Vox Magazine 11.30.17

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PRIDE AT HOME

Improvements in legislation, municipal services and law enforcement help CoMo top an LGBTQ equality index PAGE 4

HOLIDAY OVERHAUL

Enjoy a twist on your favorite Christmas classics with these holiday productions PAGE 16

MOMENT

In the wake of upheaval at MU, Mun Choi became the new face of the University of Missouri System. He brought with him a complex past that molds his ability to lead. PAGE 6

IN THIS ISSUE

ONLINE

November 30, 2017 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 33 | PUBLISHED BY THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

FEATURE Before he was UM System president, Mun Choi was provost and executive vice president at the University of Connecticut and no stranger to controversial events on campus.

Vox takes a deeper look at how the UM System leader has handled past events to gain better insight into what the future holds for MU. PAGE 6

HAUTE NETFLIX Netflix is full of fashion documentaries to stream, but they’re not one-size-fits-all. This 16-documentary matrix explores star-studded and fashionista-driven films, as well as social justice-minded movies, all available on Netflix.

NEWS & INSIGHT CoMo receives high marks in a national LGBTQ equality index. Learn how the city’s non-discrimination laws, services and more earned Columbia a high score. PAGE 4

CELEBS DISH IT ALL Cookbooks have become synonymous with celebrity culture. Now you can make and Insta your favorite dishes like the famous with these five well-known celeb books.

THE SCENE Black Honey Bee Cosmetics is more than just a brand; it’s a social justice campaign.

From her campus store, MU senior and owner Tiana Glass makes bath and body products accessible for people of color. PAGE 5

NOT YOUR AVERAGE FILM CRITIC Who needs the late, great Roger Ebert when you have RalphtheMovieMaker? Video film reviews on YouTube have nudged out traditional movie reviews and replaced them with hilarious commentary.

MUSIC Don’t let the cold air and brown leaves bring down the beat. Discover happy tunes brought to you by local music buffs. PAGE 14

EDITOR’S LETTER

ARTS & BOOKS Check out local twists on Christmas classics in the form of plays, musicals and ballets. Catch some stage time with Ebeneezer Scrooge, Buddy the elf and the Mouse King. PAGE 16 Q&A: JON W. POSES Jon W. Poses was an NYC kid who moved to Columbia in 1978 to study at MU. He’s been running the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series for 23 years and counting. PAGE 18 COVER ILLUSTRATION: ALEXANDRA WOZNICZKA, BASED ON PHOTO BY PETER MORENUS

MADISON FLECK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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When the protests happened at MU two years ago, I was closely watching from Morgantown, West Virginia. I was in the middle of my application process to the Missouri School of Journalism master’s program and had just booked a flight to visit campus.

The day UM System President Tim Wolfe resigned, I wrote a staff editorial for The Daily Athenaeum in Morgantown about how university leaders have to recognize and adhere to student needs. I pointed out similar needs at West Virginia University and used MU as an example of what not to do.

On the pages of this week’s feature (Page 6), you’ll find a profile on Mun Choi, who has taken over the position of president of the UM System. But the story does more than simply give background about the man who curators brought in from the University of Connecticut to turn things around. It explores how this former provost and executive vice president leads.

His time at UConn was marked by that school’s own struggles with racial conflicts. Some UConn students saw Choi as a “distant presence.” Now, Choi faces a whole new set of obstacles at MU and other UM schools as he deals with budget cuts and declining enrollment.

Vox writer Renee Hickman sat down with Choi to talk about where MU is heading and how Choi’s past as an engineer and university leader at UConn shapes his decisions that will affect the university in Columbia.

VOX STAFF Editor: Madison Fleck Deputy Editor: Sten Spinella Managing Editor: Kelsie Schrader Digital Managing Editor: Lea Konczal Multimedia Editor: Meg Vatterott Online Editor: Brooke Vaughan Art Directors: Keegan Pope, Alexandra Wozniczka Photo Editor: Erin Bormett News & Insight Editors: Lauren Puckett, Rachel Treece The Scene Editors: Brea Cubit, Brooke Kottmann, Lily Zhao Music Editors: Lis Joyce, Amanda Lundgren Arts & Books Editors: Karlee Renkoski, Mary Salatino, Micki Wagner Contributing Writers: Taylor Banks, Emma Beyer, Kristin Blake, Alex Edwards, Jasmine-Kay Johnson, Kaylin Jones, Caroline Kealy, Meghan Lally, Rick Morgan, Rachel Phillips, Bianca Rodriguez, John Sadler, Samantha Stokes, Caroline Watkins, Meghan Weinewuth, Catherine Wendlandt, Chloe Wilt Editorial Director: Heather Lamb Executive Editor: Jennifer Rowe Digital Director: Sara Shipley Hiles Office Manager: Kim Townlain

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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF HUONG TRUONG AND MAGNOLIA PICTURES

RADAR

Vox’s take on the talk of the week

Take Back The Internet The Federal Communications Commission announced its proposal to roll back Obamaera regulations on net neutrality kicking off a renewed debate. The commission is set to vote Dec. 14. Those against those regulations believe the government shouldn’t regulate the internet, while those in favor believe government regulation prevents internet providers from censoring content and charging premiums to use certain sites. Over 200,000 phone calls have been made to Congress to protest this rollback, and 500,000 comments left have been left on the FCC’s website. Here are what two FCC commissioners are saying:

FOR: “(Net neutrality) means your broadband provider can’t block websites, throttle services or charge you premiums if you want to reach certain online content … Your provider would have the power to choose which voices online to amplify and which to censor.” ­—Jessica Rosenworcel writes in an opinion piece for Los Angeles Times AGAINST: “Prior to the FFC’s 2015 decision, consumers and innovators alike benefited from a free and open internet ... The internet flourished under this framework.”

—Brendan Carr writes in his remarks at “The Future of Internet Freedom” symposium

Written by: Brea Cubit, Brooke Kottmann, Lauren Puckett and Lily Zhao

LET THERE BE LIGHT

The holiday spirit is here! And let’s be honest, we can all use some cheer right about now. Dreary weather and fatigue from news coverage of sexual assault allegations, North Korea’s missile tests and a volcano erupting in Bali give us even greater reasons to embrace holiday magic. Keeping with the 22-year tradition, Will Treelighter will light the Magic Tree tonight with a concoction of rainbow-colored lights. Experience double the holiday cheer with the Magic Tree’s two locations at 4200 Merchant St., in The Village of Cherry Hill and the corners of Ninth Street and Broadway. For more holiday festivities: Stroll through The District for the Living Windows Festival from 6–8 p.m. tomorrow for shopping, live performances, visits with Santa and more. ` Join the Jingle Bell Run on Saturday at 8 a.m. at Stephens College to raise awareness for Arthritis Foundation.

Take a tour of the city’s holiday lights with ARC’s mini-bus on Dec. 8 at 6:15 or 7:45 p.m.

TIME IS UP In a nearly $3 billion all-cash deal this week, media corporation Meredith purchased Time Inc. with $650 million backed by the Koch brothers.

This isn’t the first large merger in Time Inc.’s history. The company, which was founded in 1923, merged with Warner Communications in 1989 to form Time Warner. Iowa-based Meredith, founded in 1902, was rumored to acquire Time Inc. in 2014, and now it will, taking over titles such as Sports Illustrated and People and awards including Time’s Person of the Year, which will be announced Dec. 6.

When will he really be back?

Over Thanksgiving break, Mizzou basketball announced in a tweet that Michael Porter Jr. would miss this season due to a back injury. Porter Jr. wrote on his Instagram story, “Just letting y’all know whoever said it was gonna take 3-4 months to recover lied.” MU has yet to confirm Porter Jr.’s recovery time, but the Twittersphere is buzzing with anticipation to learn more.

N OV E M B E R 30-D E C E M B E R 3 | D E C E M B E R 7-10 “You see, we, the Neo-Futurists believe that you can, in fact, write a two- minute play with just as much depth and humor and poingnance as something that taks five acts, twenty characters, fifteen set changes, and two hours and ten minutes to complete. Perhaps dare we say it? - we can achieve even more.”

by Greg Allen

Adults Seniors Students Thursdays

14 $ 12 $ 12 $ 10 $

* this production contains mature content and explicit language

1800 Nelwood Drive; Columbia, MO | 573.474.3699 | www.cectheatre.org PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF AP IMAGES AND THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

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NEWS & INSIGHT

Finding the pride in policy Columbia’s perfect score on a national LGBTQ equality index is a mark of its progress and a measure of what still needs to be done BY SAMANTHA STOKES In Missouri, state lawmakers have repeatedly voted down legislation that would protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination. The city of Columbia, in contrast, has improved its inclusivity of its LGBTQ community over the past three years, according to a national study.

In October, the Human Rights Campaign released its sixth annual Municipal Equality Index, a metric that examines the nation’s cities for how friendly their municipal laws, policies and services are to LGBTQ community members. The index accounted for nondiscrimination laws, municipal services, law enforcement and other factors and assigned scores on a 100-point scale to 506 U.S. cities.

Of the eight Missouri cities that the index rated, Columbia received a perfect score of 100, indicating its laws, policies and services are inclusive to the LGBTQ community. Although the city performed well, community members say there are still ways in which Columbia can be more inclusive. Here’s what you should know about how far the city has come in its policies and services, how its index score compares to other mid-Missouri towns and what strides toward equality still need to be made.

How did CoMo ace the index?

The Human Rights Campaign scores each city in five categories: 1) nondiscrimination laws, 2) municipality as employer, 3) municipal services, 4) law enforcement and 5) relationship with the LGBTQ community.

“There are a couple of key areas we improved on from the 2015 release,” says Zach Rubin, chair of the Columbia Commission on Human Rights. In 2015, Columbia scored a 74. In 2016, the city earned a 92.

Rubin attributes the score increase to specific city initiatives implemented since 2015. For instance, in May 2016, the Columbia Police Department added an LGBT liaison to its force. Officer Clint Sinclair currently fills the roll, and his duties include helping other officers on cases involving LGBTQ issues, meeting with members of Columbia’s LGBTQ community and educating fellow department members, according to the City of Columbia website.

WE WANT TO FOCUS ON WAYS COLUMBIA SPECIFICALLY CAN BE MORE INCLUSIVE. – ZACH RUBIN Columbia also began providing healthcare benefits that are transgender-inclusive to its city employees in December 2016. To receive points in this category on the index, cities must provide at least one health insurance plan that includes transgender care, such 4

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Columbia’s LGBTQ-friendly policies and programs have improved over the past few years, according to a national index. Events such as the Pride Parade exemplify Columbia community members’ commitment to LGBTQ issues.

as surgeries and hormone therapy, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Rubin says that though these benefits only apply to city employees, he hopes that the city can model inclusive healthcare policies for other employers and municipalities.

Additionally, Rubin says the city was able to offer the Human Rights Campaign evidence that its public officials support the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign looks at city leaders’ public statements to assess whether they push for and pursue more pro-equality legislation. Rubin says the city submitted a Dec. 4, 2013, KBIA segment to the index. In the segment, city council member Michael Trapp said the city’s housing code and definition of “family” needed updating to include domestic partnerships and therefore be more inclusive of the LGBTQ community.

But isn’t there still work to be done?

Even though Columbia earned a perfect score, that doesn’t mean the city’s relationship with the LGBTQ community is perfect. Rubin says he’d like to see the city play a bigger role in providing services to youth, homeless and elderly people who identify as LGBTQ. Although the index is a good indicator of how communities are treating their LGBTQ populations, Rubin says that the study’s evaluation shouldn’t be interpreted as the final word for how the city should approach sexual minorities. “The scorecard is just a scorecard,” he says. “It’s one organization’s conception of LGBTQ rights in the city. The scorecard reflects improvements, but it doesn’t necessarily represent what it means to be a minority in Columbia. We want to focus on ways Columbia specifically can be more inclusive.”

Dion Wisniewski, president of The Center Project, a mid-Missouri LGBTQ community center and nonprofit, says he thinks the index gives cities a good

road map for how to improve. “It really just comes down to policy,” he says. “People need to want to come to Columbia, so making it as welcoming as possible through policy and initiatives is the only way you’re going to accomplish that.”

How did other Missouri cities fare in comparison?

Columbia’s perfect score is an anomaly compared to the nation, which scored an average of 57 points, but the city also stands out against other mid-Missouri towns.

Cape Girardeau scored just three out of 100 points, and Jefferson City was indexed at zero.

“I’m really proud that we as a city have stepped up and managed to prioritize increasing protections for minorities in a hostile state environment,” Rubin says.

“Other cities do not have this benefit.”

In an Oct. 20, 2017, article in the Kansas City Star, Jefferson City mayor Carrie Tergin said the city did not have LGBTQ-friendly policies in place because LGBTQ residents “tend to have no issues here.”

However, Wisniewski says that cities should still take initiative to protect their LGBTQ communities. “It’s definitely frustrating,” he says. “It’s not a matter of resources; it’s a matter of people not wanting to take the time or energy to draft these policies.”

According to a Jan. 27, 2016, article in the Columbia Missourian, versions of bills increasing statewide nondiscrimination protections for the LGBTQ community have been introduced and voted down every session for the past 18 years. Wisniewski says that is why it’s important that individual cities take the initiative to enact nondiscrimination policies.

“The report, just taken at face value, is an easy way for municipalities to look at and say, ‘Hey, this what we do well, and this is what we should do better at,’” he says. “It really is up to the individual municipalities to look at it and say, ‘Hey, this really isn’t that hard.’”

PHOTO BY SHANNON ELLIOTT

THE SCENE

Cosmetic makeover Diversity and representation are emerging as relevant factors in the beauty industry BY SAMANTHA STOKES While big cosmetic companies such as Bath & Body Works and Lush are known for their fragrances and vegan practices, one MU student-run cosmetic business, Black Honey Bee Cosmetics, is carving a space in the industry for diversity. The founder and owner, Tiana Glass, chose to brand it as a bath and body shop that caters to women of color.

A few weeks after its launch in the MU Student Center on Oct. 24, the storefront stood mostly empty, waiting to be restocked. “I didn’t think I’d sell out that fast,” Glass says. “It’s amazing that people are supporting black businesses and seeing the value in them.”

But Black Honey Bee Cosmetics is just one example that touches on the importance of representation in the cosmetic industry. To better understand the scope of the subject, it’s best to break down the elements surrounding it.

Identifying the problem

More cosmetic brands are making efforts to be inclusive. In August, Shayla Mitchell, a black beauty blogger, became the first-ever influencer to collaborate with Maybelline New York on a product launch. However, there have been pitfalls that reveal the intrinsic disregard for racial equality, notably Dove’s ad that shows a black woman seemingly transforming into a white woman.

Glass says she believes there’s more progress to be made. “I’m not seeing myself represented in these beauty campaigns,” she says. She notes many brands don’t carry shades that work with her skin tone.

Finding the solution

One of the ways representation in the cosmetic industry has started to develop is

through influencers who are taking matters into their own hands. Rihanna made waves when she released her Fenty Beauty line, which has 40 different foundation shades and products for a broader range of complexions.

Glass sees her ability to receive higher education as a privilege that she wants to use to help solve the problem. “I have this platform, and I use it,” she says.

“The beauty in this is that I get to make mistakes, but I learn from them.”

Supporting the cause

Although some mainstream brands are coming around to diversity, digital platforms have allowed independent black-owned cosmetic businesses such as koyVoca Cosmetics, Bahi Cosmetics and The Lip Bar to attract consumers because they can personally connect with customers and their wants.

Glass takes her efforts to educate patrons further by naming her products after notable women of color. For instance, the Miriam Makeba soap refers to the South African singer and civil rights activist, and the Smooth Operator lotion bar alludes to the popular song from Sade, the British band whose lead singer, Sade Adu, was born in Nigeria.

“I branded it as a social justice brand because that’s who I am,” Glass says.

“I’m rooted in giving access to black and brown people to self-care.”

What’s important in this topic is the opportunity for growth and to make a positive impact in the industry. For Glass in particular, it’s a chance to show women of color that they’re important.

“Those girls — I see myself in them, and I feel like I’m doing justice by them,” she says. “I had to be an agent to create that. It’s amazing.”

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Tiana Glass created Black Honey Bee Cosmetics with the purpose of letting women of color know they are empowered, loved, validated and seen.

PHOTO BY HUONG TRUONG

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MUN CH What the University of Missouri System president’s past means for the future of MU

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ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDRA WOZNICZKA BASED ON PHOTO BY EVAN COBB

HOI

BY RENEE HICKMAN

MUN CHOI

Mun Choi began his presidency this past spring following his role as provost at the University of Connecticut. His appointment to the position makes him the 24th president in the history of the University of Missouri System.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi began his time at MU on March 1, 2017, which followed his executive vice president and provost positions at the University of Connecticut. Here are a few highlights since he has joined the UM System.

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Choi doesn’t like that piece very much.

Now, he’s listening intently to state Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Missouri House Budget Committee, as he details funding priorities for the next year. Fitzpatrick, a republican from Shell Knob, Missouri, is a man with considerable influence over the future of the system. And there is considerable uncertainty about the system’s future.

Earlier this week, Fitzpatrick said it’s too soon to say what the university budget will look like in the near future.

Overall, he says he thinks Choi has

The UM System ended its executive performance incentive program after a state audit found about $2.3 million in bonus payments were paid to 18 executives and administrators.

Payments weren’t previously publicly disclosed.

June

It’s been a little more than two years since Choi’s predecessor Tim Wolfe resigned as president of the University of Missouri System amid a wave of student protests against racism on campus. Sitting at the helm of the UM System, Choi is facing steep budget cuts, a drop in freshman enrollment of more than 30 percent in the two years since the protest and ongoing negative publicity, which has most recently been embodied by The New York Times piece titled “Long After Protests, Students Shun the University of Missouri.”

March

is trying to eat lunch. Outside it’s cold, drizzling and dark for 11 a.m.

Inside, it’s bright in the green and gold conference room at the Daniel Boone Regional Library where the Columbia Chamber of Commerce is meeting. Choi sits in a chair at the front of the room while holding one of the Honeybaked Ham lunch boxes provided for the meeting.

He takes a bite, maybe two, before someone walks up to say hello and shake his hand. Then it happens again. He takes another bite before he spots someone across the room, puts down the sandwich and goes to speak to them. It happens a few more times. It takes a long time to finish that sandwich.

been proactive in trying to restore the relationship between the UM System and the legislature. “I look forward to continuing to work with him and putting the UM System back into a place of prominence,” Fitzpatrick says.

Soon after Choi took the position of president, the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch postulated that he might have the hardest job in Missouri. But Choi looked like a beacon of hope to many, as he enjoyed flattering coverage from the state’s press in stories praising his attention to

Choi outlined budget strategies that sought to cut more than $100 million from the UM System. A few of the short-term and long-term plans included eliminating hundreds of jobs and the closing and restructuring of offices.

Throughout the rest of the summer, budget plans continued to roll out that included the closing of the $10 million MU International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine and the layoffs of dozens more employees, including long-time directors of major MU departments.

PHOTO BY CLAIRE ROUNKLES

PHOTO BY HUONG TRUONG

at Princeton University to complete master’s and doctoral degrees. After finishing his Ph.D., he went on to teach at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Drexel University and the University of Connecticut. He was then appointed dean of engineering at UConn and later took on the position of executive vice president and provost, which he held for just over four years. As provost, he was the university’s chief academic officer and was responsible for allocating resources, providing administrative oversight and directing schools and colleges across the UConn system, among other tasks.

In some ways, being an administrator is like being an engineer. There are many parts, and they must work together.

There are always problems to solve.

“As an engineer, we’re always trying to optimize; to arrive at the best solution given constraints,” Choi says. But as

The Missouri Land Grant Compact was signed and will cover tuition for thousands of MU students starting next fall. This undergraduate scholarship program is an example of Choi’s implementation strategies for the money saved from budget cuts.

an administrator, there were other limitations to deal with — human ones.

“They didn’t actually teach us much about psychology,” he says. “When we deal with optimizing systems, there’s always the human element.” It was the interactions as a teacher with students and colleagues that taught him how that piece of the puzzle worked.

The challenge of solving problems led Choi to apply for the position of UM System president after he saw it advertised through Isaacson, Miller, the Boston-based firm hired to lead the search. The search committee conducted two interviews with him, which were held in airport hotels.

Chairman of the Board of Curators Maurice Graham had been on other search committees before, including for a college president, but says this was his first time on a search committee for a system president. There was a lot riding

October

The UM System invested in the image of the schools by hiring branding agency 160over90.

The $1.27 million, three-year contract coincides with the system’s Edelman PR contract, the Columbia Missourian reported.

W H E N T H E C A L L F I N A L LY C A M E T H AT H E H A D T H E J O B , C H O I WA S S TA N D I N G I N A TA I L O R S H O P I N W I L L I M A N T I C , C O N N E C T I C U T, T O D R O P O F F A S U I T. H E K N E W H E WA N T E D T H E P O S I T I O N A N D T O O K O N LY 1 0 MINUTES BEFORE ACCEPTING.

August

July

detail and devotion to student concerns.

But as Choi settles into his role, which began this past March, he has begun making decisions he will be judged on; decisions that include funding cuts and layoffs, which can ultimately lead to less flattering coverage.

After the Chamber of Commerce meeting, Choi stands in his large and warmly lit office on Stadium Boulevard for this interview. Earlier, he met with Fitzpatrick and sent him on to view Missouri’s prized research reactor, an emblem of the direction in which Choi hopes to take the UM System. A direction that is focused, among other things, on advancing research in the sciences. He would like to see MU students winning prestigious national science awards at the same rate as students at the University of California, Berkeley, a school of a similar size.

Choi’s background as an engineer is clear based on both the initiatives he advocates for and the books on his shelf. Posing for portraits in his office, he grabs The Prize by Daniel Yergin, one of his favorites that many consider a definitive history of the oil industry. He becomes animated when talking about the book and about anything having to do with science. Oil is everywhere, he says as he points at objects in the rooms, including the plastic in his shoes.

Choi chose engineering through a process often used in science: elimination. He was squeamish about blood, so he wouldn’t be a doctor. He couldn’t imagine himself arguing in court, so he wouldn’t be an attorney.

But he was fascinated with figuring out how things worked. As a child, he liked putting things together, such as model airplanes, so engineering made sense.

He first studied the subject as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later

on the decision, and he says the search committee realized the importance of its mission to find the right person to lead the university system for many years.

“What you always worry about is a failed search,” Graham says. The 16-person committee spent hundreds of hours reviewing application materials, including background checks and references, from candidates all over the country. Graham says the committee was excited that a number of people were highly qualified, but he says the board felt Choi was the right candidate for the position.

When the call finally came that he had the job, Choi was standing in a tailor shop in Willimantic, Connecticut, to drop off a suit. He knew he wanted the position and took only 10 minutes before accepting. “I knew it was a university that had undergone some significant disturbances,” Choi says.

Then he pauses. “Disturbances is the wrong word. Significant challenges.”

He remembers first reading about the reaction to the August 2015 cuts in graduate student health insurance in The Chronicle of Higher Education and the many discussions that ensued among fellow administrators. “It appeared from the outside that there were some deeper forces at play,” Choi says. “It wasn’t just the student protests, but it related to how the senior leaders interacted with the university community.” He calls the boycott by the football team “eye-opening” as an administrator. He simply had never seen students go to similar lengths.

He asked himself whether he could address those deeper forces but was buoyed by the lessons taught by his mother, who grew up in what is now South Korea. Choi was born in South Korea as well, and as a young boy, he moved to the U.S. where he worked at his family’s business in Chicago. He says

The UM System announced plans to start an incentive grant program so more faculty members move toward open-source textbooks, which lessen the costs of textbooks for students due to the resources’ open copyrights.

­—RACHEL TREECE

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CHOI SAYS HE IS REMINDED THAT NOTHING HE WILL FACE IS COMPARABLE TO HIS MOTHER’S EXPERIENCE GROWING UP IN KOREA DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION. “I WANT TO SHOW THAT I AM HER SON.”

Choi replaced former UM System President Tim Wolfe. Amid student protests against racism on campus, Wolfe resigned as president of the system in November 2015, the same day as former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

she endured the harsh conditions of Korea at the time and underwent the sacrifices of World War II and later the Korean War. When faced with obstacles, Choi says he is reminded that nothing he will face is comparable to his mother’s experience growing up in Korea during the Japanese occupation. “I want to show that I am her son,” he says.

A year before the protests in Columbia, UConn suffered its own racially charged incidents. Late in the evening on Sept.

29, 2014, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically black sorority known as AKA, gathered at UConn’s famed spirit rock, a boulder located near the center of campus alongside a busy street.

Student groups paint and then repaint the rock in what is a joyful tradition that fosters pride in the school and its organizations.

The women began painting the rock in celebration of their sorority’s founding. Their paint covered the earlier work of the predominantly white 10

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fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha, commonly called PIKE. The fraternity had painted the rock to honor a member injured in a car accident earlier in the week, according to a report by the Office of Diversity and Equity at the university.

The next day, Brittney Yancy, the sorority’s graduate student advisor, told university officials how the celebratory event had soured. The women were approached by a group of PIKE members who ran at them with clenched fists while yelling obscenities and racist and sexist slurs.

It was later reported in The Root, an online magazine with a focus on black culture, that Yancy said: “We were called whores, and after establishing that I was a university professional, I was verbally accosted, and intimidation tactics were used. They called me a fat black bitch — not just a fat bitch, but a fat black bitch.”

Facing the onslaught, Yancy called the police, who arrived and urged the fraternity members to stay away from the rock. After the police left, the PIKE fraternity brothers returned with

members of the suspended fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. They continued to harass the women for two hours until the police were called again.

University officials placed the fraternity on probation and required them to complete a training program addressing issues of sexism and racism.

A town hall forum was held, and the university investigated the incident.

But even as those events unfolded, harassment continued on social media.

Despite appeals from AKA, the fraternity was not suspended until the following year. But this time, it was for holding parties and hazing members while on probation.

Choi dealt with criticism from some regarding the administrative response.

Noel Cazenave, a professor of sociology at UConn who advises student activist groups, says that in the aftermath of the spirit rock incident, he thought Choi should have been more present.

“There was no strong articulation of sympathy,” Cazenave says. “The presence of top-level administrators is what makes students feel secure.”

When asked about it now, Choi seems sensitive to that criticism. He says the effort to respond to the incident was purposefully led by UConn President Susan Herbst and Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Gilbert. He calls Cazenave “disgruntled” and says that some “not-as-productive” faculty might be looking for outside forces to blame for the conditions they find themselves in.

During his time at UConn, Choi had to handle a number of charged incidents. After a town hall meeting on campus regarding domestic violence and sexual assault, Connecticut Sen. Mae Flexer, who was a state representative at the time, criticized Choi for his handling of a student’s comment.

A professor had been recommended

for dismissal soon after questioning the university’s response to sexual assault issues on campus. The official reason for the dismissal was performance, but the student at the town hall called the circumstances “foggy.”

It was reported by The Daily Campus, UConn’s student newspaper, that Choi called the word “foggy” dangerous, but Flexer said she thought he’d shut the student down and that the university needed to listen its students’ voices.

Choi understands that Flexer interpreted his reaction as being too confrontational. “I took her point to heart,” says Choi, “and I said that to her.”

Choi says he then offered to meet with any student about issues they might have.

Regarding a different incident, Haddiyyah Ali, a member of student government and an activist on campus at the time, had her own criticisms of Choi. She recalls a meeting she attended in the fall of 2015 to discuss a tuition hike, a move some of her fellow students questioned given increased administrative salaries. Choi says his response to those questions was that administrator salaries needed to be competitive to attract top talent, but Ali says she found his answers defensive.

At the other end of the spectrum is Dan Byrd, who served as student body president at UConn during the 2016-17 academic year and now attends UConn’s law school. When Byrd was elected, his pet project was reducing the cost of textbooks. He thought online, open-source textbooks could lower costs, so he wanted to see more of them across campus.

Byrd says Choi liked the idea immediately and offered assistance to implement the plan. The student government wrote legislation funding the expansion of access to online textbooks and ran campaigns encouraging professors to switch to PHOTO BY ASA LORY

Choi packed up and moved to Missouri, a state that, apart from his interviews, he had last visited while on a family vacation to Meramec Caverns at age 12.

them. Choi is currently pushing this initiative at MU. The use of online textbooks, he says, could help lower the cost of attendance and increase student access to resources.

Byrd says the textbook initiative was typical of his interactions with Choi. He didn’t see it as his place to tell students what to do or direct them, but when they came to him with a plan, he would do what was necessary to assist. Byrd says he saw Choi as approachable and helpful, available if not highly visible.

As student body president, Byrd admits his perspective might be a bit different than many students’, however.

Ali says when she worked with Choi as a member of the student government he was more engaged and interested than when she saw him in situations with student activists.

The titles of university administrators can sound strange and a little foreign.

Provost, chancellor, dean. The meanings aren’t clear from hearing the words, PHOTO BY MARTA PAYNE

which have their origins in the churches and universities of medieval Europe.

Running departments and budgets and multi-million-dollar football programs from what can seem like a great distance, administrators at large universities can easily become faceless to the majority of their students and even to most faculty.

Mike Middleton, who served as interim UM System president after Tim Wolfe’s resignation, now works at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, a small, historically black university. He has come out of retirement to once again serve as interim president, but this time under far different circumstances.

When he looks at what happened at MU in 2015, Middleton says a key failure of the previous administration was not handling student concerns sufficiently at the level of the chancellor or vice chancellor. Instead, they let those concerns reach the office of the president. “The president of a system is really the administrator of an enterprise, not a headmaster of a school,” he says.

Middleton says he believes the role of president is not to be directly involved with student affairs. It is the chancellor’s job to relate to the students.

It is the president’s job to make sure the chancellor and other administrators are addressing the concerns of students in a satisfactory way. Choi admits that many people, including students and faculty, don’t fully understand what college administrators do. He blames the disconnect on a general lack of engagement. “That’s something we do need to change,” he says.

When Choi talks about the similarities between engineering and being an administrator, he uses a scientific term. There are “boundary conditions” within which engineers must operate. For the UM System, the boundary conditions are set by the budget, state and federal dollars and tuition payments. The boundary conditions have become more difficult due to funding cuts and dropping enrollment.

The UM System under Choi eliminated 474 administrative, faculty and staff positions in June. Many positions were already vacant, or those holding them were planning to resign or retire. The UM System’s operating budget is $1.2 billion, and MU — the system’s flagship campus — saw about $60 million in cuts.

ADMI N I ST RAT ORS AT LARGE UN I V E RSI T I E S CAN E ASI LY BE COME FACE LE SS TO T HE MAJ ORI T Y

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OF T HE I R ST UDE N T S AN D E V E N T O MOST FACULT Y. |

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“I would have met with the students early and often to discuss their concerns before the situation got escalated, and I would have stayed on as president to lead the university through the troubling period.”

—

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Regarding Tim Wolfe’s departure from the MU System following the Concerned Student 1950 protests in fall 2015

ON T HE R ECOR D At a time of budget cuts and significant declines in enrollment, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi assumed a vital role in a delicate system.

Campus unrest in 2015 gained national attention, and though he was working in Connecticut, Choi was aware of the events that fall. The following statements are from his interview with Vox.

On the obstacles he faces as president of the UM System: Choi has a deep background in education. He earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and he talks often about how his science background influences his leadership style.

When Choi is asked about his meeting with Fitzgerald earlier in the day, it seems as if he could be addressing his response to a legislator. “Our faculty members are involved in very exciting research that helps benefit the economy of the state that in turn helps benefit the citizens of Missouri,” he says. It sounds like a line he has repeated many times before.

State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, a republican from Jackson and chair of the House Higher Education Committee, says she found Choi to be far more engaged with lawmakers than previous administrators.

“When he first got there, the first thing he did was give me his email,” Lichtenegger says. She says no other president had personally provided her with their email before. She also notes that Choi is interested in the budget process and what the UM System will receive. Lack of clear communication with lawmakers was one of the main failures of past administrators, Lichtenegger says, and she thinks Choi shows signs that he will improve this.

Choi’s awareness of lawmaker scrutiny is apparent when he talks about his discussion with Fitzgerald.

“He wants to keep us accountable like other elected officials, as he should, but we’re also keeping ourselves accountable,” Choi says.

He discusses focusing on strategic objectives, combining activities on

different campuses, directing more funding to scholarships, and more than anything, speaks on initiatives and innovation. “As universities, we hold on to tradition for far too long,” Choi says, but he quickly adds that there are “also traditionalists that see value in continuing past practices that have led to success. My approach is not to denigrate what they’ve done but find ways to improve.”

Many of Choi’s statements contain cautious addendums such as these: a statement of strong opinion followed by a swift acknowledgment of an opposing view. The decisions Choi makes when solving problems, when working within the boundaries of the system, are likely to upset some, no matter how much hope and positive feeling accompanied his arrival.

Looking back on his predecessor, Choi is reluctant to pass judgment.

But above all else, Choi sees Wolfe’s resignation as his biggest mistake. “I can only share what I would have done if confronted with the same situation,” Choi says. “I would have met with the students early and often to discuss their concerns before the situation got escalated, and I would have stayed on as president to lead the university through the troubling period.”

Flipping through The Prize, Choi talks about a passage from the book about legacies. The Prize repeats a disputed tale about Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prize and also an engineer whose career was

grounded in science. He made his name taking things apart — blasting them apart, actually — when he invented dynamite, but his invention resulted in injuries and deaths for a great many people. In 1888, so the story goes, Nobel’s brother Ludvig died, and a French newspaper mistakenly printed an obituary for Alfred. It was not kind, as it called Alfred Nobel a “merchant of death.”

It is thought that Nobel established Nobel Prize fund areas such as peace, literature and the sciences in large part because he had considered his legacy and decided that was what he wanted it to be. Choi has said that he hopes his own legacy will include serving for at least 10 years as the UM System president.

A member of Choi’s staff pokes her head in his office to let him know he has to leave soon. His next engagement elsewhere in town starts shortly. As Choi makes his way out of the building, he stops and looks at the wall of portraits of the past 23 presidents. Some have troubled legacies, including Frederick Middlebush who opposed desegregation at MU, while others represented progress, such as Elson Floyd who was the first black UM System president. Nine months into his tenure, the mark Choi will leave remains to be seen.

PHOTO BY CLAIRE ROUNKLES; ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDRA WOZNICZKA BASED ON PHOTO BY EMIL LIPPE

“Addressing the challenges are fulfilling. And this is a university that during the past two years has been severely criticized, in some ways unfairly. In some ways I feel that the leadership didn’t appropriately stand up for the university and talk about the positive things that were happening when all of the negative stories and negative sentiments were being shared. We should have had a more proactive approach to talk about all of the wonderful things that happen in this university.”

On graduate students’ attempts to unionize: “We (at UConn) also learned what not to do from that situation (at MU). During that period, we were also going through a negotiation process with our graduate students at the University of Connecticut in which they wanted to unionize the campus, and it’s very important to understand the role — the important role — that grad students play in a research university. We knew we had to engage our grad students very effectively.”

On The New York Times piece discussing MU after fall 2015: “I thought that it was biased. I thought that the students who were selected were hand-picked to support a narrative that the writer had. There were students who said the university is unsafe, and that is not true. We are ranked as one of the safest universities. It is said that this university is a racist institution. That is not true. We may have individuals who harbor racist and anti-semitic views, but those situations will be dealt with immediately, effectively and unequivocally.”

­—RACHEL TREECE 11.30.17

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MUSIC

Fight off the winter blues with happy tunes Local music vendors recommend songs that turn frowns upside down

BY BENNITO L. KELTY

Winter is coming. Instead of succumbing to seasonal sadness, tune out the bitter weather with some upbeat songs. MU research from 2013 showed that music improves people’s moods, so keep your head up through the snow with these suggestions from CoMo music experts.

Kevin Carroll

Vinyl Renaissance Song: “Kaleidoscope World” by The Chills from Kaleidoscope World Kevin Carroll works at Vinyl Renaissance on Ninth Street. If you enjoy classic music from previous decades and artists such as Otis Redding and Blondie, Carroll is your guy.

He can think of a few groovy artists that will take your mind off the bleak winter. He recommends Kaleidoscope World by The Chills. Carroll describes the New Zealand band and its album as guitar-driven jangle pop with harmonies that remind him of The Byrds. “It’s catchy and upbeat with great hooks and melodies,” Carroll says. “The melodies are infectious.”

Carroll says the album is perfect for musical time-travelers like himself because it combines music styles across decades, such as pop harmonies from the ’60s and alternative sounds from the ’90s.

Josh Chittum

“We Always Swing” Song: “Luxe” by Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana from Mehliana: Taming the Dragon Josh Chittum is the assistant director of “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Jazz offers a variety of moods, so it’s a good route for finding a happy sound.

If you think getting on your feet is a good way to stay warm, Chittum recommends Mehliana: Taming the Dragon by jazz duo Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana.

Mehldau plays piano, and Guiliana plays drums.

Chittum says the faster tempo of the album reminds him of the dance hall genre, so it’s a good fix for a sour mood.

Chittum says he would describe the album as “an intense musical journey that features sounds not usually associated with jazz, including a spoken word piece about a dream sequence that Mehldau had.”

Dustin Schreiber

Guitar Finder “Anthem Part 2” by Blink-182 from Take off Your Pants and Jacket Dustin Schreiber works at Guitar Finder on Walnut Street. He says his musical palate leans toward rock.

Schreiber recommends Take off Your Pants and Jacket

by Blink-182 because the album has upbeat songs, though he admits that there are few sad tunes. The album also has “big melodic choruses that are easy to sing along to.”

Aside from enjoying the pop-punk sound of Blink-182, Schreiber also says he likes the album because it takes him back to when he was younger. “I can always listen to it, and it’ll remind me of my youth,” he says. If rock bands like Blink-182, who were popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bring you to better days, then escaping through a few of the group’s classics is a good way to ignore the cold.

Monday , December 4 | 7 P.M. Jesse Auditorium

Saturday, December 2 | 7 P.M. Missouri Theatre

DANU: A CHRISTMAS GATHERING FEILLE NA NOLLAG

THE GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER

(573) 882-3781 | concertseries.org 14

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF KEVIN CARROLL, JOSH CHITTUM AND DUSTIN SCHREIBER

ARTS & BOOKS

From the ground to the gallery Instead of raking leaves and discarding them, a local artist uses them in her collection When asked how long she’s been working on her latest collection, Jo Stealey just laughs. “It’s been a long time, in all honesty, a really long time,” she says. “It borders on obsession. It’s such a time-consuming process to create these works; it defies all logic.”

As an artist, Stealey uses a variety of materials and processes, including papermaking, sculpting and creating textiles. Most of her work is influenced by nature because she is worried for and appreciative of the environment. “From a conceptual basis, not only am I concerned about nature and derive a lot of my own centeredness from living in nature, but I also think about nature as an entity that takes care of us,” she says.

Stealey’s most recent work was displayed at the Sager Braudis Gallery this summer. Although the main material used was something most don’t expect to see in art, it is one of Stealey’s specialties: leaves.

For more than a decade, Stealey, now the director of the School of Visual Studies at MU, has been working with leaves. What began as processing plants for handmade paper eventually turned into using twigs and tree branches, then later the leaves themselves. “Because of my background in papermaking, I figured out a way to process those leaves in a very similar manner to any plant material that I’m using to create paper,” she says.

“I literally turn each leaf into individual pieces of paper that are still in the original shape of that leaf.”

To Stealey, Mother Nature is spiritual sustenance.

Her art communicates the role nature plays in peoples’ lives and its role as a nurturer. Stealey’s latest work was an abstract apron. “I’m using that form to reference the idea of caregiving and domesticity and the role of a mother in our lives,” she says.

“Cloak,” one of her largest pieces at the gallery — approximately 6 feet wide and 6 feet long — suggests the scale of nature. Its creation process took a year and a half. Once all of the leaves were gathered, processed and divided according to type, Stealey attached them to a cloth backing and cut them out. She then pinned them to the wall temporarily, which makes it easier to create a specific shape. The leaves were stitched individually onto the pattern to make multiple rows, almost like a shag rug. After the whole composition was completed, Stealey stitched it onto another piece of backing cloth.

The aprons ranged from abstract to realistic, and small to cape-like. Similar to what you’d see when peering into a tree, flies were a consistent, metaphoric

BY ALEX EDWARDS

“Cloak,” which is 6 feet wide, was one of Jo Stealey’s artworks exhibited at Sager Braudis Gallery. It took her a year and a half to complete it. Some of her other pieces displayed at the gallery took five years.

theme throughout her work showcased at Sager Braudis Gallery. “Flies can be very annoying,” she says, “which to me suggests that nothing is ever perfect.”

Hannah Reeves, director at the Sager Braudis Gallery, studied with Stealey, who was her primary mentor, at MU. Reeves says the processes Stealey teaches at MU relate to the methods she uses to turn the leaves into archival paper.

“I think that the time-intensive processes that Jo uses actually help to convey her reverence for nature,” Reeves says. “She shows extreme care and attention to detail as she preserves and prepares each leaf, and it’s almost like she’s making an offering. The deity is nature herself, powerful because of her ability to change, die and be reborn.”

Stealey doesn’t talk about her art like it’s her job.

To her, it’s a way of life. “What I’m doing today has been influenced by what’s come before it,” she says. “If I hadn’t had the experiences that I’ve had, I would not be making the work that I’m making.”

FALLING INTO ART Follow Jo Stealey’s process for turning leaves into artistic material 1. She gathers leaves from the ground by type. Stealey commonly uses walnut, sycamore, sassafras and scrub oak leaves.

2. Then she cooks them in a caustic, acid-free solution. The ash in the solution removes impurities and will make leaves last for years.

3. To create lighter-colored leaves, she places them in a water/bleach solution in the sunlight.

4. Then she rinses them well. She puts each leaf in a restrained dryer, which includes 12 to 15 layers of screened cloth with a fan on its backside.

5. After they’re dry, she stores each leaf in its own container to be used her of artwork.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JO STEALEY

Flies are a theme in some of her artwork because they suggest nothing is ever perfect, including nature.

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ARTS & BOOKS

Dreaming of a theatrical Christmas Classic holiday shows get revamped for local audiences BY KELSEY HURWITZ Theater and Christmas coming together is totally medieval. No, seriously. In the Middle Ages, actors would put on a play about Adam and Eve during Christmastime, featuring a “paradise tree,” which is where the modern Christmas tree came from, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Today, Christmas plays, musicals and ballets focus on classic Christmas stories such as The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol. Four Christmas productions are coming to local theaters, two with fresh takes on classic shows and two with traditional versions.

An Antique Carol

This family-friendly comic opera, written by Hugo Vianello, founder and conductor of the Missouri Symphony, is a new take on a Christmas classic. “It is an opera in the true sense that almost everything is sung,” says Ed Hanson, executive and artistic director of Talking Horse Productions. Set in New York City in pre-Depression 1926 instead of the original early 19th-century London, the main character, Titus Canby (this adaptation’s version of Ebeneezer Scrooge), falls asleep after turning down carolers in search of charitable donations. In his dream, he is led through past, present and future. Unlike the original, this production shows Canby as he is taken through time by the spirit of his deceased business partner

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Moscow Ballet takes on the The Nutcracker in its version of The Great Russian Nutcracker. The ballet company’s adaptation will combine acrobatics with ballet to form what producer Akiva Talmi calls “acro-ballet.”

rather than three ghosts. “Through the dream, he is redeemed,” Hanson says. The fun costumes, creative set and original music with the intimate setting of the black-box theater makes An Antique Carol a show not to be missed.

Dec. 1–3, 7–10; Thurs.–Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., Talking Horse Productions, $15, adults; $13, students and seniors, talkinghorseproductions.org, 268-1381

Moscow Ballet: The Great Russian Nutcracker

“We call it ‘Nutcracker in the land of peace and harmony,’” says Akiva Talmi, the ballet’s producer. The story follows the gift of a dove, or “double-winged peace,” to Clara from her uncle and her subsequent quest for peace around the globe. Featuring a mixture of acrobatics and ballet, dubbed “acro-ballet,” this show features one-of-a-kind choreography that sets this

COURTESY OF MOSCOW BALLET

production apart from other versions of The Nutcracker.

For example, Moscow Ballet’s version features a dove with a 12-foot wingspan that’s created by the union of two dancers, something you wouldn’t see in Tchaikovsky’s version, which is based on an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Talmi says the show is “fun and sophisticated” with a fairy tale element. The mixed styles of dance, altered storyline and intricately detailed costumes make this an entertaining reimagining of a classic ballet.

Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Jesse Auditorium, $28–$48, concertseries. missouri.edu/concert/node/90, 882-3781

A Christmas Carol

When he sat down with a copy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the show’s adapter and director Quin Gresham had one goal: to make his adaptation as close to Dickens’ original word and as true to his original message as possible. The result is an adaptation told in Dickens’ voice. With some of the talent imported from New York City and a musical production that follows Scrooge on a dreamy journey from the past to future, this production tells the story of self discovery that Gresham describes as “soul medicine.” Each ghost — from the past, present, and future — uses music in a different way to connect Scrooge to his emotions and memories, which amplifies the emotional connection humans have to music. Outside of the theater, visitors will be greeted by the friendly, antique atmosphere of Arrow Rock, which adds to the 19th-century feel of Dickens’ play. “Expect to feel good, to relax and to be surprised,” Gresham says.

Dec. 13–23; 2 and 7 p.m., The Lyceum Theatre in ArrowRock, $37; prices vary with discounts, lyceumtheatre.org, 660-837-3311

Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol has been adapted into a play at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre.

Director Quin Gresham wanted to make this show as close to Dickens’ original work as possible.

Elf the Musical

Adapted from the Broadway musical adaptation of the modern Christmas classic film Elf, this “junior” adaptation includes all of the humor and heart of the original screenplay plus fun songs such as “Sparklejollytwinklejingley.” The PACE Youth Theatre production’s cast is made up of local students from third through 11th grade. The story follows Buddy on a journey from the North Pole to New York City in

search of his human family and his true self, and along the way he spreads joy and Christmas spirit. “For people of all faiths, Elf celebrates the idea that you should be who you are and spread joy and happiness wherever you go,” says Kathleen Johnson, the show’s director.

Dec. 14–16, 7 p.m.; Dec. 16–17, 2 p.m., Columbia Entertainment Company Theatre, $12, adults; $10, students and seniors; $8, children; free, ages 2 and under, pacecolumbia.com, 443-0541

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After 23 years at the helm of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series, JON W. POSES lets his love of the genre and his years of experience steer him

W

hen Jon W. Poses moved to Columbia in August 1978 to study long-form magazine writing at MU and earn his master’s in journalism, he didn’t expect he’d soon be touring across the country with four grand pianos and legendary jazz musicians as a manager. He certainly didn’t expect to later bring jazz music to the Columbia community for more than two decades as the executive and artistic director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series.

“It’s Jon’s passion that’s kept it afloat for all these years,” says Bill Sheals, co-owner of Murry’s, a restaurant where Jazz Series concerts have taken place since its early days. “You have to give him credit for sticking with it and making it the success that it is.”

Poses talks about his experience running the Jazz Series, his love for jazz music and how it has influenced his outlook on life.

How did you get into jazz music?

I grew up in New York City, so I was fortunate enough to see virtually every major rock band that played on planet Earth. I was in high school in the ’60s, and so I ended up seeing everybody from Janis Joplin to The Doors, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and The Who. After graduating college, I went on a trip to Europe for the first time.

In Switzerland in June and July, there’s one of the oldest jazz festivals, Montreux Festival. In exchange for helping to clean up, we got a ticket to the next night (of the festival). So I went and saw all these great bands that I had never heard of before.

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How did it change your life?

I still love rock ‘n’ roll to this day, or blues, but jazz speaks to me in a way that they don’t. Jazz, in a sense, is about a way of life. Jazz is about democracy. Jazz is about people listening to each other. Jazz is about mutual respect. Jazz is about sharing. Aside from its unbelievable variations and spontaneity and creativity as a musical form, it also has just a kind of lesson in terms of how people should treat each other, or how I feel people should treat each other.

thing is getting people to buy tickets to come see the musicians. Ticket sales are roughly a third of our budget. So the rest of it has to be raised through individual contributions and grants and foundations and donations from individuals and sponsorships from business. So there’s a constant pressure and need to raise money. Another challenge is getting younger people interested enough that they see the value of going to see jazz and are willing to pay for it. We have 30,000, 35,000 students running around this town.

What do you love about jazz?

If you’re a lead violinist in an orchestra and you’re playing a Beethoven piece, you’re judged on how closely you are playing the notes, the intonations, the stops, the starts, the dynamics and the phrasing compared to what Beethoven put to paper. In jazz, it’s almost the opposite. You don’t just copy what John Coltrane sounds like or Sonny Rollins. You don’t want to sound exactly like Miles Davis. That’s what Miles Davis did. What you want to do is take Miles Davis’ music and add to it. On the one hand, you’re paying respect to the tradition; on the other hand, you’re advancing the art form. Those are all wonderful principles that I identify with.

What role has the Jazz Series played in the community over the past 23 years?

More people in this town have heard jazz than they would have otherwise. I think [the Series] has brought something to the cultural landscape. We’ve added a nice piece to the arts panorama. It can always be better. It can always be more, but when I think about starting this thing at my kitchen table, and here we are in our own space downtown, it’s a good feeling.

What are some of the challenges of directing a jazz concert series?

When I started, I thought the most difficult thing was going to be getting the musicians to come to a small market like Columbia. The most difficult

Do you have any tips on how to get into jazz?

You start with the familiar, and ultimately, you get to the point where you can see the whole path. What jazz is about is being curious enough to go back and check out some of their early stuff and go forward and keep pushing yourself.

—SOORIN KIM PHOTO BY EMILY JOHNSON

THE TO-DO LIST

this week in Columbia

ARTS & CULTURE

The Niedermeyer Experiment: A Pop-up Show

Join 10 MU student artists, and experience a one-night-only art show displayed in the long-standing Niedermeyer Apartments in downtown Columbia. The artists chose the space and are all at different stages in their career, including BFA students and students finishing the MFA program. The artwork also varies from minimalist to fully representational paintings. Friday, 5–8 p.m., The Niedermeyer Apartments, Free, wehrweina@missouri.edu

An Antique Carol

Local maestro Hugo Vianello presents his comedic take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Dec. 7–9, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10, 2 p.m., Talking Horse Productions, $15, adults, $13, seniors and students, 268-1381

The Great Russian Nutcracker

Grand jeté your way over to see dancers from Moscow Ballet: The Great Russian Nutcracker as they bring the classic Christmas story to the stage. The grandeur of the costumes, lively characters and elegant movements are sure to have you feeling holiday cheer. Monday, 7–9:30 p.m., Jesse Auditorium, $28–48, 882-3781

CIVIC

Political AF: Rally for Voter Registration

Invest in your community’s governance, and help others register to vote. Twenty bucks gets you two drinks and Pizza Tree pizza as Boone County Democrats provide training to get citizens registered. Today, 7–10 p.m., Craft Beer Cellar, $20, 449-0242

Christkindlmarkt

No, that isn’t a typo. Günter Hans is hosting a gathering called Christkindlmarkt, a Christmas street market that originated in Germany. At the Günter Hans market event, locals can visit different vendors to shop for Christmas-themed items, enjoy German drinks from the bar and more. Friday, 5:30–8:30 p.m., Günter Hans European Pub & Cafe, Free, 256-1205

Living Windows Festival

The windows come alive with the sound of Christmas music at the annual Living Windows Festival. Celebrate the start of the holiday season with friends and family downtown. Stores will be open late, so you can enjoy live music, opportunities to shop and plenty more. Friday, 6–8 p.m., The District, Free, 442-6816

FC4C’s Ugly Sweater Party

Your ugly Christmas sweater can be put to good use at the Ugly Sweater Party hosted

by First Chance for Children. Wear your hideously cheerful garb, enjoy Heidelberg

appetizers, donate to the organization, and get a chance to win a prize. Wednesday, 5–8 p.m., The Heidelberg, $10, 777-1815

registration is required, and registration closes Friday at noon. Tuesday, 8 p.m., Capen Park, $35, 874-7460

FOOD & DRINK

Mizzou Men’s Basketball vs.

Miami University (Ohio)

Gatsby Mystery Dinner

Do you ever wish you could have experienced one of Jay Gatsby’s infamous parties? Transport back to the time of flappers and speakeasies with this interactive murder mystery dinner.

Enjoy a gourmet meal, costumes and plenty of mystery. Register online.

Saturday, 6–8 p.m., Victorian Country Inn, $59, individual; $49 per person in group of 12 or more, 819-2000

MUSIC

Michael Jackson Tribute Show

Danny Dash Andrews is bringing back the spirit of the late Michael Jackson one impersonation at a time. He is said to be The King of Pop’s No. 1 impersonator.

Today, 8 p.m., The Blue Note, $20, balcony seating; $25, floor seating; $50, VIP Meet & Greet front seating, 874-1944

Violet and the Undercurrents

Violet and the Undercurrents is bringing a taste of folk music inspired by Violet’s childhood near the Missouri River. The band is joined by Katy Guillen and the Girls, a rock group from Kansas City, and The Aina Cook Band, a funk and blues-styled ensemble. Today, 9 p.m., Cafe Berlin, $7, 441-0400

Danu: A Christmas Gathering

Christmas is one of the most important holidays for families and friends in Ireland.

Local community choirs singing traditional songs for Christmas and Wrens Day (Dec. 26) are a common sight throughout Ireland each December. Acclaimed Irish ensemble Danu offers a taste of these extraordinary events. There will be guest dancers, and Celtic music lovers will be thrilled to hear fiddle, flute, button accordion and percussion. Saturday, 7–9:30 p.m., Missouri Theatre, $28–38, 882-3781

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (R) After her daughter is murdered and months go by without finding the killer, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) commissions controversial signs leading into her town to grab the attention of the chief of police, played by Woody Harrelson. An immature officer joins the controversy causing even more trouble and chaos.

RT RUNTIME = 1:55

Gear up to watch Cuonzo Martin’s men take on the Miami RedHawks to continue what’s already become a roller-coaster season. Saturday, 9–11 a.m., Mizzou Arena, Prices vary, 882-6501

SCREEN

Still playing

Coco (PG)

In this animated film, a young boy named Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming a musician but is puzzled by his family’s ban on music. This desire leads Miguel on an adventure through a mystical land to discover his family’s history, all while making plenty of friends along the way. F, R RUNTIME = 1:49

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (PG-13)

Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) is a smart, driven defense attorney working in the Los Angeles criminal court system.

Israel’s life is drastically changed after his partner in a two-man law firm dies of a heart attack. He is eventually recruited by the ambitious, wealthy lawyer George Pierce (Colin Farrell), and a turbulent series of events follows. F, R RUNTIME = 2:09

A Bad Moms Christmas (R), R A Christmas Story (PG), R Daddy’s Home 2 (PG-13), F, R Justice League (PG-13), F, R Lady Bird (R), RT Marshall (PG-13), RT Murder on the Orient Express (PG-13), F, R The Star (PG), F, R The Man Who Invented Christmas (PG), R Thor: Ragnarok (PG-13), F, R White Christmas (NR), F Wonder (PG), F, R Zoot Suit (R), RT Theaters F = Forum R = Regal

RT = Ragtag = available in 3D

KOPN 89.5fm...Where Else?

It’s not just radio, it’s community radio.

Fleetwood Mac 50th Anniversary Tribute

The Blue Note is celebrating 50 years of Fleetwood Mac with Orchard Fire. Last spring, Orchard Fire sold out Rose Music Hall, so buy tickets before it’s too late.

Saturday, 8:30 p.m., The Blue Note, $6 in advance; $8 day of, 874-1944

On your radio dial at 89.5 fm or live streaming at kopn.org

SPORTS

Stonegrinder 7K Trail Run

Take advantage of the crisp December weather by participating in the Stonegrinder 7K Trail Run at Grindstone Nature Area before the temperatures turn bitterly cold. Snacks and awards will be given out to the top racers. Advanced 11.30.17

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March 1—4, 2018 / Columbia, MO / truefalse.org