The Standard's 3.26.19 issue

Telling HERstory

40 Under 40

Coaching success

Missouri State celebrates Women’s HERstory Month

Choral director named in list of accomplished professionals

Kellie Harper takes the Lady Bears dancing

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M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

VOLUME 112, ISSUE 24 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

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State budget to determine how much MSU tuition increases CONNOR WILSON Staff Reporter @Connor4Wilson Missouri State University President Clif Smart announced at a Board of Governors Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 20, that a proposed budget for 2020, which would grant MSU an equity increase of almost $4.7 million, passed through the Budget Committee of the Missouri House of Repre-

sentatives.

Currently, MSU is last in the state in funding per full-time equivalent student. Smart said that while the budget still needs to fully pass through the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate, MSU is in a good spot.

“The $4.7 (million) equity adjustment would close about half the gap between (MSU) and the next lowest funded university,” Smart said.

“We are pleased with this progress.”

Assistant to the president for governmental

relations Ryan DeBoef said that for the past 30 years, the state had not had much enrollment sensitivity in the way that they distribute money to higher education institutions.

For schools that experienced lower enrollment, the amount of money per student had raised. Similarly, for schools that experienced higher enrollment, the amount of money per student had lowered.

“We are not just at the bottom of the list, we are way at the bottom of the list,” DeBoef said.

For 2018, MSU received about $4,225 per full-time equivalent student, with the next lowest, Missouri Southern State University, receiving about $4,740, DeBoef said.

The school receiving the most money per full-time equivalent student, Lincoln University, is receiving about $9,764, DeBoef said.

In the past two to three years, MSU has been talking to legislators about the gap, DeBoef said. u Read the full story at the-standard.org

Who voters can vote for in next local election ANDREW UNVERFERTH Staff Reporter @unverferthandr1 Local elections will be taking place throughout Greene County on April 2, meaning there could be some potential changes within Springfield government.

Three of the five council seats on the ballot are uncontested this year, including Zone 4 Matthew Simpson, General Seat D Richard Ollis and Zone 2 Abe McGull, who will be replacing active Council Member Tom Prater.

Mayor Ken McClure is also running unopposed, meaning the only decisions left on the ballot for voters are the council positions of Zone 3 and General Seat C, and a question concerning the continuation of Springfield’s Capital Improvements Tax. The tax question would preserve the current one-fourth of one percent sales tax which is used primarily for infrastructure purposes.

The two candidates running for Zone 3 are incumbent Councilman Mike Schilling and Noah Snelson.

Schilling, who has eight years of experience in the Missouri legislature, was first elected to the council seat in 2015. One of the bigger problems he would address with another term is low-quality rental properties throughout Springfield.

“Do people want to come and live here when they see some of this stuff we’ve got out there, or set up a business?” Schilling said. “It’s a health and safety issue for renters and it’s an economic issue in terms of it might turn people away.”

Schilling also has concerns regarding quality of life issues for Springfield citizens, including noise pollution and frequent traffic violations such as speeding.

Snelson is a former police officer who currently works in manufacturing as a training coordinator. According to an email from Snelson, he feels that crime is the biggest problem for Springfield and its citizens.

“I will guide our ordinances and enforcement capabilities to protect our community as well as working in tandem with the Springfield Police Department and their leadership to enact their vision of a safe Springfield,” Snelson said.

He said his plans for reduced crime rates would also promote business and economic growth, encouraging job creation.

On the ballot for General Seat C are incumbent Andrew Lear, Amy Champlin and Jaye Owens.

Lear, who is retired and has a history of financial experience and community involvement, has held the seat since October 2018. One of the biggest policies he’s concerned about is what will replace Springfield’s current strategic plan Vision 20/20.

“I am really interested in what comes out of that over the next 18 months because that will drive our policy making and really provide a position for this community for the next 20 years,” Lear said.

He is also concerned with the many “nuisance properties,” like Schilling, and with u See VOTE, page 11

KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

Lady Bears advance, page 6

‘We have to persist’ AFTON HARPER Staff Reporter @affie888 Around 50 people sit silently as sounds of Tibetan singing bowls play from speakers at the front of the room.

The ring-like sounds echo as people begin to turn their phones off and settle in.

A pair of young women begin to flick the switches on the 50 small, battery-powered candles situated on a table at the front of the room.

These candles represent those who lost their lives in the New Zealand shooting.

In the center, one large candle represents the community as a whole.

Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri and Ekklesia Ministries held an interfaith prayer vigil in remembrance of the victims killed and injured in the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand last Friday.

The vigil was held March 19 in the Plaster Student Union at Missouri State University.

Ekklesia is a progressive campus ministry.

Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri is a grassroots faith-based organization that works for a variety of faiths regarding public policy issues, according to their website.

Many activists attended the event, includ-

Wolff said it's especially important to her, as a Jew, to express compassion toward her Muslim brothers and sisters due to all the “strife” between their people.

“We need to recognize the fact that Muslims and Jews are literally brothers,” Wolff said. “We come from the same Abrahamic traditions.”

She said being at the vigil made her feel as if she was doing her duty and taking part in tikkun olam, a Jewish word Wolff defines as “to heal and repair the Earth.”

Wolff also said people should be watchful of political or social leaders and speak out against intolerance.

“I see signs of tyranny in our own country,” Wolff said. “Whoever committed this horrendous act was a human being — was someone who somebody knew, was somebody’s son.

We can’t let this happen. We must speak out.”

Susan Schmalzbauer, congregational coSINJIN SANDERS/THE STANDARD ordinator for Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri, and campus minister of Ekklesia MiAttendees of the interfaith vigchelle Scott-Huffman hosted the vigil. il came together to support the Schmalzbauer said the vigil was mainly Muslim community. focused on bringing people together and standing in solidarity with the Muslim community. ing Francine Wolff, 75, whose father fled Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. u See VIGIL, page 12

Interfaith vigil for victims of New Zealand shooting brings community together

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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

STEMinists: Women battle stereotypes in male-dominated field CARISSA ALFORD Staff Reporter @carissabalford Missouri State held multiple events throughout the month of March in honor of Womxn’s HERstory Month, including an event featuring women in STEM. Professor Theresa Odun-Ayo, has taught electrical engineering students at MSU for the past seven years and taught at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.

Odun-Ayo said she became interested in electrical engineering because of “the flare of it.”

“This is what I’ve been gifted to do,” OdunAyo said. “I love maths. It was like I never had to study for math, it was so easy.”

She said she could never understand why other people found math difficult.

Her original interest was in medicine, but eventually she discovered it was not what she

was passionate about.

“I went into electrical engineering because that’s where my grades were stronger,” OdunAyo said.

She said she found herself naturally looking to go into the field of engineering. Her brothers and cousins were already in mechanical engineering, so she chose electrical to be different.

On March 19, Multicultural Programs held a panel called STEMinists: Womxn in STEM. It was a discussion over women involved in science, technology, engineering and math, and other male-dominated fields.

Speaking with Odun-Ayo was electrical engineering professor Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi and junior biomedical student Basant Hens.

Obafemi-Ajayi and Odun-Ayo are from Nigeria, while Hens is from Egypt.

Odun-Ayo said one of the first hardships she ran into as a woman in her field is the stereotypes.

JAYLEN EARLY/THE STANDARD

Theresa Odun-Ayo (right) explains why she became an engineer during the STEMinists: Womxn in STEM panel.

“You have to constantly prove that you —at to learn from them as well. However, she wants least as a faculty when you walk into a class them to know she is standing in front of them —that you know what you’re talking about,” for a reason.

“You never can do away with the fact that Odun-Ayo said.

She tells her students she does not hold all of the knowledge in the world and she wants u See STEM, page 11

MSU students honor historical woman Smithsonian through day of service at Eden Village exhibit on display at Meyer Library

KATHRYN DOLAN Staff Reporter @Kathryndolan98 Various events honoring women and femme people have taken place at Missouri State over the month of March. This period known as Womxn’s HERstory month is celebrated by guest speakers, presentations and service projects.

On Saturday, March 23, a group of about 30 students and staff participated in a women’s day of service at Eden Village — a community of 31 tiny homes built for disabled and chronically homeless individuals in order to provide them with stable housing.

This service project was held in honor of labor rights activist Dolores Huerta, a women who represents the working class and poor individuals.

Huerta co-founded United Farm Workers, was instrumental in the passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 and, in 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, according to the Dolores Huerta Foundation website.

Matthew Banks, coordinator of Multicultural Programs and LGBT Student Services, is the advisor of the Womxn’s HERstory month planning committee.

“Womxn’s HERstory month is a chance for the Missouri State

LAINEY SANDERS Staff Reporter

community and the Springfield community to come together and think about what women and femme-identified people have contributed to society in a meaningful way,” Banks said.

The Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit, “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science” is at Meyer Library from March 18 to May 24.

According to a Roots of Knowledge news release, the exhibit “explores the ways in which traditional knowledge of indigenous communities and cutting-edge Western science are being applied.”

The exhibit uncovers the use of traditional knowledge and cutting edge science by focusing on four stories of environmental and cultural restoration from four different groups: the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Native Hawaiians.

The exhibition gives visitors insight into the importance of the sacred relationship each community has with its homeland and how they continue to pass along the knowledge of the environment, history, social values and spiritual beliefs, according to the press release.

u See SERVICE, page 11

u Read the full story at the-standard.org

JAYLEN EARLY/THE STANDARD

Freshmen Angela Perez and Kate Woodward help out at Eden Village by preparing their gardens.

THE STANDARD

opinion 3 MSU needs new hiring standards

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

ISAAC DEMOTTA Columnist @isaacdemotta

Illustration by ALYSSA VANDEGRIFT/THE STANDARD

Battling demons

A personal tale of addiction JAY SAXTON Columnist @jayasaxton Most of my adult life, I struggled with substance abuse. My drug of choice was alcohol, but I experimented with other drugs too numerous to mention here. It started in my early teens and increased during high school. When I entered college my drug and alcohol use proliferated.

For the sake of brevity, I will not recount the stories of my life with alcohol and drugs.

No one wants to hear war stories of an addict’s life, especially those who are struggling with abuse. All you need to do is turn on the TV, see a magazine cover or look on social media to find people who have an addiction story.

Let’s just say that I experienced my fair share of troubled times. It has been many years since I have taken a drink or used drugs, and I can now reflect with a clear mind and heart.

College is stressful: not just the coursework, but the transition. There are a lot of expectations placed on you by others and yourself. You may find yourself looking for an escape or something to put you at ease. For some of you, it may be alcohol or drugs. Who would blame you? The opportunity presents itself in any number of ways on a college campus or college town. The city is teeming with bars and there are constant social events that almost always include alcohol. Those of you who are of legal drinking age have the right to drink, and those of you who are not legal can still find alcohol. I know I did.

When I started college, there was no support or places students could turn for “problem-drinking.” At least, that was what I remembered. Support may have been present, but these weren’t services I sought out.

I was a campus representative for Anheuser-Busch. I sold kegs to sororities and fraternities. I drank a lot. Why would I have even acknowledged a substance abuse program or The Standard Physical address: Clay Hall 744 E. Cherry St. Springfield, Missouri Postal address: 901 S. National Ave. Springfield, MO 65897 Newsroom: 417-836-5272 Advertising: 417-836-5524

services on campus? Looking back, I realize I didn’t have a drinking problem. I had a stopping problem and the college lifestyle was all I needed to kick it into high gear.

Is drinking by college students really a big deal? Is it as prevalent as people make it out to be? Consider the following statistics from a recent study done by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In a given month, 60 percent of college students will drink alcohol and 38 percent will binge drink.

Of those that drink, 13 percent consider themselves heavy drinkers. Harmless? Maybe.

Unless you consider the fact that each year 1,825 students die from alcohol-related injuries including car crashes, 696,000 are assaulted by students who have been drinking and

I also felt stigmatized by reaching out for help.

What would my friends and family think if I were to admit my problem?

97,000 have experienced sexual assault or date rape. Seems pretty harmless, huh?

So, what is Missouri State’s take on this issue? I’m sure that the administration and security department are well aware of the problems that can arise from the use of alcohol on campus. I’m also confident they are well-versed in the policies and procedures of the university and handle incidents accordingly. I will not speak to their ability or success in addressing these issues. I will say, the university provides services that can be helpful should someone need a place to turn concerning problems with alcohol or drug abuse.

In 2012, MSU created a position for a mental health clinician with a specialty in substance abuse; it was and is still held by Justin Johns. He, along with Student Wellness Coordinator Jerilyn Reed started the Collegiate

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Recovery Program — formerly known as SoBear — in 2014. The CRP provides on campus support groups, sober events on campus for students in recovery, conferences and volunteer opportunities.

To date, there are over 170 similar programs across the country at different universities. The CRP is an opportunity for those already in recovery to get additional support, meet other students and assist those in recovery or even contemplating recovery.

“In counseling, it’s hard to say or provide a specific number of students that are seen, since often times with mental health concerns, substance use related issues can also be present, or co-occurring with anxiety and depression,” Johns said. “Sometimes stigma plays a role in a student reaching out for help.”

I also felt stigmatized by reaching out for help. What would my friends and family think if I were to admit my problem? Didn’t I realize that they already knew? Don’t let that be a hindrance to your decision to ask for help.

I think back on all the years I spent devoted to such a destructive habit: a high, a drunk.

I wasted money, energy and time, and put myself in terrible situations. I am happy with my life now, but I sometimes think that my life was made mediocre with the constant influence of drugs and alcohol.

If you, or someone you know is struggling there are places to turn and people who want to help. If you decide to make a change … cheers! (Coffee cup in hand).

Missouri State University’s Counseling Center houses the Collegiate Recovery Program. Their address is 901 S. National Avenue, Wellness Center, Suite 304. Johns can be reached by email at justinjohns@missouristate.edu, or by phone at 417-836-5116.

Office hours by appointment at Carrington Hall 311.

On Thursday, April 11, CRP will have an open house meet and greet with ping pong and pizza in the Monroe Apartments Gathering Room from 4-6pm. Everyone is welcome.

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Three weeks ago, this story was published in The Standard: “At MSU, women get more degrees than men but men dominate highest ranking faculty positions.” In a world where equality is the most important virtue, I think it is clear what this article is about. The gist of the piece is that MSU needs more women and other diverse categories of people in faculty positions –– MSU needs more diversity.

In this column, I am going to expound on the same topic of diversity and directly respond to portions of the above-mentioned news story from a few weeks ago.

The word diverse means “unlike” or “composed of distinct forms or qualities.” So, if we desire diversity, we desire difference. As such, I think diversity is a wonderful goal to strive for, because all of us are different people made for different purposes. But, not just any kind of diversity.

Many of you have had a class that was based around class discussions. Imagine a similar class, with students conversing back and forth over a selected topic. As the discussion develops, there are individuals who disagree with others. Numerous different ideas are being tossed around and considered. Perhaps some people even begin to get passionate about the discussion. All the while, innate characteristics –– sex, race, ethnicity, nation of origin –– are cast aside entirely in favor of treating everyone as an individual. This is diversity of thought.

Imagine this same classroom. Only this time, instead of everyone conversing back and forth, a few of the students do not believe that the students who disagree with them have a right to speak. For imagination’s sake, these students have spears. And anyone who dares speak up, either with a dissenting opinion from the spear tyrants or against this barbaric use of force, gets the business end of a spear. Spear holders are welcome to talk among themselves. This is diversity of values.

Now, instead of a classroom, think of a massive crime syndicate, like the mob. In this crime syndicate, there are men and women, black and white people, Hispanic and Asian people, people from various countries around the world. There are also members of the LGBT community like homosexuals and transgender individuals. All this diversity of sex, race and sexual orientation, but is anyone the better for it? Kneecapping uncooperative clients and hiding the bodies of their enemies does not go away because the people look different from each other. This is diversity of innate characteristics.

The good kind of diversity is diversity of thought, which makes each of us truly unique and should be the goal of any academic institution. Next there is bad diversity, diversity of values, which can actually be dangerous and should not generally be desired. And then there is irrelevant diversity, innate diversity, because it should not be relevant to an academic institution what sex or race a person is.

Diversity can be good. Diversity can be bad. Diversity can also be irrelevant. It depends entirely on what kind of diversity one has in mind.

Back to the MSU faculty story from the beginning. What kind of diversity is reportedly important to Missouri State administrators?

“A few years ago, (University President Clif Smart) said one in five hires needs to be diverse — that’s our goal,” said Julie Masterson, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College.

What kind of “diverse hires?”

“It is important for all levels of diversity to be represented — racial, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation,” Masterson said.

The MSU hiring process is apparently one that aims for diversity in hiring: diversity of melanin and genitalia. Discrimination based on these characteristics is supposed to be grounds for labeling someone a racist or a sexist.

This type of diversity is irrelevant diversity.

Who cares what color someone is? Who cares what they have between their legs? Diversity of this sort is skin deep and means nothing.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

Bateman Competition allows hands-on experience from the classroom CONNOR WILSON Staff Reporter @Connor4Wilson College exists to prepare students for whatever career paths they choose, with professors lecturing students on what they need to do and giving the usual homework assignments. One class at Missouri State prepares its students by entering them into a nation-wide competition with over 75 teams competing for the prize.

That class is COM 519 Bateman Competition PRSSA. The Bateman Competition is a yearly competition hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America. According to the PRSSA website, participants in the competition are challenged to develop a campaign that focuses on diversity in the public relations field and promotes the book “Diverse

Voices: Profiles in Leadership.”

Teams at MSU participating in the competition are largely left alone to figure out how they want to achieve those goals, with the professor, Didem Koroglu, taking the role of adviser as per the competition rules.

“They are taking this class, but yet also competing,” Koroglu said. “We are their instructors, but also advisers.”

The Bateman Competition has several phases. MSU students begin planning and researching in mid-January when the semester begins. From there, all teams must form their campaign and plan of action and have from Feb. 11 to March 11 to implement the campaign.

While all in the same class, MSU has four separate teams competing against one another. None of the teams can interact with each other, and they utilize different strategies to try to best spread their message, from “Engage

365” which held a panel interview with high school and college students, to “It’s Not You, It’s Us” who gave away stickers as part of their campaign.

Team “Include. Impact. Inspire.” gained 92 Facebook followers and 64 Instagram followers in their month of implementation.

One of the group’s strategies was getting i-Statements, which asked various people to share their thoughts on promoting diversity.

Along with this, the group gave several talks to different classrooms to spread their message of including and being mindful of diversity in the workplace.

“One of the things that I liked to talk about is the importance of recognizing diversity in the work field,” said Emily Woodall, a senior public relations major. “We are surrounded by everyone that’s the same, so when somebody diverse does come in (to the workplace), it’s important to acknowledge that they may

feel out of place.”

Some students took this class as an opportunity to get in contact with professionals in PR. Senior public relations major Claire Neuman said her group, “Perspective,” interviewed the director of communications of Bass Pro Shops along with several Missouri State alumni to get insight into how they implement diversity into their work.

“The professionals that we worked with were really helpful,” Neuman said. “They’re really interested in helping students and people that are growing in their field and letting us know what we should expect in our future, and I think they were excited to get their views out and let people know what they had dealt with.”

Now that implementation has concluded, teams have until March 29 to submit their

u See BATEMAN, page 12

IMDb

Jake Gyllenhaal and Zawe Ashton play in the 2019 film, “Velvet Buzzsaw” directed by Dan Gilroy.

Art should be accessible, ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ isn’t quite that ZOE BROWN/THE STANDARD

Cameron LaBarr, director of Choral Studies at Missouri State, was recognized on March 21 as one of the Springfield Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 most influential people of 2019.

in the professional choral world by guest judging and conducting.

He also travels with the Tennessee Chamber Chorus — a professional choral ensemble he founded based in Eastern Tennessee.

He also frequently travels with his students through MSU Chorale to places such as Iceland, Norway, Demark, Sweden and China. The most memorable trip for the group was their journey to South Africa in 2016, which LaBaar described as a life-changing experience for everyone.

With South Africa being a diverse nation, LaBarr said the choirs there are distinctly intercultural and ignited a sense of unity among people when they sang, despite everyone’s differences.

Witnessing his students experience a new culture for the first time and feeling the world open up to them are some of his favorite moments, he said.

Since his arrival at MSU in 2014, LaBarr has made a lasting impact in the Choral Studies Department. The university choir, the Chorale, performed at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

“He managed a very difficult situation with amazing sensitivity,” University President Clif Smart said in a recommendation letter. “As many voices were urging the Chorale to withdraw, he turned the performance into a call for unity by having a new song commissioned which emphasized that message.”

This performance led to additional opportunities including the China International Choral Festival, in which they were the only American choir invited.

The Chorale also performs with high school and middle school choirs across the region to heighten students’ interest and curiosity in choral music, including working with the choir at Reed Middle School.

Currently, LaBarr and others in the choral department are working toward raising a $4 million endowment for the choral program and have accumulated somewhere

In this review, Cole reviews a movie about art reviewers, gets pretentious and talks in the third person. Welcome to this week’s review of “Velvet Buzzsaw.”

“Velvet Buzzsaw” is a Netflix original that is perfect to review: It is new, it is divisive — as I’ve heard from several people that it was garbage and from others that it was great — and it is also free for me to watch since my parents have me on their Netflix account.

Before watching this, I was really curious as to why some people liked it and some hated it. It wasn’t that I hadn’t experienced this before, but usually it was a clear split between stupid people liking something and smart people disliking it. Smart and stupid people liked this movie, and smart and stupid people disliked it as well. Where is this divide? Let’s take a look at the premise to find out more.

Our story follows a circle of high caliber art world elites — art dealers, art critics, art creators — and all of them have one major thing in common: they’re all greedy. I mean, they’re all awful people for a lot of other reasons, but the one that really gets framed properly in the film is their greed.

As rich art people often are portrayed, our cast of pretentious pricks is introduced to us as bickering and fussing about sales and emotionally evocative line forms. Their lives change when one of them discovers a stockpile of magnificently powerful paintings in her newly-deceased neighbor’s room. Once these paintings begin to sell, however, their group quickly realizes there are supernatural and lethal consequences to be reaped when dealing with these works.

This film is a satire on the high-speed art world that looks to expose some of the lesser-touched-on vices of the human species, or at least expose some different sides of them.

The most important critique I have of this movie is that it isn’t super accessible. The content of its scenes is distant, and it is tough for people to get close enough to appreciate a lot of the choices in the film. This isn’t the only issue I had with “Velvet Buzzsaw,” but I want to bring it up now because if this isn’t recognizable, then it gets very hard to examine the rest of the film.

Trying to point out fault in an institution, environment or group is not an uncommon function that movies have fulfilled over the years. Often, these movies are made for an audience that lies outside of the group that they are criticizing. The reason there isn’t any problem with those films is because their audience — that is, most people — have a well-established familiarity with the subject.

What I believe is the issue with “Velvet Buzzsaw” taking on the world of high-stakes art consumption and appraisal is not that only a small portion of people are involved in that environment — it’s that very few people are familiar with it or care about it at all.

u See LABARR, page 12

u See TRUMBLE, page 5

Springfield 40 Under 40 recipient strives to empower others, create sense of curiosity for students LaBarr said. “I feel like I learned a lot then, but I learn something he taught me every day still — which is an amazing thing — and hopefully I can have a little bit of that influence on my students as well.”

After his time at UNT, LaBarr taught at Lee University in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains for three years, which he REESE RADMACHER summed up as a “tremendous experience.”

Staff Reporter But soon after, it was time for his next @Reese_Radmacher step. He applied to jobs in San Diego, Chicago and Montreal, but he decided the opWhether it be hiking alongside the Great portunity awaiting him in Springfield was Wall of China with his students, judging and the optimal choice. conducting ensembles all over the world or co-writing a book about his most-loved composer and conductor, Cameron LaBarr lives his life with intentionality and a strong desire to empower others.

LaBarr, the director of Choral Studies at Missouri State University, was recently cho- I really want sen for the Springfield Business Journal’s them to have that annual 40 Under 40.

The reception and awards ceremony to ultimate interest in celebrate this year’s 40 Under 40 class was held on March 21 at the Oasis Hotel & Con- their passion and vention Center. to seek that with Christine Temple, features editor at SBJ, said professionals within the community are reckless abandon. nominated, then given a questionnaire to complete which is assessed by a panel of judges along with a resume and letter of recommendation. Nominees are then scored individually based on professional accomLaBarr and his wife Susan, also a profesplishments, leadership, influence and civic sional musician, welcomed their now 4-yearengagement. Scores are then tallied to es- old son Elliot into the world not long before tablish the top 40. their transition to Springfield.

An MSU alumnus, LaBarr said he knew Second to his family, LaBarr said buildduring his freshman year he aspired to be- ing relationships and bringing out the best come a university choral director. Following in other people through empowerment are his time at MSU, LaBarr received his mas- his core values. These values are especially ter’s degree and doctorate degree from the emphasized in LaBarr’s role as a teacher.

University of North Texas.

“One of my core philosophies is to create It was at UNT where LaBarr met his a sense of curiosity and to create some specifteacher and mentor, Jerry McCoy, whose ic curiosities,” LaBarr said. “I really want them influence left a lasting impact on LaBarr to to have that ultimate interest in their passion this day. and to seek that with reckless abandon.”

“He gave us all the skills and tools we LaBarr has a passion for traveling that he needed and sent us forth into the world,” is able to experience through his involvement

MSU’s Cameron LaBarr has made the world his classroom

“

COLE TRUMBLE Critic @Cole_Tr

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

THE STANDARD

THE-STANDARD.ORG 5

Students bring Planned Parenthood organization TRUMBLE ‘Generation Action’ to campus to empower, inform Continued from page 4

LAYNE STRACENER Senior Reporter @LayneStracener Last summer, senior recreation major Kayla Howard volunteered at Planned Parenthood where she attended weekly meetings and discussed current events and political issues. After noticing not many young people were involved, she was determined to change that. When she found out about Planned Parenthood Generation Action, she decided to bring the club to Missouri State University.

Generation Action is a national organization with more than 350 campus groups, according to the Planned Parenthood website. It is an organization where young activists organize events to advocate for reproductive freedom and raise awareness about reproductive health and rights.

MSU Generation Action’s mission statement is to educate, advocate and empower young people to get involved in social and political issues, Howard said. The club has three pillars they advocate for: reproductive rights, social justice and diversity and inclusivity.

“I believe that college students are not informed enough about reproductive rights, women’s rights and political issues because they are stuck in a ‘bubble’ on campus,” Howard said. “Our generation needs to be informed about major changes happening. This is what motivated me to bring Generation Action to Missouri State. Nothing is going to change unless we’re actively trying to make a difference.”

MSU Generation Action began having meetings and events in January. The club currently has 25 members, 12 of whom are actively involved, according to Howard.

Howard and Angela Presnell, a senior global studies and Spanish double major, are co-presidents.

Planned Parenthood volunteer coordinator Christen Moore, who helped start Generation Action at MSU, said she is excited the organization was brought to campus because it will help spread awareness on reproductive health and rights.

“It also gives people who join a chance to learn about organizing and take part in events like lobby days where they talk to legislators and become more civically engaged,” Moore said. “I hope all college students become more civically engaged, and I think this group will help facilitate that.”

So far, the club has had four events including a tabling event where members passed out over 200 handmade Valentine’s Day cards. The cards sent a message of love and inclusivity: “You are loved no

(Above) Presidents Angela Presnell (left) and Kayla Howard started the organization in January. “Nothing is going to change unless we’re actively trying to make a difference,” Howard said.

(Right) Presnell poses with a Planned Parenthood banner.

SINJIN SANDERS/ THE STANDARD

matter what your gender identity or sexual orientation is.”

At another tabling event, Generation Action members passed out condoms and information on getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases. They also hosted an open panel and movie screening of the 2018 documentary “Reversing Roe,” which explains the history of Roe v. Wade and how abortion is viewed in society.

On Feb. 20, eight MSU Generation Action members and two other Generation Action

groups in Missouri went to Jefferson City to talk to legislators about lowering taxation on menstrual products and the importance of Title IX funding on college campuses.

But the legislators who they had hoped to speak to — those who opposed their points — were busy or didn’t want to talk to them, Presnell said. The members mainly spoke to legislators who shared their beliefs.

On their trip, they wore Planned Parenthood u See GENERATION, page 12

What I’m saying is not that people don’t care about art, what I’m saying is that I never thought about art critics, art dealers or museum curators almost at all before watching “Velvet Buzzsaw,” and I definitely didn’t think that the culture built around those people was awful and full of problems. I’m sure it is, and I’m sure the greed and low moral standards pointed out in the movie exist in that industry — as they do in every industry — but it exists totally outside of my imagination or realm of influence.

That doesn’t make the movie bad, but art should be accessible. If a film is less accessible to a large portion of the population, that lowers its quality, even if it is still powerful to the few that can completely appreciate it. There are exceptions to this, but telling the story of the wrongs of the fantastically expensive fine art world is not one of them.

Most of the film is put together well. Visually, the film is spot on. For a movie about art, it does in fact look incredibly interesting, refined and well composed. The costumes and sets all complement and give a lot to the emotional content of the scenes and the depth of the characters, and the cinematography sneaks in a bundle of interesting shots and angles that feel cohesive and smooth.

The acting is on par with most major films, but the directing shows some weaknesses.

It took me a little bit to zero in on exactly what put me off about some of the moments in the film. An actor would say a line, and I would think, “That’s a dumb line.” But as it happened more often, I realized that most of the lines made sense but they were being delivered in a way that didn’t make sense for the piece of dialogue or the scene. I wrote it off as bad acting but most of the actors in this movie are not bad actors.

Jake Gyllenhaal and John Malkovich know how to deliver a line — this problem stems from the director.

Dan Gilroy, who wrote and directed “Velvet Buzzsaw,” seems to have found a bit of a weak spot in dialogue, as many of the lines spoken between characters are confusing and seem to have no point. This is partially to illustrate the disparity between the conceited way that highclass socialites speak and how normal people who aren’t trying to show off how smart we are all the time speak, but sometimes the line between intentional commentary and unintentional messy dialogue gets awfully fuzzy. Especially when the characters are forced to break their stuck-up facade and their speech doesn’t get any better.

Ultimately, “Velvet Buzzsaw” is an ambitious attempt to blend satire and horror into an interesting, visually stunning and original story. People with a closer proximity to art discussion and art in general will probably find more enjoyment in this film, but even audiences who only know how to say “modern art” with a scowl will still find something interesting in this colorful critique of the criminally weird and wealthy. 6/10

6

THE STANDARD

sports

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

Lady Bears to the Sweet 16 The Lady Bears are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 AMANDA SULLIVAN Sports Editor @mandasullivan14 AMES, Iowa — Missouri State University is writing its own Cinderella story.

The No. 11 Lady Bears upset No. 3 Iowa State 69-60 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for their first bid into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 when assistant coach Jackie Stiles lead the team to the Final Four.

“Wow, that was amazing,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “That Iowa State team is so good. They are a tremendous basketball team.”

The pace took off from the tip.

Freshman Jasmine Franklin won the tip, and senior Danielle Gitzen took it in for a jumper in the paint just 13 seconds in.

Iowa State responded quickly, but sophomore forward Abby Hipp took it right back to the other end and hit her third 3-pointer of the season. The sophomore hit three of her four 3-pointers this season in the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri State held the lead until Iowa State’s All-American senior Bridget Carleton went to the line three times and made all six of her freethrows to tie it at 14.

A jumper and two free throws from sophomore Elle Ruffridge, the home-state hero, gave Missouri State an 18-17 lead after the first quarter.

The Lady Bears extended their lead to as high as seven in the second quarter. Missouri State’s bench was key to that lead, scoring seven of 15 second-quarter points.

“I credit our bench. When they go in, they can make plays and do more than give us a few good minutes,” Harper said. “They can go in and compete.”

The Lady Bears took a 33-30 lead into halftime, shooting 39.4 percent from the field.

Iowa State, who shot 33.2 percent from behind the arc during the season, went into the locker room shooting 16.7 percent from 3-point range. The Cyclones ended the game making 2-of-17 triples.

“We got good looks — it’s hard to win games when you’re 2-for-17 at the three, and we’re a team that

Photos by KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

(Left) Sophomore Elle Ruffridge goes up for a layup against an Iowa State defender.

(Top) Freshman Jasmine Franklin fights for possession of the ball, cornered by two Iowa State defenders.

(Above) Freshmen Mya Bhinhar and Sydney Manning talk to fans in the crowd after their 69-60 win over Iowa State on March 25. The Lady Bears are now headed to the Sweet 16 and will play the winner of the BYU-Stanford game. shoots the three a lot,” Carleton said.

Missouri State dominated the early third quarter after Carleton started the second-half scoring with a layup.

The Lady Bears went on a 10-0 run for over five minutes to force Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly to call a timeout.

Carleton scored a jumper immediately after the timeout, and the Cyclones went on a run of their own.

Harper called a timeout, Missouri State regrouped and scoring went back in forth in the last two and a half

minutes of the third quarter.

The Lady Bears took a 49-45 lead into the final quarter of the game.

Iowa State had only lost two games in Hilton Coliseum coming into the Monday night game, No. 11 Texas and No. 1 Baylor. Both opponents of Iowa State led going into the fourth quarter.

“We just felt like if we could get them to the fourth quarter and keep it close, then we were gonna have a shot at them,” Harper said.

Freshman Sydney Manning led

the Lady Bears in the fourth quarter, scoring seven points off the bench.

She was one of four to come off the bench and produce for the Lady Bears.

The Cyclones scored a season-low one point off the bench.

Carleton tried to fight off Missouri State on her own, scoring 31 points — over half of Iowa State’s final score.

Junior Alexa Willard led the Lady Bears with 17 points, sophomore Abby Hipp had 11 and senior Danielle

Gitzen had 10 points.

“We are so excited, so grateful,” Gitzen said. “We just went out and played our game and had fun while doing it, and it’s definitely exciting.”

On Saturday, March 30, the No. 11 Lady Bears will play the winner of the BYU-Stanford game, which ended after The Standard’s print deadline.

“It is unbelievable — I am literally speechless,” Ruffridge said. “To not win one game, but two games, and knowing we’re going to the Sweet 16 has me speechless.”

All hail Harper Kellie Harper takes Lady Bears to Sweet 16 in NCAA tournament CLAIRE NIEBRUGGE Senior Sports Reporter @claireniebrugge In 2016, Kellie Harper did something that no Lady Bears head coach had done for 10 years — take the Lady Bears dancing.

During Kellie’s third season at Missouri State, the Lady Bears received an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament after winning their 10th Missouri Valley Conference Championship title.

Before their 2016 campaign, Missouri State women’s basketball had not been in the tournament since 2006, where they lost to Purdue in the first round.

Three years later, Kellie has taken the Lady Bears to the big dance once again.

In Saturday’s contest, No. 11 Missouri State upset No. 6 DePaul, 89-78, giving Kellie her first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach.

The Lady Bears became the lowest seed remaining in the tournament as they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they beat No. 3 Iowa State, 6960. This is Kellie’s first Sweet 16 appearance KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD as a head coach. The last time the Lady Bears Head coach Kellie Harper watches the Lady Bears take on Iowa State. The were in the Sweet 16 was in 2001 when JackLady Bears beat Iowa State 69-60 on March 25. ie Stiles was in uniform.

In Kellie’s 24 years of college basketball, both as a player and coach, she has made a run in the postseason 20 times and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament 13 times.

The former Kellie Jolly played for Pat Summitt at University of Tennessee and helped lead the Lady Volunteers to three

straight NCAA Championship titles from 1995-98.

In 1997, Kellie set an NCAA championship game individual record with 11 assists.

The record has since been broken.

Kellie’s senior campaign came to an end in

the Elite Eight after losing to Duke but she earned honorable mention all-American honors in 1999.

Kellie spent the next two years at Auburn.

In her first year as an administrative assistant, she saw a 22-9 Tigers to the second round of

the NCAA tournament.

Kellie moved on to assistant coach at Chattanooga where they saw a bid to the big dance all three years with Kellie on the coaching staff.

In 2004, Kellie accepted a head coaching position at Western Carolina where she took the Lady Catamounts to the first round of the NCAA tournament during her first go-round.

Over the next four years at Western Kentucky, Kellie took her teams to the postseason with one more NCAA bid and two Women’s National Invitational Tournament appearances.

In 2009, North Carolina State was lucky enough to snag Kellie as head coach where, again, she took her team to the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament during her first campaign. Kellie took NC State to two more postseason trips to the second round of the WNIT. The same year Kellie was inducted into the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame.

Kellie took over as Missouri State’s women’s basketball head coach for the 2013-14 campaign where she recorded just her third losing season in 24 years, 14-17.

Kyle Moats, the Missouri State athletic director, remembers watching Kellie Jolly play for Tennessee when he was a graduate assistant in the athletics department at the University of Kentucky.

Moats said when he watched Kellie play in college, he never thought their paths would cross again. u See HARPER, page 7

THE STANDARD

THE-STANDARD.ORG 7

Bri Ellis is more than statistics

HARPER Continued from page 6

KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

Sophomore Bri Ellis hugs her teammate Elle Ruffridge after Missouri State toppled Iowa State. The Lady Bears beat Iowa State 69-60 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 25. While Ellis has played just 29 minutes in 10 games, she continues to be vital to the support of the team.

The statistics show Bri’s contribution to the team as slim to none with little playing time and few shots, but her teammates and coaches see her behind the scenes. They see her at the practices.

“Bri has been a really important piece to our team,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “I think she is one that’s always been positive, she’s always got a smile on her face, she’s always willing to do what’s necessary for the team, and that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s going in and scoring points.

“She’s very willing, very giving.

She’s been a really good teammate for a lot of those players, especially the young ones. I think young players can hit a wall, and they have to get through it, and Bri has really helped

some of our players get through those times.”

One of those players is Jasmine Franklin, a freshman forward.

Franklin said Bri has been a big help in developing who she is as a player and has become one of her closest friends.

“Bri is my girl — that’s probably one of my best friends,” Franklin said. “She’s very encouraging for me; if I’m having a bad day, she’s always there to pick me up, and that’s just for everyone on the team. She’s a smiling face on the team, like if practice is going slow, she’s there to pick everyone up.”

Bri — who said she spends the most time with her roommates Brice Calip, Emily Gartner and Shameka Ealy — said she has a unique rela-

tionship with all of the players on the team.

“My relationship with everyone on the team is different,” Bri said.

“We could go catch a movie or go to the mall, but I could do that with any one of them.”

Bri’s kindness has spread through the team, and out past the team to others. Regardless of the statistics, it’s clear Bri Ellis loves basketball and her team, and I don’t think she would trade that for anything.

“I know that my role is definitely different from (my teammates), but each one of them — coaches included — makes me a better person,” Bri said. “My coaches are great people, my teammates are great people not only on the court, but off the court, so that makes my role way easier.”

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Chatter filled the locker room in Hilton Coliseum as the Missouri State Lady Bears participated in interviews in preparation for the second round of the NCAA Tournament to be played on Monday.

Players like Elle Ruffridge and Sydney Manning were interviewed.

However, there is one player who is rarely interviewed, but always celebrates when freshmen like Manning get called up to be in front of the camera.

And that’s Bri Ellis.

Bri, a journalism major, is one of the nicest athletes I have ever interacted with. She’s incredibly kind every time we did cross paths. A smile and a wave at the least, a “Hi, how are you doing?” at the most.

“Bri is awesome,” sophomore forward Abby Hipp said. “She’s one of those people that when she walks into a room (she) just brightens everyone’s day with her smile. She is always working hard in practice no matter what, and we all appreciate her for that.”

I wrote my first-ever basketball game recap over a game Bri played in on March 1, 2018 — a season-high four minutes. I realized early on that she didn’t play much. In the 2017-18 season, she played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman, scoring 12 points in 25 total minutes of play.

As I started to cover the Lady Bears more in the 2018-19 season, I realized what an important piece she was to the team.

It was in this season that I saw her passion for her team — and her team’s passion for her — soar.

Bri played in 10 games for a total of 29 minutes. She played a career-high six minutes against Valparaiso on Jan. 27. She hit two 3-pointers and the bench was the loudest I think anyone had heard all year. It was a career-high six points for her, and you could tell her teammates were happier for her than she seemed to be for herself.

It’s usually Bri in those scenarios, watching her teammates hit impressive shots and going crazy on the sidelines to hype them up. When Hipp hit her second 3-point shot of the season against DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the whole bench erupted, and Bri seemed the most excited for her teammate. “(During the DePaul game,) we were just heating it up from the outside, and just getting to see my teammates out there doing it, it was like me playing through them,” Bri said.

“So, even when I’m on the sideline, it’s like I’m in the game.”

U

SI

AMANDA SULLIVAN Sports Editor @mandasullivan14

TH

Harper: ‘She’s always got a smile on her face’

E

“We were looking for a head coach, and I knew we had a chance to get her,” Moats said.

Moats said he felt as though Missouri State had a shot at getting Kellie because of the culture Springfield has created around women’s basketball.

“We have history, and we have traditions, which Kellie was used to at Tennessee,” Moats said. “People care about it. They show up, we have great crowds and it’s important to this university. I knew it would be important to Kellie as well.”

Moats interviewed Kellie in Kansas City, Missouri.

“I told Clif (Smart), ‘This is it.

She’s it,’” Moats said.

In 2016, Kellie became one of only 11 head coaches to lead three different schools to the NCAA tournament. In the years that followed, Kellie and the Lady Bears appeared in the first and second rounds of the WNIT. On March 17, Kellie led the Lady Bears to their 11th Missouri Valley Conference title, 15th NCAA tournament and fifth consecutive postseason trip in just six seasons.

After starting the 2018-19 campaign 2-8, Kellie coached the Lady Bears to a 13-game winning streak and went 7-0 in January to set them up for postseason play.

Since the 2015-16 campaign, Kellie is 29-7 on the road during regular-season conference play.

“It’s hard to win on the road no matter what league you’re in,” Moats said. “It’s just incredible what she’s done.”

Liza Fruendt was a former player for Kellie at Missouri State and is and now a graduate assistant coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Freundt said she sees every angle of basketball now that she is a coach.

Fruendt said Kellie taught her not only basketball, but life lessons too.

“Kellie is always true to herself,” Fruendt said. “There aren’t a lot of ups and downs with her, which is really nice to have in a coach as a college athlete. College athletics are a crazy ride, so having a coach like Kellie made basketball so much more enjoyable.”

Over half of Kellie’s basketball career has been spent in the NCAA tournament. Her 23-year 508-251 record is impressive and shows how the type of player you recruit is crucial.

Fruendt said Kellie knows the type of culture she wants to establish and that starts with recruiting the right type of player.

“Kellie knows the brand of basketball she wants to play, and she never waivers from that,” Fruendt said. “She is grounded and disciplined, and she translates that to her coaching. She’s just remarkable.

She trusts her team and staff, and the girls really buy into the culture.”

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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

Fan bus heads to Iowa for round 1 of NCAA tournament CHRISTIAN REHDER Staff Reporter @Christian_MR03 As the Lady Bears prepared to take on DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Missouri State organized a fan bus to get as many fans as possible to attend Saturday’s game.

A seat on the fan bus was $155 and included round-trip bus fare, hotel room, a ticket to the game and a pep rally at the team hotel before Saturday’s game.

A second fan bus intended for MSU students was also organized, but fell through due to the lack of a faculty chaperone.

Julie Wright, the administrative assistant to the Bears Fund, led the effort to get the fans out to the game.

“Between the ticket calls, bus reservations, hotel reservations, player pass lists and everything else, it took nothing short of an army to get this done,” Wright said. “We started trying

“This is the first time I’ve been able to attend a big road game.”

to organize the fan bus as soon as we got in the car to go home from Moline, (Illinois), because we knew we had less than a week to get it done.”

Debbie Branson, director of alumni relations at MSU, was in charge of the pep rally and getting the word out to alumni.

“We emailed all of the alumni who live in the Springfield area, the Ames area and then everywhere else in between to get as much support there as we could,” Branson said.

After the email blast, the fan bus occupancy jumped to 46 people and over 150 others said they would happily meet the fan bus in Iowa.

Sherry Levesque, season ticket holder since 1991, said this was the first big trip she was able to make for the Lady Bears, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the fan bus.

“I was so thrilled to find out there was a bus for us to go to the game,” Levesque said. “My daughter and both of my grandchildren graduated from here, but this is the first time I’ve been able to attend a big road game.”

Along with the long-time Bears fans and MSU alumni on the bus, there were also some parents of Lady Bears’ players on board.

Sherry Gartner, mother of Lady Bears’ center Emily Gartner, said the girls “have a great shot” at getting passed 6-seeded DePaul.

With the possibility of moving on to the second round with a win on Saturday, plans were set ahead to have a second fan bus to depart from Bear Park North at 7 a.m. Monday.

After the Lady Bears delivered an exciting 89-78 victory over the Blue

KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

Fans cheer on the Lady Bears during their game against DePaul in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. The Lady Bears won 89-78 in Ames, Iowa, on March 23.

Demons in front of hundreds of screaming Bears fans, it was clear the fan bus had served its purpose.

Since Monday’s bus was previously organized, fans on the first bus

were already requesting seats on the second shuttle and before long, it was filled up.

The second fan bus left from Bear Park North at 9 a.m. Monday.

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

THE STANDARD

THE-STANDARD.ORG 9

Softball looking to be competitively excellent in MVC play Hesse: ‘On the mound, we are always giving ourselves a chance to win’ DEREK SHORE Sports Reporter @D_Shore23 The Missouri State softball team finished off their nine-game homestand at Killian Stadium on Sunday against Northern Iowa.

The Bears started off the week breaking out the bats in a 6-0 win over Saint Louis, racking up a season-high 14 hits to capture its fourth shutout of the season.

Senior Kyana Mason and junior Darby Joerling collected three hits apiece to lead the hit parade that also included five extra-base hits for Missouri State. Sophomores Steffany Dickerson and Madison Hunsaker and junior Erin Griesbauer combined on the mound for the shutout, allowing just five hits and striking out four.

"Our goal is to score five or more runs every time we go out, and it was a very good day for our offense," head coach Holly Hesse said in a press release. "We got quality pitching from

File Photo by BILL SIOHOLM/THE STANDARD

Junior Erin Griesbauer pitches the ball against Indiana State on April 30, 2018. The Missouri State softball team swept Indiana State.

Coach Holly Hesse said they are looking to have ‘competitive excellence in all aspects of the game.’ all three pitchers who got in the game, and we really showed competitive excellence throughout."

The Bears struggled on Saturday against the Panthers with a pair of losses, 2-0 and 6-3.

Missouri State stranded 12 runners in the

opening game and committed five errors overall on the day.

"For the first time in a long time, I thought we looked like a young team at times," Hesse said in a press release. "Our pitchers did a great job getting ahead in the count, and they only gave up two earned runs all day. But UNI had a couple of big hits in key situations, and that was the difference."

In the series finale, the Bears won in dramatic fashion with Mason sprinting home from third base on a Northern Iowa wild pitch, scoring the winning run in a 3-2 walk-off victory Sunday for Missouri State.

The W marked Hesse’ 800th win.

“It’s the product of a long career and great staff,” Hesse said.

The Bears also improved to 19-11 overall on the season, 5-3 in Missouri Valley conference play.

“This is a team that is willing to overcome adversity,” Hesse said. “We have had several injuries and big losses to some key players.

They don’t let anything get in their way. That to me is the definition of mental toughness.

They don’t use anything as an excuse.

“They come out and they are all-in every game.”

Hunsaker, who has been a big part of the

team’s early-season success, said the offense has been one of the big driving forces in the team’s success.

“The first weekend when we went down and beat (nationally-ranked) Auburn, I think that was big to what we could do as a team,” Hunsaker said. “Offense really started to click. I remember in the fall it was a worry like, ‘Are we going to score a lot of runs?’ That has actually been one of the stronger parts of our season.

“I think it has a lot do with us off the field.

We are close. We care about each other off the field. It really helps on the field. I have a very good feeling about this season and more to come.”

Missouri State hits the road to take on Valparaiso from March 30-31.

“We talked about once we hit conference it is all about competitive excellence,” Hesse said.

“That means defensively we are making every play we can.

“Offensively, we are putting the ball in play.

The goal is always five runs or more. On the mound, we are always giving ourselves a chance to win.

“If we have competitive excellence in all aspects of the game, we’ll have a good chance to do well.”

‘The Rocket’ is making a name for herself at MSU Madison Hunsaker says her success comes from staying true to how she hits: ‘I’m just staying true to myself’ DEREK SHORE Sports Reporter @D_Shore23 They call her ‘The Rocket.’

That is the nickname given to Missouri State sophomore softball standout Madison Hunsaker.

She earned that nickname for good reason.

“I think it is because of the way she hits,” head coach Holly Hesse said. “She hits some rockets and provides a lot of power in our lineup.”

Hunsaker is in the middle of a breakout season for the Bears’ softball team, hitting .359 while leading the club with eight doubles and ranking second on the team with 33 total hits.

The first baseman said her success this season at the plate boils down to

staying true to how she hits, getting back to who she was in high school.

“I’m just staying true to myself,” Hunsaker said.

Hunsaker attended high school in Belton, Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

At Belton, Hunsaker played basketball for four years, but it was softball that she quickly realized was her best sport. “(Softball) was fun,” Hunsaker said. “It has been in my family for awhile. My dad played baseball and my brother does now. It just runs in the family.”

Hunsaker helped lead Belton to back-to-back district titles in 2014 and 2015, going 26-5 in the circle and driving in 90 runs in that span.

career as well.

That brought a lot pride to the school, Hunsaker said.

“We have been pretty good at softball, so it was good to carry out traditions,” Hunsaker said. “Being a senior and one of the only ones that played a lot, it meant a lot more my senior year than anything. It just brought a lot of pride to our school.

It was fun.”

Hunsaker’s high school coach at Belton, Jeff Hulse, said she was an impact player for the program for all four years.

“Madison is one of the best players I have ever coached,” Hulse said.

“She is a complete player at the highFile photo by KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD est skill level. She was one of the best hitters I have ever coached and seen As a freshman, Madison Hunsaker hits a foul ball. Now a at the high school level. She was the sophomore, she’s hitting .359 and has 33 hits so far this difference maker for the team.” season.

“She was nothing short of amazing for us. She is a great leader on As a senior, the Missouri first-team Hunsaker also helped Belton the field and her positive spirit is a all-state pick went an impressive 20-3 achieve three Greater KC Suburban u See HUNSAKER, page 10 in the circle and batted .580 at the plate. Conference titles over her high school

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10 THE-STANDARD.ORG

THE STANDARD

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

Baseball Bears hindered by injuries on losing streak SAM GRUS Sports Reporter @SCGRUS_6 While expectations were high from many fans, media members, players and coaches, the Missouri State baseball season has not started out the way everyone thought it would.

The Bears are on a five-game losing streak and have lost eight of their last 10, with an overall record of 5-16.

The team has been hindered by early season injuries to key players such as pitcher Ty Buckner. The sophomore starter was going to be the anchor in a very young starting rotation. It was announced before the season started that Buckner would miss the entire 2019 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The pitching staff has suffered without Buckner. The club’s collective earned run average is 7.33 and opponents are hitting .302 against Missouri State pitching. The three main Missouri State starters — junior Logan Wiley, freshman Logan Thomazin and senior Davis Schwab — have a combined earned run average of 6.86.

The Bears bullpen is getting overworked because of the struggles that the rotation is having. Sophomore Connor Sechler has already seen nearly 20 innings of work in just nine games. He has done well, striking out 23, only walking 12 and has an earned run average of 3.20.

Freshman Hayden Juenger has also helped carry the load in the Bears bullpen, pitching 17.2 innings in just five appearances. The young right-hander was projected to be in the starting rotation, but has found a nice spot coming out of the bullpen for head coach Keith Guttin.

Juenger is 0-1 on the season, with a 4.58 earned run average, and opponents are hitting .271 against him. The Bears will continue to rely heavily on both Sechler and Juenger going forward in 2019.

Offensively, the Bears are struggling. Among those hitters with 43 at-bats, the Bears do not have a single player hitting over .250. The closest is junior second baseman John Privitera, who is hitting .247. Privitera — who is normally at the top of Guttin’s lineup — is getting on base 32 percent of the time and has stolen two bases on four attempts.

One of the biggest surprises this season is the sudden decline in first baseman Ben Whetstone. The junior is hitting .181 and slugging .208. Last season, Whetstone hit a .278 average, slugged .453, had an on-base percentage of .378, hit nine home runs and drove in 39 runs. He has not missed a start in 2019, and Missouri State will need him to return to the hitter of 2018 if the team wants to turn the season around.

Struggling to score runs has been a problem since the start of the season. The Bears have only scored four or more runs in just nine of their 21 games. The team has a record of 1-6 when trailing after the first inning, a record that says a lot about both the starting pitching and offense.

Missouri Valley Conference play starts for MSU on Friday, March 29, against Indiana State. The Sycamores are the top team in the Valley this season, while the Bears are in the cellar. If the Bears are looking to finishing with a .500 record or better, conference play is going to be where it gets done.

Missouri State’s next game is Tuesday, March 26, against the University of Arkansas at Hammons Field.

HUNSAKER Continued from page 9

contagious asset to have on your program and team.”

Enter Missouri State.

Hunsaker’s high school exploits caught the attention of the university’s softball program.

Hesse said the Bears liked that Hunsaker was extremely versatile and the fact that she had an already well-rounded game.

“She plays a great first base,” Hesse said.

“She has a great change-up which is really useful on the mound and she can hit the ball like crazy. She is a triple-threat in pitching, defense and offense for us.”

Hunsaker officially signed her National Letter of Intent with Missouri State on Nov. 9, 2016.

She chose Missouri State because she immediately felt at home in Springfield and it is only two hours from her hometown.

“My parents are able to make it to all the games,” Hunsaker said. “The girls I met

BAILEY VASSALLI/THE STANDARD

Nikita Salnikov controls the puck. The Ice Bears split their last home series of the regular season 1-1 the weekend of March 1-2.

Ice Bears season ends SAM GRUS Sports Reporter @SCGRUS_6 After nearly three weeks since the Missouri State Ice Bears regular season ended, they made the trip to Dallas, Texas, for the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament. The Ice Bears were the No. 14 seed in the tournament and faced the University of Buffalo in the opening round.

“Last year was the first trip to Nationals for some of our guys,” head coach Jeremy Law said. “This year they knew what to expect going into the tournament, and they were excited about it.”

The biggest question that followed Law’s team was who would be in the net for the playoffs. Goaltender Brady Griffin wound up getting the nod on Thursday afternoon against Buffalo.

“It was tough decision to decide between the three goalies,” Law said. “Griffin was the better of the three down the stretch, so we decided to continue to ride the hot hand.”

Defensively, the Ice Bears outplayed the Bulls, holding them to just 13 shots on goal during the game. Keeping their special teams at bay as well, the Bulls only goal came on one of their four power plays.

“Now we look

forward to next season and coming back better and stronger.”

The Ice Bears offense played with confidence during the opening round, putting 26 shots on net and getting scoring from depth players like forwards Alex Rubin and Austin Davis. They also got scoring from the “B-Line.” Forward Jordan Bratton scored the fourth and final goal of the game with forwards Zane O’Bryan and Travis Barrett picking up assists on the play.

The line during conference play combined for 16 goals, 17 assists and 33 points.

Down the stretch they were one of Law’s best offensive lines.

“It’s the only line that hasn’t been split up all season,” Law said. “They’ve been the most consistent in terms of play, and a lot of that comes with the chemistry that they collected throughout the season.”

throughout (the recruiting process) and I felt as the work ethic — what it takes to get all the coaches were a good fit for me.” there.”

With that, Hunsaker has been able to lean Sports run in the Hunsaker family. on her parents for advice whenever she seeks Madison’s dad James played college base- it out. ball at Central Missouri. Her mom Elizabeth “(They tell me) to take the opportunities in played college volleyball at Graceland Univer- front of you and always learn from the small sity. victories,” Hunsaker said. “Cherish your teamHunsaker said her parents having an athlet- mates and the memories you make here. It will ic background has made a tremendous impact last you a lifetime and the friendships will last on her as a college athlete as well. you a lifetime.”

“My parents both are a big part of why I’m After hitting only .250 as a freshman last here,” Hunsaker said. “My dad works a lot on the physical aspect. My mom has worked on year, Hunsaker’s offensive numbers have the mental part. I think both have made a big jumped this season as a sophomore.

She said she learned a lot about herself on impact.”

Hulse said having parents who played col- the offensive side in 2018. lege sports has many advantages and sets a tone Hunsaker’s mindset coming into this year for her as a player. was simple.

“They know what she needs to experience “Mainly, I needed to gain more confidence to become the player that she has become,” at the plate from my freshman year to my Hulse said. “They can help influence in a big sophomore year,” Hunsaker said. “I knew I way her opportunity for development as a would need to help my team out more offenyoung girl and young athlete. They are well- sively with graduating so many players that aware of the main ingredient of having fun had an impact. My goal was to just help my and growing a passion for the game as well team out more and let them rely on me more

After their 4-1 victory over Buffalo, the Ice Bears turned their attention to the No. 3 team in the nation, the Adrian College Bulldogs.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Law said. “The guys had to put their best game forward. We’ve played a lot of tough opponents this season, and that helped prepare us for this matchup.”

If it weren’t for Griffin, the final score of the game could have been a lot worse than a 1-0 loss. Griffin stopped 35 of 36 shots faced, with the only tally in the game coming just past the halfway mark in the third period.

The defense helped their goaltender out as well, They kept a power play unit that was operating at nearly 25 percent during conference play from contributing was huge in keeping Missouri State in the game. Offensively, though, the Ice Bears did not find a rhythm against the Bulldogs.

With the loss, the Ice Bears were eliminated from the tournament, and their season came to an end. They finished with an ACHA record of 25-14-4 in the program’s fourth season of Division I competition.

“Now we look forward to next season and coming back better and stronger,” Law said. “That all starts with training and recruiting.”

than I did freshman year.”

Hesse said a big difference in Hunsaker has been the amount of playing time she has received as a sophomore because she is now an everyday player.

“That always helps when you get more experience,” Hesse said.

Hunsaker said her main goal going forward is to help the team in anyway she can in all facets of the game.

“Whatever position I am in at the plate whether it is to score runs, move runners and help out there or whether it is to come into pitch or make plays at first base and pick up my teammates,” Hunsaker said. “That is the goal.”

As someone who was a big part of her development in high school, Hulse said he is proud of what Hunsaker is experiencing and accomplishing as a player at Missouri State.

“As a coach to look at her success, it makes me proud to have coached her,” Hulse said. “She made a difference in my life as well as many others. She definitely still has her best years ahead of her. It makes me beam to think of her having fun playing the game she loves.”

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

DEMOTTA Continued from page 3

Does Smart believe he is bettering the university or its students when he urges for one in five hires to be based on innate, unchanging characteristics? Are we getting better teachers?

Instead of hiring based only on individual qualifications, those hiring must go out of their way to hire people who “look right,” which can mean

THE STANDARD passing on those who are better qualified but might not “look right.” What Smart cares about is having the right demographics to show off if anyone dares to question the virtue of his college.

And can we blame him? If he did not do these things, he would be going against the norm of universities across this country. He would be labeled a racist and a sexist if he dared to push for a system that only judges people as individuals, blind to race or sex, rather than the current system that puts group labels above actual capabilities for “one in

THE-STANDARD.ORG 11

five hires.”

He is forced to occasionally put race and sex above academic qualifications when hiring professors. Instead of looking at who is best for the job based on what is in someone’s mind, the hiring process at MSU instead looks to achieve the right demographic numbers on a screen to satisfy a “progressive” world.

Remember what Martin Luther King said?

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” It should not

matter what someone looks like, only what is inside their heart and inside their mind. That is the diversity that matters –– diversity of thought.

We should not give a second thought to how many women and men are being employed by the school. We should not give a second thought to what color the skin of the people teaching at our school is. Anyone who does think that sex or race are more important in the hiring process than having fair and equal standards are advocating for “benign” sexism and “benign” racism.

STEM

VOTE

there will always be stereotypes,” Odun-Ayo said. “For us, as women, the first thing we need to do is look at how we can break down those walls.”

Odun-Ayo said women should not let the stereotypes stop them from going into the field of engineering.

“As an engineer, I am of no less value as a woman than a man,” Odun-Ayo said.

In an article from the American Psychological Association, Isis Settles described the STEM environment for women as challenging.

“Compared to men, women are stereotyped as less intelligent and less competent in mathematics and science,” Settles wrote in the article.

Settles said the cause of this environment is the “underrepresentation” of women in the field.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in 2014 women earned 19 percent of engineering bachelor’s degrees and 18 of computer science bachelor’s degrees.

Percentages are closer in the area of biological and agricultural sciences, where women earned 58 percent of bachelor’s degrees that year.

“Negative gender-based experiences, such as sexu-

preserving Springfield neighborhoods and their “unique nature.”

Champlin received her BA for political science from the University of Central Florida and her Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law. One of her main concerns, as a person with a physical disability, is discrimination.

Champlin’s campaign is also focused on addressing a wide variety of issues, including homelessness, nuisance properties and the ability for public input within City Council.

“I didn’t plan to run: I just went to City Council meetings — my first degree is in political science so I am attracted to that kind of thing,” Champlin said in an email. “I’ve attended most meetings for more than two years, and City Council doesn’t handle many social issues like homeless-

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 2

SERVICE Continued from page 2

Banks says the service project ties into Missouri State’s public affairs mission.

“We want to honor (Dolores Huerta) through service and community engagement to uphold our pillars,” Banks said.

The group spent their Saturday morning gardening, and constructing a greenhouse for the Eden Village community.

Naysa Adams, a freshman art major who uses gender-neutral pronouns, said they have worked with other volunteer organizations in the past to help with gardening, but working at Eden Village was a special experience for them.

“I love what they’re doing here, it’s really humbling and inspiring,” Adams said.

“We’ve been planting sunflowers and plucking honeysuckle — just helping out wherever we can.”

Nate Schlueter, the chief operating officer of Eden Village, helped develop the community and is in charge of moving residents in.

SINJIN SANDERS/THE STANDARD

(From left) Basant Hens, Tayo ObafemiAjayi and Theresa Odun-Ayo were speakers in the STEMinists panel. al harassment, are more likely to occur in male-dominated settings like the sciences,” Settles wrote.

Settles also mentioned women can “experience social isolation” because men view them as outsiders.

Women are slowly entering the sciences and following their passions, despite stereotypes.

He hopes to start other communities in Springfield similar to Eden Village to further help the homelessness problem.

“We’ve lifted about 15 percent of Springfield's homeless population off of the streets since August of 2018,” Schlueter said.

Each house is privately funded by individuals, organizations or businesses; rent is $300 each month, utilities included.

Housing at Eden Village is permanent — residents move into a fully furnished home and pay no deposit.

Tommy Yarberry, 62, was the first resident to move into Eden Village in August of 2018, and is currently taking classes at Ozark Technical Community College in hopes to become a substance abuse counselor.

“I was homeless for three years and I was wondering if that was going to be my destiny forever, but (Eden Village) helped me get cleaned up and into college,” Yarberry said.

“I know most of the people living here from when I lived on the street,” Yarberry said, referring to the other residents living in Eden Village.

Yarberry said he becomes emotional when he thinks about how far they’ve all come, “I’m

just so thankful.”

Kelbi Schlueter, community coordinator of Eden Village, said that Eden Village has about 1,000 volunteers every month but she particularly loves working with the college students.

“The students are so optimistic and hopeful — they believe in this project just as much as we do,” said Schlueter.

Schlueter said student volunteers seem to make use of their time and always do great work.

“I think people help with this project because they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves — they want to be a part of something that’s actually really making a difference,” Schlueter said.

JAYLEN EARLY/THE STANDARD

Junior finance major Dalton Rowe shovels mulch at Eden Village. On March 23, several MSU students helped out by preparing their gardens for spring as part of the Dolores Huerta Day of Service.

ness, public input and wheelchair accessible taxis.”

Owens, a self-described activist, feels that the biggest qualifier for a council position is a passion for the community. A focus of her campaign is addressing what she feels is a lack of representation in the City Council due to the difficulty for ordinary working citizens to have a position.

“It’s an unpaid position,” Owens said. “The schedule sort of requires meetings during the time when most people would be working … and I found myself in a position where I felt that I can do that.”

If elected, Owens hopes to improve City Council’s socioeconomic representation with a number of policies.

McClure said he believes that the number of unopposed council seats demonstrates the recent positive opinion of the council and is hopeful for this year’s council members.

“I think there’s a very strong pool of candidates running, and I think the city will be well served however the outcome,” McClure said.

12 THE-STANDARD.ORG

VIGIL Continued from page 1

“It’s really about standing together and realizing that when one person is diminished, we’re all diminished,” Schmalzbauer said.

Near the end, the vigil was opened up for anyone in the crowd to have the opportunity to speak about anything that was on their mind.

Wes Pratt, MSU’s chief diversity officer and vice president of Diversity and Inclusion, spoke

THE STANDARD

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

about his experience promoting social justice.

“It just seems like it’s incessant — the hatred, the poverty, the anger, the angst, and it gets you to a point to where you feel like giving up,” Pratt said. “But we have to persist.”

Pratt said when he does go to these “dark places” or starts thinking about the “tragedy of life,” he reflects on a prayer given by W.E.B Dubois titled “Give Us Grace.”

Schmalzbauer also said Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri is planning another event next Tuesday that will involve Muslims in the community.

GENERATION Continued from page 5

shirts, and Howard said they felt judgement from some people through disapproving looks.

“We stood together as a group and didn’t let it affect us,” Howard said. “I think it was important to see us as college students because they see lobbyists every day in suits and ties. I think we really made an impact coming as young, active students in Planned Parenthood shirts.”

MSU Generation Action is going back to Jefferson City to lobby with Planned Parenthood on March 26. Because bills and legislation change so quickly, they will not receive talking points until they arrive. They plan on lobbying in Jefferson City once or twice a semester.

“Overall, our last trip was very eye-opening and successful,” Presnell said. “I think we’re going to go back and be even more successful because now we have more experience and know how to talk to legislators and how to use certain strengths and talking points to grab their attention.”

MSU Generation Action has several other events planned, including a menstrual product donation drive and a “Condom Crawl” where they will pass out safe sex kits. They also plan on doing community service at women’s shelters such as Rare Breed and Harmony House. These events do not yet have confirmed dates.

The organization will also host Bear With Us,

an event that features an exhibit called “What Were You Wearing?” and speakers from Me Too Springfield and Generation Action who will talk about sexual assault, consent and Planned Parenthood services. This event will be from 7-9 p.m. April 23 in the Carrington Hall auditorium.

Howard said one of her goals is to bring more diversity to the organization. She said she would like men and more people of color to join. She hopes to add more diversity by raising awareness about the organization and partnering with campus organizations that have similar values.

Another goal, Howard said, is to end the stigma behind Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood helps so many people every day,” Howard said. “There are so many services offered, and I think a lot of people stay blind to our organization and to Planned Parenthood because they have preconceived notions and haven’t taken the time to really understand and grasp everything Planned Parenthood does. I think young people have the potential to have powerful voices and impact in our society because we can shape the future.”

The next MSU Generation Action meeting is March 28. Meetings are held 7-8 p.m. every other Thursday in Siceluff Hall 222.

LABARR

said he owes a great deal to LaBarr. He would not have had as many opportunities, Swope said, if it wasn’t for Labarr’s guidance and assurance that he had the ability to stretch his limits beyond his goals.

“Dr. LaBarr is unique in that he constantly searches for ways to improve, even in the smallest aspects of life,” Swope said. “This mantra allows him to seek positive change for his students, either through direct interactions with him, or what he inspires in others to do for themselves.”

Michaela Lovig, a junior vocal music education major, said LaBarr has managed to cultivate a comfortable rehearsal environment while preserving an authoritative stance.

“Perfection is not something he strives for, but rather to learn from mistakes that we

Continued from page 4

between $150,000 to $160,000 so far.

LaBarr can also be credited for implementing three new choirs — a men’s chorus, a women’s chorus and a diversity ensemble — in order to provide more opportunities for students to find a choir that best represents their interests, ultimately doubling the number of students taking part.

LaBarr’s ambition and humanity serves as an inspiration and support for both his past and present students.

Jared Swope, an MSU alumnus, former student of LaBarr and a professional singer,

GRETA CROSS/THE STANDARD

Senior public relations major Emily Woodall laughs with her project partners as they discuss their final, written project review. Competition finalists will present their campaigns in person in New York.

BATEMAN Continued from page 4

written proposal for the competition. Once this proposal is submitted, all that remains is to wait until the judges announce the three finalists in April. The finalists will go on to present their campaigns in person in New York. The winning team receives $3,500 and a trophy, the runner-up gets $2,500 and a plaque and third will receive $1,500 and a plaque.

At this stage, the focus of the class shifts from competing to reflecting.

“As part of this course, they have to do a reflection paper and also a video of what they produced, and then for their final, we usually

will do a service project,” Koroglu said. “It’s not just the participating — there are also those grading scales in place as well.”

Senior public relations major Rachael Kirane said the class serves as a good way to get hands-on experience that students can show in their portfolio.

“It’s definitely rewarding — we’re going to have something that a lot of PR majors aren’t going to have, like experience working on a real campaign and coming up with our own stuff and implementing it and having that in our portfolio,” Kirane said.

have made and to convey honesty in every song,” Lovig said. “He continually encourages students to be their best self in both rehearsal preparedness and daily attitude.”

LaBarr recently released a book titled “The Melodic Voice” with his colleague, John Wykoff, about his favorite conductor and composer Alice Parker, who LaBarr considers a pioneer for “seeking the core essence of song.”

LaBarr said the book reads like a conversation and includes information about her life, philosophy, core teaching ideologies, advice for the future of song, music education students, first-year teachers as well as her thoughts on what the music world should look like in the next 50 years.

Bryan Gibson, an MSU alumnus and La-

Barr’s former student, copy edited the book.

“His professional style strikes a perfect balance between the intensity required for the pursuit of excellence and the emotional sensitivity and humanity that must accompany all musical endeavors,” Gibson said.

Gibson also considers LaBarr’s bold taste in bow ties noteworthy — in professional photos and often at rehearsals, LaBarr is rarely seen without one.

Moving forward, LaBarr said he is eager to continue learning from his students, colleagues and every experience he has.

“I think every day we can either learn something or we can put up a wall against that,” LaBarr said. “If you’ve you got this open mind and open spirit about yourself, the sky’s the limit.”