, said on the squad’s first trip to the handball champi-

The MSU handball team was inducted onships, they finished second to last and didn’t have enough money to buy gas for the drive alongside former Chiefs’ running back Priest Holmes and former Cardinals’ second baseman home.

The team coasted back to Springfield on a Tom Herr, but Burnett said the handball team player’s credit card back in the winter of 1988. stole the show.

“We’ve had almost 300 alumni come Now, in 2011, they have received one of the through this program, and state’s highest athletic hon91 of them came back for ors. the ceremony. That was “It’s a throwback to the The kids aren’t playing really impressive to me,” way sports used to be,” Burbecause someone is giving he said. “It was the first nett said. “The kids aren’t them a scholarship or time that the hall induction playing because someone is because it’s on ESPN. sold out.” giving them a scholarship or They want to compete.

Burnett was inducted because it’s on ESPN. They They want to be the best. into the Missouri Sports want to compete. They want We’re the best team over Hall of Fame individually to be the best. We’re the best the past 18 years, and they three years ago for his sucteam over the past 18 years, take a lot of pride in that. cess as the handball coach, and they take a lot of pride Tommy Burnett but he said this time in that.” handball team coach around was a lot more Burnett said he started the team in 1987 when he was in administration gratifying.

“This one meant a lot more,” he said. “This to get back in touch with college students.

“I enjoy teaching and watching people was all about the players. There’s going to be a learn,” he said. “To me, teaching was never plaque on the wall with every player’s name on it from 1987 to 2011. I think that’s kind of work; it was fun.”

Spirit Squad goes to nationals

By Adam Hammons The Standard

The Missouri State Cheer Squad and Sugar Bears recently competed at nationals in Orlando, Fla., and had a strong showing.

For three years in a row, the MSU Cheer Squad finished third place in the Cheer Division I championship. It’s a finish many cheerleaders, including senior Doug Gaehle, are excited about.

“We had a lot of mishaps this season,” Gaehle said, “so we were really happy with the routine we took and overcame those problems when we got there.”

On Jan. 14 to 16, both the Cheer Squad and the Sugar Bears went to the 2011 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships in Orlando. The Sugar Bears also took third place in the Division I Jazz competition but ended with a sixth place finish in the Division I Hip-Hop competition.

“Sixth is still great,” senior Emily Tod said. “I think we wanted a couple places higher, but it didn’t happen and that’s okay.”

Tod said what sets their team apart from other schools is the camaraderie among the girls.

“I know there are a lot of other teams that go to nationals that aren’t friends,” Tod said. “We’re all really close; we’re all good friends. And I think that helps out, and it makes everybody just want to work hard for each other and want to do well together.”

Junior Katie Staihr agreed with Tod. “I think we get the best choreog-

raphers in the area, and we have great team chemistry,” Staihr said.

“It’s just really widespread. Our talents aren’t all in one spot.”

The Cheer Squad also believes that a close relationship among teammates leads to success. Junior Faith Lorhan said the squad isn’t just a team but a family.

“This year we were told by several people that this had looked like the most fun that anyone has ever had when we performed for the fans,” Lorhan said. “Because we looked like we were having fun with each other, more than we’re just out there to show them something.”

Lorhan competed in the Partner Stunts coed competition with Boston Alverson, finishing fifth out of 15 teams. They were ranked second going into the event, but Lorhan wasn’t disappointed with the result.

“Actually, we were very happy with where we placed,” Lorhan said. “We hit our routine; we did all we could do. We were probably a little bit nervous, but it was very, very fun. We’re ready to do it again.”

Lorhan said the competition was tight because only five points separated them from first place. For now, both groups will cheer on the basketball teams as they finish their seasons as the Spirit Squad. What comes next is to continue the tradition of the Missouri State Spirit Squad.

“We have something to maintain; we have that third place,” Gaehle said. “We want to maintain where we’re at and our name that we have.”

Lady Bears Continued from page 6

our face,” Milleson said.

Not too far behind Kalin were Garrison and Shorter who led the way for the Lady Bears.

Garrison managed to post 20 points of her own, while Shorter posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

neat.”

The players, Burnett said, have 130 practices a year and get no scholarships or uniforms.

He said most of his players don’t have any handball experience before joining the team. He recruits by talking to former high school athletes on campus and through the handball class he teaches.

Moler, who finished in the top eight at the collegiate tournament for singles on last year’s national championship team, is an exception.

He sought out the handball program on his own.

“I’m from Iowa, and the reason I came down was to play handball here,” he said.

Burnett said that, despite all of the success and awards the team has received, the most important thing about the sport happens outside those four high walls.

“It provides a lot of out-of-class education for our students, and quite frankly, it keeps a lot of kids in school,” he said.

Already one of the most accomplished teams in Missouri sports history, the handball team will try to defend their national title Feb. 18 to 22 at the University of Minnesota.

Another bright spot for Missouri State was the play of sophomore forward Tia Mays, who came up with 10 rebounds and four blocks. “(Mays) really came out and gave us a lot of spark,” Milleson said.

With the losses over the weekend, the Lady Bears now sit at 16-7 overall and dropped to 7-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Friday night’s loss to Bradley snapped Missouri State’s eight-game

home winning streak that dated back to their Dec. 3 win against Eastern Michigan.

The Lady Bears now face a tough three-game road trip that includes a matchup 1:05 p.m. on Feb. 12 at third place Illinois State. “(It will be) a big two weeks for us, three very tough places to play,” Milleson said.

The next matchup for the Lady Bears will be at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday at Indiana State.

Lacrosse team, new coach set for season

By Harrison Keegan The Standard

The Missouri State lacrosse team is hoping its speed can help it win the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference championship for the third-straight year.

“We’re going to play very fast,” said Pat Callaham, first-year head coach. “For fans, whether they are familiar with lacrosse or not, it’s going to be an exciting style of play.”

The players said the winter weather might be a blessing in disguise as it has forced the team to focus on conditioning.

“The weather’s been pretty bad, but we’ve really been getting after it in practice,” junior Ben Scherer said.

“We haven’t been able to put in many plays, but we’ve been conditioning hard. So we should be in great shape for the season.”

Callaham moves into the head coaching position for the Bears after two years as the associate head coach.

He said the team is doing things differently this year with the new coaching staff in place.

“We’ve actually changed quite a bit,” he said. “We’ve brought in some slightly different styles, and I feel like we’re going to be able to put it all together really well.”

Senior defender Justin Capar said the team has noticed a change in their style of play since Callaham took over.

“Our style is more fast-paced this year, a lot more than in past years,” Capar said.

He said three-peating as conference champs is the team’s main focus.

“Our goal as a team is to win the conference championship and win a game in Denver at nationals,” Capar said.

He said his personal goal is to become the Bears’ ninth All-American since the program started in 2003.

The team has 30 players, many of whom started playing lacrosse in high school. Scherer said his high school friends are one of the reasons he joined the team.

“A couple of my friends play here,” Scherer said. “We’ve been

playing together since high school.”

He said that, although the Bears will emphasize their speed, they are not afraid of physical play.

“We’re a solid defensive team,” Scherer said. “We have a lot of good hitters. It should be fun to watch.”

The Bears open their schedule on Saturday in St. Louis with an exhibition game against Illinois. Although the team has yet to play its first game of 2011, Callaham said he expects the Bears to do very well.

“We’ve had excellent attendance at practice, and from there we’ve had great intensity in every drill,” he said.

“The team has looked very good so far.”

Callaham said the team’s style of play should be very appealing to fans.

“We’re really going to push the tempo up and down the field,” he said. “We’ve got a talented group of guys, offensively, who are capable of lighting up the scoreboard. We plan on putting on a real good show for people.”

The team’s first home game will be April 1 against Harding at Plaster Sports Complex.

836-5524 l the-standard.org l standard@missouristate.edu

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The Standard

News

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Graduate student has competition in the bag

By Nick Simpson The Standard

It’s not the sort of thing the average customers of a grocery store think of when they pass through the check out line with their final selections.

What really goes through the mind of a grocery bagger as they sort each product in your cart? Is it the work of some mindless automaton or a truly skilled individual?

Every year the National Grocers Association (NGA) holds a national competition, inviting winners from various states to test their skills as a grocery bagger. Last year’s winner was Kyle Perry, representing Martin’s Supermarkets in Indiana. He achieved a grand prize of $10,000.

This year’s competition will be held Feb. 14 during the NGA Annual Convention and Supermarket Synergy showcase at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The competitors from each state will spend Valentine’s Day shuffling through paper and plastic, fighting for another $10,000 prize.

Representing Missouri this year is Scott Hall, a graduate student in business management at Missouri State. Scott has been bagging groceries for almost seven years. What began as a high school job at Dierbergs in St. Louis became a comfortable existence for Scott, who has spent two and half of his college years bagging groceries at the Price Cutter on the corner of Grand and Kansas Expressway.

“What’s funny is that it wasn’t even my idea,” Hall said. “When I was 16, my mom got the application at Dierbergs and made me fill it out because she wanted me to get off my butt and do something. At first, I didn’t want to do it. But, after a while, I realized it’s really not as bad as most jobs come. It just worked out.”

But the difference between the average student bagging groceries and a bagging champion are very real, and Hall didn’t realize his affinity for sorting cans and boxes when he first took the job.

Britney ShryerTHE STANDARD

Missouri State graduate student Scott Hall is representing Missouri in this year’s National Grocers Association bagging championship.

“Well, it started with a contest in the store to find our best bagger,” Hall said. “We could win $50, and you could get $10 just for trying. So I figured I’d try it. It wasn’t that I just recognized this talent one day.

I won the competition and immediately started practicing for competition on a larger scale.”

Hall said from there he competed in Price Cutter’s company-wide competition,

and from there was chosen to compete in the Missouri statelevel competition at Chateau on the Lake Resort in Branson in October. Having taken that prize, Hall now looks to the national level as a real playing field.

“I’ve been trying to get practice as I work,” he said.

“Now that I’m going to nationals, they’ve been scheduling me more shifts. And now that I’m leaving next week,

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I’m getting nervous about it, but they’ve had me bagging pretty much every day.”

Hall said in addition to the $10,000 first place grand prize, this year the 25 competitors will be clamoring after another prize: a trip to New York to appear on the “Late Show with David Letterman” where they will be interviewed and have their very own, personal, one-on-one competition with Letterman.

But the glory doesn’t stop there. According to Hall, the grand champion will also receive a gold-plated register bearing the name of the champion and the year they were crowned, valued at around $7,000.

Hall leaves for the convention this weekend, which begins on Sunday. He will spend four days in Las Vegas with all expenses paid, including the flight there and back.

As nerves start to settle, Hall is given chances to reflect on his success thus far.

“I never really went into the job to have fun,” Hall said. “There have been a lot of incentives to shine, such as this competition. But there’s also this social element of it all. I work at a job where I get to meet and talk with a lot of different people.

That’s the part I enjoy.”

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bears

Egypt

Continued from page 6

Continued from page 1

task at hand.

“It’s just a sense of urgency,” he said. “We’re not going to let this season fall apart. We’re going to do everything we can to keep our dreams alive, and we’re not going to give up.”

Creekmore added 16 points and Weems added 13.

Nafis Ricks had 11 points.

The Bears next game is at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday at home against Bradley (816, 2-11).

less lively.”

The restricted curfew hours made many people nervous and affected business hours, Bland said.

“Businesses began running very short hours so workers could arrive and leave within curfew hours, and many businesses shut down entirely for fear of looting,” he said. “Over the weekend, people nervously rushed around to all the supermarkets and food vendors to stock up on food before curfew began. You could definitely feel a thick tension in the air and a fear of what the next day could bring.”

Once the curfews began and protest crowds started to grow, the government began shutting down access to social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and text messaging. This made it difficult to communicate with those back home, Bland said.

“Up until Thursday the 27th, I communicated mainly through Facebook and e-mail. However, we gradually lost access to social networking sites by Thursday, as Facebook played a big role in organizing the initial demonstrations on Tuesday the 25th,” he said.

“Late Thursday evening, I was able to bypass the Facebook block using a proxy, but at around midnight the Internet was completely cut. Texting followed shortly.”

After cutting access to the Internet and texting, cellular service was cut altogether, Bland said.

“By noon Friday, we had no means of communicating with the outside world or even to contact each other,” he said. “The most common way to use phones in Egypt is to buy a (pay-asyou-go) phone and add minutes as you go. In the buying rush during curfew break caused by the unpredictability of the situation, cards to add minutes to phones began to be bought up very quickly, and it was often difficult to find phone cards before curfew. Since international calls tear through phone cards pretty quickly, I would usually

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very briefly call back to the states and have people call the landline in my dorm.”

Kinsley Stocum, a senior creative writing major and friend of Bland’s, said she spoke with him once on the phone while he was in Cairo.

“He called me late last week asking for a mutual friend’s number in Spain in case he needed to go somewhere for a few days to hold out,” Stocum said.

“We also spoke on the Internet via Facebook while he still had access to the Internet.”

Stocum said Bland suggested what media outlets she should follow for an accurate report of what was occurring in Cairo.

“He mentioned to me that, as far as news reporting goes, Al-Jazeera and BBC were the ones to watch and to avoid network coverage,” she said. “He said what a lot of Americans are getting, what’s being reported, doesn’t match up with what he was actually seeing.”

During this time, Bland said his and his fellow students’ safety was the AUC’s primary concern.

“For the first few days after Friday, our dorms were pretty strict about the curfew and kept us indoors after hours,” he said. “We also had a small security detail standing outside our building after curfew to protect against the looters that emerged with the absence of the police. I’m not sure where these men came from exactly, but they appeared to be one of the local militias that formed after Friday to protect properties and were usually armed with things like metal poles, nightsticks and baseball bats.”

In addition to the small security detail, the AUC had security guards stationed around the building, Bland said.

“We had several security guards on staff to make sure the appropriate people were coming into the dorms, and we even had a guy who would sometimes stand on the steps leading into the dorm with a fire house pointed towards the street,” he said. “Occasionally, a heavily armed Egyptian soldier would come and stand with our security. We felt pretty safe, and the atmosphere

with the guards seemed pretty light and they often just seemed bored.”

Even though demonstrations were taking place around the city and the university was concerned for his safety, Bland said he was never extremely concerned for his own safety.

“Our dorm in the Zamalek district was very well guarded, and for most of the protests, there was no tension toward Americans,” he said. “Occasionally, when walking home, we would have to walk through demonstrations or find ourselves on the tail end of a march. And often these demos felt celebratory instead of hostile, and we weren’t the focal points of attention.”

Despite his feeling of relative safety, Bland said MSU and the Study Away Office recommended that he return to the United States or find an alternative university to finish his study abroad at.

“MSU and the Study Away Office heavily recommended that I leave Cairo throughout most of the protests and began looking for alternative programs for me while the Internet was down,” he said. “Throughout my conversations on the phone and via e-mail with MSU, they made it clear that though they really wanted me out, it was ultimately my decision whether I leave or stay.”

John Catau, MSU deputy provost, said students’ safety is the university’s primary concern in an instance such as what has happened in Egypt the past few weeks.

“When all this broke, we were able to make and maintain a fairly regular contact with the AUC,” Catau said.

“However, there were times when it was a challenge as the Internet and phone service were not a constant.”

MSU had to respect Bland’s decisions as an adult about whether to stay in Cairo, Catau said.

“He’s an adult and makes his own decisions ultimately,” he said. “All we can do is make recommendations to him. However, we would do whatever we could to make arrangements for students abroad to come home or to go to a safer country to finish their study abroad. Students’ safety is our ultimate

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concern.”

Stocum said when she spoke to Bland that he was conflicted about whether to leave Cairo or to try and hold out for a few more days and hope the situation improved.

“He said keeping in mind what MSU would like him to do is conflicting with his personal interest in staying there,” she said. “He would like to stay, but he said he was getting worn down from MSU advising him to come home or to go somewhere else, which is understandable.”

Bland said his respect for MSU and the knowledge of the stress he was causing those at home made him decide to leave Cairo for the United Arab Emirates.

“Ultimately, my decision was based out of respect for the advice given to me by the Study Away Office and my adviser,” he said. “We were all getting our perceptions of the situation from different sources and had different perspectives on how safe the situation was, but I could really tell that I was worrying people back home and putting people that I greatly respect under a good deal of stress. In the end, I was the only one who wanted me to still be in Cairo, and I felt the most respectful thing I could do for the people who made it possible for me to get to Cairo was to take their advice and leave. I’m incredibly appreciative to have MSU provide a practical voice to balance out my ambitions.”

Bland said he will finish his semester abroad in the United Arab Emirates at the American University of Sharjah but hopes to return to Cairo someday.

“I didn’t have much of a chance to experience Cairo, but I fell in love with the city very quickly. And it tears me up to see the wonderful people of Cairo go through such turmoil,” he said. “However, it was also very beautiful and inspiring to see so many Egyptians, from so many different walks of life, rise up in the face of repression against a domineering government and make a huge impact in the political landscape of the country. If I had the opportunity to return to Cairo, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011