Northwest Missourian

Northwest to hold one graduation ceremony

HANNAH CLAYWELL

Editor | @Hannah_9504

It was announced to Northwest students graduating in the spring there will only be one commencement ceremony Feb. 9, in contrast to last spring where there were four across two days.

In a normal spring graduation, there are anywhere from four to six ceremonies. The ceremonies normally last about an hour, and Provost Jamie Hooyman said with the one ceremony, it is not expected to last more than two hours.

This is not the first time there would be only one commencement ceremony. During COVID, the ceremony was pushed back to August and was held outside. Hooyman said it was very successful during that time and that is why the team thought to bring it back.

“We have done it before, and it was very successful,” Hooyman said. “We got good feedback from the students (and) good feedback from the parents.”

The reasoning behind this decision results from the Spring 2023 graduating class being very large.

Hooyman said they do not want to limit the amount of family that is able to come, so having one ceremony outside is the best way to go about it.

“So this year we have, which is a great problem to have, a lot of students being successful and graduating,” Hooyman said. “Since we have such a large class, we were trying to look at do you do multiple ceremonies? Or do we try it again and see how it works with the one ceremony?”

There are not many concerns from faculty surrounding the decision to have one ceremony.

Department of Language, Literature and Writing Chair Robin Gallaher said she trusts the decisions the leadership team makes about these kinds of things.

SEE GRADUATION | A4

IN NEWS

A new scholarship will be offered to students pursuing a career in law in memory of late political science professor Daniel Smith. A3 Memorial scholarship

Northwest men’s basketball return to Bearcat Arena to end regular season against Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern.

A8 Season finale

Lance Tatum looks to build connections with students

“There’s a story that goes, the person that plants the tree doesn’t benefit from the shade that goes to come after it,” Northwest presidential candidate Lance Tatum said. That story serves as an analogy to how Tatum sees leadership at a university: plant seeds of improvement to make an institution better, even if he’s not there to see it.

Tatum was the final of four candidates to visit campus during the month on Feb. 16, and despite the ice and snow, participated in multiple forums and toured campus buildings throughout the day.

Tatum said he and his wife, Jill, were excited to see the cold weather, coming all the way from Alabama for the visit. Tatum is the senior vice chancellor at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. He has spent the majority of his life in the South, earning his bachelor’s and master’s from Troy State University and his doctorate in sport management from Florida State University.

Since then, the last 28 years of his life have been dedicated to enhancing the education experience for others. The first 10 of those years he spent teaching sports and fitness management.

“My life changed because of education,” Tatum said. “I was on a trajectory that would have never

led to this moment and because I was able to connect with faculty at a university, it changed the way in which I’ve lived my life. ”

His passion for sports sparked when he was young, but he said the first time he was really noticed by a teacher outside of athletics was in his 10th grade English class.

“I will forever remember Barbara Hicks,” he said. “She changed my life. She saw something in me that had nothing to do with my ability to participate in athletics, but she saw something in me that had to do with leadership.”

That may have been the first time he was noticed for his leadership, but not the last, as he’s held many different administrative positions in his career. Starting as a teacher and moving to a faculty athletics representative, he has since climbed the ladder to the vice chancellor position and is looking to take the next step in his career as president of a university.

In his previous positions, his main goal was to make an impact on student’s lives.

“What I’d like to be able to bring … into Northwest is a deep passion for student success and a deep understanding of what it takes to create that type of connection to students,” he said.

SIDNEY LOWRY

Managing Editor | @sidney_lowry

“ This is not just a job for me. This is a real calling. Higher education, for me, is something that I’m passionate about, and I’m passionate about students.

-LANCE TATUM

“ about, about ents. ents

St. Francis Gala to boost mental health resources in county

The St. Francis Foundation hosted its 20th annual St. Francis Gala to raise money and awareness for mental health resources and services Feb. 18.

This is the third year in a row focusing it on mental health resources. The theme for this year, “Here to heal,” represents implementing mental health resources and expanding services to support patients. Throughout the event speakers discussed how they were affected by mental health and what they did to get help. The event also held multiple fundraisers to raise money for its goal.

Megan Jennings, development officer at St. Francis Hospital Foundation, said the mission of the event is to help open the eyes of the community about mental health and expand resources available to those in need.

“This year is all about having a solid foundation of the programs that were implemented and continuing that great work,” Jennings said.

The gala was hosted by Clarence and Chelli Green and included live entertainment, a silent auction, live auction, dinner, mission moment, afterparty and a DJ.

The event had over 400 guests in attendance and participated in fundraisers for mental health resources throughout the auctions and dinner.

Ben Farrell, an emcee and auctioneer, said that with so many students considering suicide, they need a support system.

“Tonight we can be their biggest fans, their supporters,” Farrell said. “Mental health is a crisis, we have to be there, and we have to have a team to support them.”

Throughout the evening, many speakers were invited to the stage to share their stories about how mental health

has affected them and how they worked through it with members of the Francis Foundation. By holding this gala, the foundation raised money to use for mental health service expansion.

St. Francis Hospital Foundation has been an important part of supporting health care and expanding services since 1976.

“We started two years ago with the motto ‘hope we heal,’” Jennings said. “It really set the stage for what we are trying to open the eyes of our community to, for the real challenges that we are all facing with mental health.”

The theme builds upon the foundation created over the past two years that helped implement vital mental health resources across the region. Some resources being many different forms of therapy, counseling,and rehabilitation. Proceeds from this year’s Gala will create an outdoor space, expanded classroom/therapy space and a secure visitor space for the inpatient mental health unit at Mosaic Medical CenterMaryville. In addition, it will be working to create space for the expansion of providers and services in our outpatient clinic.

The St. Francis Foundation shared the story of its 15 mental health ambassadors during the event. Each of these ambassadors are students, community members and representations of inspiring stories of individuals that have reached out and got help when they were affected.

Northwest basketball players Jayna Green and Wesley Dreamer, both ambassadors for St. Francis Foundation, spoke out about how mental health affected them and how they reached out and got support.

These individuals either made an impact on mental health efforts or have been affected by it themselves.

Eight-week training program benefits animals, inmates

Puppies for Parole is a program that partners with animal shelters and advocacy groups statewide. The New Nodaway Humane Society has been participating in the program for 10 years and partners with the Maryville Treatment Center, an allmale prison.

These shelters or groups select prisons where the offenders are given the opportunity to train these dogs. The Humane Society has a rotation of three to four dogs that takes place every eight weeks at the treatment center.

The inmates are chosen carefully and have to meet certain qualifications to be in the program to become trainers. They have to be out of trouble for a couple of months prior to and while in the program, as well as receive approval from their counselor and case manager.

Kayce Fish is the assistant manager at the Humane Society and has been working at the shelter for two and a half years. She said the skills the dogs learn working with the paroles aid in the adoption process, as potential adopters seek out dogs that have already been trained.

The shelter chooses dogs based on who works well with other dogs, the longest residence to give them a better chance at adoption and even sends ones with behavioral problems to be given the opportunity to break those habits with one-onone interaction.

“While they are there, they learn basic training so sit, stay, they potty train and crate train them,” Fish said. “Sometimes after they learn all of their basics, they get to learn really cool tricks. We had one that could turn the light on and off.”

The Humane Society currently has three dogs at the treatment center being trained: Thor, Nala and Pepper. Each dog is assigned two handlers that will work with them. Chosen dogs are required to have all their heartworm tests done, as well as go on heartworm and tick preventatives.

Puppies for Parole has shown many benefits for both the dogs and the handlers. It has taught trainers vocalization skills and responsibility and offers therapeutic support. It has helped thousands of stray and abandoned dogs’ lives by finding their forever homes. Since the start of the program in 2010, more than 6,000 dogs have graduated from training and have been adopted.

Fish mentioned it’s common to see handlers that are getting out soon or their families adopt the dog they participated in the program with. They are given first pick since they have spent eight weeks with animals and have already built

a bond with them. Thor, one of the dogs currently in the program, is being adopted by its handler’s family.

“They just come back different dogs, like every dog has a story,” Fish said. “I love them all ,and when they come back here, it really brings tears to your eyes. Like, I knew you could do it, I knew you had that potential and I’m so glad somebody worked with you and gave you that opportunity.”

Lexus Thompson is a freshman majoring in criminology and minoring in psychology and works at the Maryville Treatment Center as a correctional officer. A correctional officer’s mission is to maintain safety, security and order among the inmates.

All the dogs and handlers are put on their own separate fl oor so the dogs can be together. The dogs are roomed with their two handlers. Thompson isn’t primarily assigned to the Puppies for Parole floor, but it is her secondary floor so she spends some time on the floor seeing the dogs and handlers interact. She said she loves the goals of the program and the support it provides to both parties.

“You can tell how much happier they are because when in prison, all of the offenders get family, friends, you know, their safety circle is taken away from them,” Thompson said. “They have to create a new one within the prison, and their best friends become the dogs, so the handlers are typically the happier bunch.”

Beau is a 3-year-old male labrador mix who was surrendered to the New Nodaway Humane Society. He graduated from Puppies for Parole eight-week program where he learned basic obedience skills and was potty trained.

ALYNA THIBAULT MISSOURIAN REPORTER

ALYNA THIBAULT Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian

“ They just come back different dogs, like every dog has a story.”

-KAYCE FISH ASSISTANT MANAGER NEW NODAWAY HUMANE SOCIETY

First Play Fest allows unique opportunities

For the last three weeks, the Northwest theater department has been holding the first Play Fest. The Play Fest Company, composed of students and professors, produced seven staged readings of full-length plays.

The plays were “She Kills Monsters,” “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” “The Bookstore,” “The Triangle Factory Fire Project,” “Selfie” and “Crush.” Everything was put together and directed by students.

Student directors chose these plays because of the opportunity to act in and direct something not normally performed. These plays would not be able to be produced as a main stage production.

Senior Grace Garrigan directed “The Triangle Factory Fire Project” and acted in several of the plays. Senior Sam De La Rosa acted in most of the plays, including “The Triangle Factory Fire Project” and “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche.” Senior Christina Short directed “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” and acted in several of the plays and said it was interesting to explore con-

cepts that would not be performed in normal theater.

“It’s really an opportunity for plays to be read and experienced by our department with student directors,” Garrigan said.

The plays were performed concert style, where the actors read from a script from a stationary position on stage. The stage directions were also read aloud by another member of the company.

The content within the plays includes many challenging concepts, such as death, suicide and homophobia. While most of the plays include humor, each touches on sensi-

tive topics that would otherwise not be discussed on stage.

“There is going to be more challenging material,” Short said. “There were some dark themes in the one I directed. So they are emotionally draining.”

“The Triangle Factory Fire Project” was a historical tragedy where a fire started in a factory killing 146 immigrant women workers.

Researching was a big step of Garrigan’s production of the play. She said it’s important it was accurately portrayed because it’s a real event, and the script was made from court transcripts written by Christopher Piehler.

New scholarship formed by peers in memory of late pre-law professor

Northwest's Political Science Department lost a mentor last year who helped numerous students pursue legal or other professional careers. Former colleagues and friends came together to create a scholarship to offer to students who want to pursue pre-law in honor of him.

Daniel Smith, a pre-law adviser and professor, passed away from cancer May 2, 2022 at 59. Retired Northwest professors and friends of Smith, Dr. Dave McLaughlin and Dr. Robert Dewhirst, funded a scholarship to honor Smith after his passing. The $500 scholarship will be awarded annually to full-time Northwest students in their junior year who have an interest in pursuing a career in law. The selection committee of faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences will determine the recipients, and those who receive the scholarship may have the opportunity to renew it for their senior year.

Dewhirst retired in 2016 as a professor of political science. He spoke highly of Daniel Smith’s teaching, and that he took on many things like pre-law society and was the creator of the mock trial team. Dewhirst said they were more than just colleagues, they were best friends.

“He was exceptional to me, lead a truly heroic life,” Dewhirst said. “Hero is an overused term that can become cliché but in his case, to me, he was a hero. I would put that on his tombstone.”

Daniel Smith completed his undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, then further pursued an education at the University of Virginia School of Law and Rutgers University. Smith spent a decade practicing law in Washington D.C., where he specialized in communication law.

Dewhirst said when he saw Smith's application, he knew Northwest needed a teacher like him but wasn't sure Smith would be interested in this position. The moment Dewhirst knew they got him was at the end of the day when he met with students for a campus tour.

“I remember saying to Folkmore ‘I sure would like to have him, he’s wonderful,’” Dewhirst said. “About that time he was in Colden Hall, he came down the hallway with students all around him, and he had two little stuffed Bobby Bearcats cause he has twins, I lean and say ‘folks I think we got him.’”

Their offices were close to each other, and Dewhirst noticed the students loved Smith.

Dewhirst said Smith loved teaching and interacting with his students, he came off shy at first but once you got an interesting conversation going with him, you saw a different person.

When Daniel Smith became sick in 2020, he was very transparent with his colleagues and students. He would come back from a hard weekend, but he maintained a positive attitude even on the hard days around his students. Dewhirst said chemo brought a sense of humor out of him, he would joke

around with his students about it, and it was like a game.

Dewhirst and Smith bonded on their car rides to Smith’s doctor appointments in St. Joseph, Maryville or Kansas City, Missouri. They would talk the entire time sharing laughs, memories and always a good political debate. His wife Susan Smith said he loved an interesting political debate, playing tennis, the piano, singing and was a huge fan of the Las Vegas Raiders. Daniel Smith was married to Susan Smith for 34 years, and they have 25-year-old twins Phitz and Benjamin Smith.

Susan Smith said he didn't enjoy his career in the law firm, working long hours filling out briefs, it wasn't the career path he wanted for law. When Daniel Smith came back from his interview in Maryville and told her they offered him the job right away, she wasn't surprised. She said she thought about how different it would be to move from a big city to a small town but agreed that it would be easier to raise their kids in a small town. Daniel and Susan Smith met her freshman year at William and Mary. He was a residential adviser for the specialized living dorms she was looking at. The first time she met her husband was at a meeting she had to attend to determine if she wanted to reside there.

After meeting again at a party her first year, the rest was history. They enjoyed going to open mic nights where they sang together. They then lived in Virginia for a while and then moved

“There’s also a big research standpoint that we went into for each of our shows, the necessary history and the context of the show the actors really need for us to succeed,” Garrigan said.

The Play Fest Company was composed of 32 people. Most students were a part of multiple plays, and some of the actors also directed a play.

“The actors who are in my show, are also the cast of all the other shows, with a couple swapping in and out,” Garrigan said. “We have a ginormous Play Fest Company and everyone is in, I would say,

two or more of these shows.”

The company rehearsed only the day before the performance. It had a quick turnaround, but Garrigan said it was not too much of a time commitment and a good way to get started in the theater program or participate more.

“It’s a crazy time for all these shows because we only get one rehearsal, and then we do it and we're like, ‘is it going to go well?’” De La Rosa said.

As of now, it is unknown if this will be an annual event, but many of the company members are hopeful it will come back next year.

to New Jersey before coming to Maryville in 1999.

When Daniel Smith became a teacher, Susan Smith said she saw how much passion he had for teaching his students. He would stay past dinner time helping students out, and she would call him telling him to come home to eat. She said that he never really knew the impact he made on his students until he got sick.

In 2020, Daniel Smith won the Tower Service Award for

outstanding service to Northwest students. Susan Smith said he was surprised, but she wasn’t. When she found out they were creating a scholarship to honor him, she said she thought it was appropriate.

“I think he would’ve been quite honored by it, I really like the recognition for him,” Susan Smith said. “I was really happy and really happy that a lot of people donated to it.”

Mrs.Belmont (Ellye Johnson), Samuel Gompers (Sam De La Rosa) and Rose Schneiderman (Kaitlyn Hurt) rehearse new stage directions. The cast ran through lines and stage directions at rehearsal before the play Feb. 17.

GRACE ROTHWEILER MISSOURIAN PHOTOGRAPHER

Mary Alter, played by Ellye Johnson, gets into character at rehearsal before Play Fest Feb. 17. It ran Feb. 17-22 in the Mary Linn Auditorium.

ALYNA THIBAULT Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian

Daniel Smith, Susan Smith, Phitz Smith and Benjamin Smith gathered around to take a group selfie after a friend of Daniel Smith asked their family to tie dye shirts. A pre-law scholarship will be offered for students pursuing law in memory of political science professor Daniel Smith.

ALYNA THIBAULT MISSOURIAN REPORTER

GRACE ROTHWEILER MISSOURIAN PHOTOGRAPHER

Wellness survey to provide feedback

SIDNEY LOWRY Managing Editor | @sidney_lowry

Northwest Wellness Services is participating in the Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors student feedback survey to evaluate wellbeing and health resources on campus.

MACHB is administered annually by the Missouri Partners in Prevention,

CRIME LOG

for the week of Feb. 23

Northwest Missouri State University Police Department

Feb. 19

There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Dieterich Hall.

Feb. 18

There is an open investigation for a hit and run in Parking Lot 59.

Feb. 16

There is an open investigation for harassment in Forest Village ApartmentsWillow.

There was an accident between Brock Stout, 18, and Kurra Kovidh, 22, in Parking Lot 10.

Feb. 15 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Colden Hall.

Feb. 14 There is a closed investigation for a fire alarm in Roberta Hall.

Feb. 13

There is an open investigation for a rape in Franken Hall.

Maryville Department of Public Safety

Feb. 19

A summons was issued to Kennedy K. Titus, 27, for driving while intoxicated and failure to register a motor vehicle on the 100 block of East Seventh Street.

Feb. 18

A summons was issued to Lukas D. Butler, 20, for a minor in possession and obstruction of a law enforcement officer on the 700 block of North Fillmore Street.

A summons was issued to Brylee R. Gilderson, 19, for a minor in possession on the 700 block of North Fillmore Street.

There is an ongoing investigation for property damage on the 400 block of North Buchanan Street.

A summons was issued to Bradford L. Larson, 20, for a minor in possession and possession of a fake ID on the 300 block of North Market Street.

A summons was issued to Madalynn M. Stewart, 19, for disorderly conduct, a minor in possession and possession of a fake ID on the 300 block of North Market Street.

Feb. 17

There was an accident between Ronald F. Konecne 73, and Vickie A. Henry, 57, on North Main Street and East Second Street.

There was an accident between Carquest and Aaron J. Ziola, 51, on North Main Street and East Second Street.

composed of 24 private and public universities across the state, to gain insight on different impacts on student wellbeing like alcohol use and abuse, mental health, drug use, sexual health, driving safety and sense of belonging through the completely anonymous survey.

Assistant Director of Wellness Education and Prevention Nikita Alimohammad said Northwest takes the data from the responses and uses it to mold new programs, introduce new resources based on need and assess existing programs and services.

“It gets at the heart of the idea that we want our students to be successful,” Alimohammad said. “There’s so many different aspects to a student being successful. What we can do is try to help

our students be the most well healthy versions of themselves.”

hammad said persuading students to take a survey, whether this one or one of the many others that are sent to student emails, is the most challenging part of the assessment.

“The hard thing is how do we convince you to take this really long survey that we know is going to be valuable for you?” she said. “And so one of the things that we’ve been trying is to make a change from year to year to help you understand how your answers have been making a difference.”

Alimohammad said Wellness Services decided to change the Green Dot Program to the ENGAGE program based on the information from last year’s survey. The 24/7 telehealth counseling was another resource implemented as a result from the MACHB data.

PREVENTION

The survey is sent out to nearly 25% of the student body every year and is open for roughly two weeks for students to complete. This year it will be open until Feb. 27. Alimohammad said for the last survey in 2022, she said the response rate was around 15% but is hoping to have at least a 20% response rate this time around.

As an incentive to fill out the nearly 25-minute survey, students who respond can enter their name and Northwest email at the end of the survey to be entered in a raffle for one of two yearly parking passes or one of three $40 dining passes.

Even despite the incentives, Alimo-

GRADUATION

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“The Northwest Leadership Team and some other folks that might have been talking about this, do really take a lot of perspectives into account,” Gallaher said. “I feel like they are pretty thoughtful about these types of things.”

The previous ceremonies were held in the Lamkin Activity Center, which has limited seating. Hooyman said making families and friends purchase tickets is not something they want to do.

The main concern is the weather interrupting the ceremony. Hooyman said that if weather gets in the way, the ceremony time will most likely be pushed back until the weather is better. The plans will be slightly based around the weather to not experience any difficulties.

Faculty has recognized that some students are not as excited about the decision, but Hooyman said they are very flexible. If this does not work out, they are willing to go back to the conversation and find something that will work for future classes.

“Now I know for students that’s their one time, right?” Gallaher said. “It doesn’t really matter so much to them whether we did it one way before or another way after.”

Hooyman sees this as an opportunity for students to all celebrate their accomplishments together and have all the family and friends that they want to see them graduate.

“Everyone can actually celebrate together and get their diplomas and everything,” Hooyman said. “That’s kind of what we’re going to try this year.”

A part of helping students make a connection is an institution’s ability to help students find a community they want to be a part of. Tatum was asked many questions about his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

During his time at the Montgomery, Alabama, campus of Troy, Tatum was responsible for the first Juneteenth celebration in Alabama, the Rosa Parks Museum, and implementing the Hellen Keller Lecture Series, a program that focused on individuals with sensory disabilities and discussions surrounding hardships they face in the community.

“In my eyes, you know, diversity talks about the opportunity to be a part of the perspective,” he said. “... It’s a deliberate process, you know. You have

to be intent and looking for opportunities that will attract students from outside of Maryville, outside of this county. And then when you get them here, you have to make sure there’s opportunity for them to get engaged and get involved.”

At Troy, Tatum is involved in international enrollment and recruitment, something Northwest has focused on in recent years. With the decrease in first-time student enrollment throughout the country, he said he has experience trying to diversify where institutions look for different types of students.

Tatum said after finding those students, it goes back to connections. He said students need to find a place they feel they belong on campus and a way to do that is through activities that involve them.

A part of that home is the community in which people are surrounded by. With that, some members of the University and

Not only is the data from this survey used in wellness education and prevention, it is also shared with different offices around campus based on the category. Information from the category about student belonging and campus involvement is shared with the Office of Student Involvement, and other information is shared with the counseling side of Wellness Services.

With the survey being open for only a few more days, Alimohammad is hoping students take the time to fill it out so changes can be made from the results.

“Honestly, it’s just kind of encouraging students to do their part,” Alimohammad said. “One of the things that we say on the poster is to tell us how it really is because it is anonymous. It is confidential. There’s absolutely no way that we can track it back to you. So if students are afraid or anything like that, they have nothing to be afraid of.”

throughout the community have felt divided since the announcement of former Northwest President John Jasinski’s departure. When asked about how he would deal with that type of disconnect, he said he would focus on trust and transparency.

“I’m always reminded of this statement, great universities stir great emotions,” Tatum said. “And those great emotions are connected to history, tradition, but they’re also connected to people. I think the important thing is for whomever the next president here at Northwest, is to make sure that those groups who feel like they need some healing are given an opportunity to do that.”

Relationships are something Tatum likes to focus on. Whether that be with students, faculty or community members, he said he thinks it’s important to be someone people can talk to. Tatum said he didn’t want to be the kind of president no one

knows. He wants people to say hi when they see him off and around campus.

“It goes back to relationships and building relationships and communicating to the different constituencies outside,” he said. “But I think it’s important to understand that a president has got to continuously engage and connect to outside groups.”

Having spent nearly the last three decades in higher education, meeting students almost every day, he said this position is more than just the next step in his career, it’s what he’s meant to do.

“This is not just a job for me,” he said. “This is a real calling. Higher education, for me, is something that I’m passionate about, and I’m passionate about students. … I want people to know I’m not just looking for a job. I’m looking for a place that I can impact, and then I can make a difference.”

TATUM CONTINUED FROM A1

Graduates stand and smile with their diplomas in the Lamkin Activity Center during the 2022 commencement ceremony as their time at Northwest comes to an end. Northwest will only be having one commencement ceremony for the 2023 graduates starting 10 a.m. May 6.

MAKAYLA POLAK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It is confidential. There’s absolutely no way that we can track it back to you. So if students are afraid or anything like that, they have nothing to be afraid of.”

-NIKITA ALIMOHAMMAD ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF WELLNESS EDUCATION AND

MAKAYLA POLAK Editor-in-Chief @kaypolak

If there is a consistent variable in the majority of sexual violence cases, it’s the “he said, she said,” factor. The undeniably wrong, yet driving factor in these cases.

For many of us, we first heard that term in our early stages of life. Something happened, and our teachers or parents would tell us that they can’t do anything because it’s a “he said, she said,” scenario.

For those of you that have managed to have yet to hear the term, let me break it down. It’s actually pretty simple, it means that there are two conflicting reports of something that happened, usually in the incident involving a woman and a man.

To no surprise, this term has circulated sexual violence cases for years, destroying lives and dismissing cases.

Police and investigators will work tirelessly to find who assaulted another person, but when it’s a sexual assault, the assailant can be sitting right in front of an officer, sheriff or even a judge, and they will still say “there isn’t enough evidence.” Whether you put “sexual,” in front of the word or not, it’s still assault, treat it as such.

I am sick and tired of watching cases get thrown away because there is no evidence. Is it not enough evidence that I am screaming crying in the courtroom telling you about how the man sitting at the other end of the room assaulted, raped and violated me? No, it’s not. Because as long as his story doesn’t match up with mine, then it becomes a “he said, she said,” situation, and suddenly, the case is dismissed.

People already don’t believe survivors. Their words get twisted, their actions are misconstrued and alternate stories are made up in place of the truth.

For every 1,000 sexual assault cases, only 310 will get reported, and 50 of those will lead to an arrest, according to RAINN. To make things worse, 975 of the assailants will walk free.

The worst of it, though, is that the number I just gave to you doesn’t come as a shock. “He said, she said,” has become too prevalent in the reality of sexual violence, making more and more cases end in dismissals.

How about for once, we take a minute to think about the lives at stake when we put “he said,” in front of “she said.” We need to start listening to women, and when they open up about something that happened to them, it should be taken just as seriously as any other case.

Using an excuse, saying that the stories don’t match up, isn’t enough to let a case fall through the cracks of a broken justice system. Nowadays, it is more socially known that you should get an order of protection rather than fight a case to get the assailant arrested or charged. Unfortunately, you have an extremely better chance at receiving the former than you have at winning the latter.

It’s our justice system and our social norms to accepting rape culture. We live in a “he said, she said,” world, and it is nothing shy of inhumane.

Your Bearcat is laughing at Joe Biden

Joe Biden is one of the funniest men alive. I said what I said.

That man got lost in the front yard of the White House. I’m laughing right now. Are you kidding me? He walked off of the sidewalk and into the grass. He was on the sidewalk, he chose the grass and then disappeared behind a bush. What?

They got that man to do a Wired Autocomplete interview. That in itself is one thing, but he looked dead in the camera and told the world that his

sister is the love of his life. I mean, come on, it’s too good.

I personally don’t have any opinions when it comes to whether this man is fit for office or not, nor will I ever care to. All I care about is making sure the cameras stay on that man because the videos of him that come across my TikTok are my sole purpose of living right now.

It’s been three months, and I am still watching him hold up a microphone to a turkey af-

ter pardoning it and asking if it wants to talk. Some of you consider what he does concerning, I on the other hand, I want to be that turkey.You know, I have fallen while walking up the stairs a few times in my life, but in one set of stairs, my man tripped not once, not twice but three times. You literally can’t make those things up, mainly because it was caught on camera but even still. I also stumble over my words and occasionally for-

get what I was talking about, but I will never be as funny as Biden while doing it. He mumbles and then goes “yeah,” and I’m nodding my head like I understood him. I have no idea what he said, but I felt it, not so much in my soul, but maybe my left elbow. Joe, I really, extremely appreciate you.

OUR VIEW:

Winter weather is not an excuse for drunk driving

Each week, The Missourian is sent a crime log from Maryville Public Safety and University Police Department, and you will see reports of people driving while intoxicated. Though we see it often, there seems to be an uptick during the winter months as students may have decided to take a chance driving to and from the bars.

Saying that drunken driving is a bad decision is not something people would disagree with, but still, one in three students were reported to have driven after drinking during the school year, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Students who would normally walk to the bars or to friends’ houses around town are now choosing to drive instead because of the cold weather conditions.

No matter the time of year, finding an alternative to driving under the influence is crucial to keeping the roads safe. Not wanting to carry a coat around at the bar is not a good reason for endangering and possibly severely injuring yourself or others.

YOUR VIEW:

Do you think people drink and drive more in the winter?

The size of Maryville doesn’t matter, either. Driving a couple blocks to a friend’s house may not seem bad, but it’s still dangerous. Safety is always important and should always be a focus before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Even if you think you are an experienced driver after drinking, something bad can still happen. Alcohol reduces the function of the brain while impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. Just because you have been lucky once, doesn’t mean you won’t end up hurting yourself or hurting someone else the next time.

The first and simplest solution is having a designated driver. Staying safe is more important than getting drunk at a friend’s house or the bar. In 2020, the 21-24 year age group reported the highest percentage of drunk driver’s.

Campus has resources available where you shouldn’t have to worry about not having a way to safely get to and from places. Students need to utilize campus resources before

RYLEE SAPP Sophomore Applied Health Science

“I would say it’s more common because there’s not as much to do in the winter time, and they’re just sitting around, and they also have to drive places because it’s not so warm outside they can’t walk. ”

NAELEY TORLINE Senior Marine Biology and Spanish

making a decision that could put people in danger.

Some fraternities and sororities have a system where designated people throughout the weekend are responsible for giving rides to their peers. Whether it’s in shifts or the same people all night, it is a foolproof way of making sure people are getting to and from places safely.

Rather than having to worry about who the “most sober” person is or rummaging through your contacts trying to think of who to ask for a ride, there is a system designed to make sure people don’t have to panic or make an unsafe decision about how to get from point A to point B.

You shouldn’t bet your luck on other people’s lives. Members of The Editorial Board have seen the implications first hand. The horror stories are real, and it impacts the people closest to us. Getting behind the wheel after drinking may cost you your life and will forever impact those around you.

“I would say yes because I feel like with it being colder more people want to drive and go to bars, go to parties other than walk. ”

DREU MONSIVAIS Freshman Biomedical Sciences

“Yes because I think that in the winter there’s not as much to do outside so people aren’t as occupied with that so they look for other ways to occupy themselves. ”

HAILEY JOHNSON-NESSER CARTOONIST

The Stroller has been a tradition since 1918 and does not reflect the views of the Northwest Missourian.

‘She said’ is just as important as ‘he said’

Maryville to end regular season

One regular season game remains for Maryville boys basketball as it gets ready to face Chillicothe Feb. 23 and prepares for the Class 4 District 16 Tournament.

The Spoofhounds won the previous meeting between the two squads 54-46 Jan. 24 in Maryville. Junior guard Derek Quinlin had 24 points, and senior guard Caden Stoecklein finished with 12. Two games later, Maryville began what turned into an active eight-game win streak.

Coach Matt Stoecklein is 12-4 against Chillicothe since being hired in 2014. He said the Spoofhounds know the Hornets, and it gives them an idea of what to plan on going into this game.

“We know Chillicothe — their coach has been there for a long time, and we know what they are going to run,” Matt Stoecklein said. “We have played them once this season so we are just getting ready for what we are expect-

ing them to do.”

The Spoofhounds (21-4) haven’t lost to the Hornets (12-10) since the Cameron Invitational Jan. 1, 2020, where the Hornets won 62-50. As a senior, Caden Stoecklein has had a leadership role this season and said his main goal is to give the younger players on the team confidence going into districts.

“If there is a tough shot we need to make, we usually go to one of our older guys, but in these tournament games, our younger guys are going to have to step up and hit some shots,” Caden Stoecklein said. “Just being positive and encouraging the younger guys will help the team as we continue this season.”

The district tournament bracket has the Spoofhounds as the No. 2 seed, and at 7:15 p.m. March 1, they will host the winner of No. 3 Benton and No. 6 Savannah. The Spoofhounds have swept both the Cardinals and the Savages this season. On the other side of the bracket sits Lafayette-St. Joseph as the first seed and

Dr. Dallas Fitzgerald

A win for Northwest would also secure the program’s 10thstraight regular season MIAA title — the first outright title since the 2020-21 season after Northwest and Central shared the crown a season ago.

Like his coach, sophomore guard Isaiah Jackson said experience, especially in the national championships, helps him stay locked in. He also credited McCollum with making it easier.

“He reminds us of where we’re at now and what it took for us to get here,” Jackson said.

The penultimate game of the regular season will be the Bearcats’ first chance to avenge a 69-58 loss to the Bronchos Jan. 20. It was Central’s second consecutive win against Northwest, but if the Bronchos make it three straight, it will be the first time ever they’ve defeated the Bearcats twice in the same season.

Jackson, who totaled 7 points and three rebounds in the first matchup, said he expects it to be a hard-fought contest, especially with what’s at stake.

“Energy will be at an all-time high,” Jackson said. “I mean, we’ll be ready just like any other game. We played them once already, and we know how that ended, so it’s always gonna be in our minds, but I think we’ll be fine. The energy will be crazy.”

UP NEXT

will face either No. 4 Chillicothe or No. 5 Cameron 5:30 p.m. March 1. The district final will take place 6 p.m. March 3.

The game between Benton (11-13) and Savannah (4-23) will take place 6 p.m. Feb. 27, along with Chillicothe and Cameron (9-15) tipping off at the same time.

This will be Caden Stoecklein’s last district tournament run, and as he approaches the end of his final regular season, he said this is the most confidence he has felt about a team during his four years as a Spoofhound.

“Hopefully for my senior year we can get to where we want to,” Stoecklein said. “We are playing well, and as long as we continue to do what we’ve been doing, I think the rest will take care of itself.”

TOURNAMENT CONTINUED FROM A8

Not only are the final two games important for momentum going into the MIAA Tournament, but they could give the Bearcats their first back-to-back winning seasons since the 200607 and the 2007-08 seasons.

“That would be a big deal for us, but we’re going to have to play really well these last games,” Meyer said.

Northwest will start the twogame homestand against Central (10-14). The last time the Bronchos and Bearcats clashed, the ’Cats came out on top 72-68 Jan. 12 in Edmond, Oklahoma.

When in Bearcat Arena, Northwest has lost three straight meetings to Central. The last time the ’Cats defeated Central Oklahoma in Bearcat Arena was by way of a 78-72 score Jan. 4, 2014. Meyer said the key to defeating the Bronchos is playing smart basketball.

“Taking care of the ball is always important against them,”

TRACK CONTINUED FROM A8

On the men’s side, the Bearcats aren’t ranked in the national polls, but they are slated as the No. 6 team in the conference. One of the athletes competing is sophomore Prince Griffin.

At the Friday Night LightsLast Chance Meet Feb. 17, Griffin joined senior Federico Crisci, senior R.J. Williams and freshman Truman Hare in the 4x400meter relay. The quartet won the event with a Division II provisional qualifying time of three minutes, 11 seconds and 30 milliseconds. The time is also the third-best finish in Division II.

“I think it was very special because a lot of our top people on the team have been injured a majority of the season,” Griffin said.

“We knew once we put everybody on the track, we would run very fast. I didn’t think we’d run that fast, but I figured we’d run fast enough to make it to nationals.”

While Masters did not get

Meyer said. “Defending and taking away their 3. They have a couple of kids that shoot really well. They’re a talented team, and they got some kids that can score, so we just have to make sure we’re not turning it over.”

The final game of the season will be a rematch against Missouri Southern. The first time the two teams clashed, Missouri Southern came out on top 52-37 Dec. 1. However, the last time the Lions came to Bearcat Arena, the Bearcats won 61-51 Jan. 1, 2022. Missouri Southern hasn’t won in Northwest’s home since Feb. 20, 2020. Kelderman said the key to defeating the Lions is to play as a team.

“Going into the game with confidence, knowing that we can hang with them,” Kelderman said. “If we are locked in, we can do really good, and we can give ourselves a shot to win the game. Obviously, they have some really good players, so just keeping them under control and not letting them go off and get all their points is important.”

straight games men’s basketball has held its foes under 60 points.

Northwest will close out the regular season against Missouri Southern (16-10, 12-8 MIAA) Feb. 25 in Bearcat Arena. The Lions are among the six teams in the MIAA to have already punched their ticket to the MIAA Tournament.

Should the Bearcats fall to the Bronchos on Thursday night, they’ll still have a chance to claim a share of the conference crown with a win against Southern.

The game against the Lions will also serve as Senior Day for Northwest, as the Bearcats will honor senior guard Diego Bernard, junior forward Luke Waters and junior forward Wes Dreamer before tipoff. McCollum said Dreamer is undecided about his future, but the team plans to honor him just in case this season is ultimately his last in the green and white.

Bernard and Waters are in their fifth season with Northwest. McCollum said the work they’ve put in over their extended time in Maryville has helped make the program what it is.

“I think those guys both took a lot of pride in continuing the culture, continuing the winning tradition and just being good stewards of Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball,” McCollum said. “Both of them are perfect examples of what we want — guys that came in and have drastically improved as human beings, and once they get out of this program, they will make the world a better place.”

specific about the injuries Griffin mentioned, he said one of the athletes was sidelined for a bit due to a minor injury.

He said he knew the talent each one had, and he slowly became impatient waiting to see them together.

“I knew we had to do it at

Friday Night Lights because we could have been in slow heat this weekend, and it’s hard to get it done in a slow heat,” Masters said, following it up with a laugh. “It was just exciting to see the guys kind of come together, and that was fun.”

Maryville boys basketball sophomore guard Peyton McCollum looks to pass the ball to a teammate during the Spoofhounds’ 62-34 win over Savannah Feb. 17. Maryville will finish up its regular season against Chillicothe Feb. 23.

CRAIG MCMULLEN MISSOURIAN REPORTER

CRAIG MCMULLEN Missourian Reporter | @NWMSports

Northwest track and field freshman distance runner Brooks Mathis (No. 8) finishes the 800-meter run in seventh place Feb. 17. Mathis continues to knock off a second each time he runs the 800, as his new personal best sits at 2:00.

MALLORY SCHEELK MISSOURIAN PHOTOGRAPHER

FINISH LINE

With multiple records, Northwest senior athlete focuses on winning

WESLEY MILLER Sports Editor | @WesleyMiller360

A Maryville afternoon light shines through the windows of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. The orange hue of the track inside is saturated as athletes from multiple sports walk on its surface.

While Northwest track and field and cross country senior Caroline Cunningham is one of them, she might be more used to running on the track.

“I’d say I enjoyed competition starting in eighth grade and wanting to be good, which is why I trained,” Cunningham said. “When I got to college, it was, you know, I enjoy this for the sake of the activity and not just the competitions.”

From junior high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to her fifth year at Northwest, Cunningham has nearly devoted her life to running. She said she loves to run all the time.

She said she was always active as a kid. She did gymnastics, swimming and karate, but running became her focus soon after junior high. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the morning, in the evening, competitively or casually, she wants to run.

Through the years of training and running, Cunningham’s work has paid off for one of the best careers of anyone to walk on the Hughes Fieldhouse track. As of Feb. 22, Cunningham owns six individual long-distance track — three indoor and three outdoor — program records and is part of the best 4x400-meter relay finish in Northwest history. She also owns both cross country program records.

“It’s really special because it’s all of my hard work paying off,” Cunningham said. “I never want to talk badly about my ability level. I was a solid freshman, but nothing about me said, ‘Oh yeah, she’ll be a national qualifier or set all the school records.’

So, it’s been five years of showing up for workouts, showing up for my easy runs, getting out the door when I need to, recovering when I need to and to put five years into that and to have it show my name at the top of the lists is really neat and exciting.”

She’s not done yet, though. Cunningham will soon be one of Northwest’s athletes headed to the MIAA Indoor Championships Feb. 24-26 in Pittsburg, Kansas. In the past two seasons, she’s competed in five events at the conference championships and finished in the top five all but once.

Despite all the personal achievements and records, that’s not what she’s focused on. She said the conference meets, the national championships and her teams doing well are what’s important. To her track coach Brandon Masters, that’s no surprise.

“I don’t think Caroline really cares about any of the times or records,” Masters said. “I think her desire to win and to have her do it is paramount.”

“I definitely have workouts that halfway through it’s like, ‘I want to drop out’ and my motivator in those moments, a lot of times, are, you know, ‘OK, I want to get to nationals, and I want to do well,’” Cunningham said. “I know it’s gonna hurt when I get there and when I’m in the race, so I use that as motivation to continue pushing through fatigue and exhaustion during workouts and races.”

Before she ever competed in the conference championships or set her first record, Cunningham competed in cross country and track for Cedar Falls. She said she wanted to compete at the collegiate level throughout high school, but she didn’t feel good enough for Division I. With a low number of Division II schools in Iowa, she said she began looking out of state. She said the green and white caught her attention with a few different things, including the

marine biology program, before she changed her major to psychology with a minor in child and family studies.

“When I came, I just loved the campus, and I loved the town,” Cunningham said with a smile. “It was one of those visits where I walked away like, ‘Yeah, this is where I’m gonna end up.”

Cross country and track assistant coach Wick Cunningham, who is also Caroline Cunningham’s husband, said it’s great to see her achieve all that she has. He said it’s great to be there for her, but it can be hard.

“You know, take the coach part out of it, it’s fun watching my wife reach a lot of her goals,” Wick Cunningham said. “It’s also very challenging to see her when she doesn’t reach those goals as a husband and even as a coach. We got to kind of make those hard lines of a husband-wife and coach-athlete relationship, and especially when we’re out in public. I’m not going to say we’re perfect, but I think we’re pretty dang good.”

Caroline Cunningham and her husband are approaching the end of that challenge, however. With the conference championships coming up, Caroline Cunningham’s indoor career is nearly over with only nationals after. When the indoor season concludes, she’ll shift her focus to her final outdoor season at Northwest.

She said she still has plenty of goals she wants to reach, including being named an All-American. Perhaps her biggest goal though, she said, was the desire to keep her enjoyment in her competitions.

“Have fun with it,” Caroline Cunningham said. “Remember your worth is not tied to however you perform. So, a bad race or a bad game is not who you are. It’s just something you do. That’s good advice for everyone. I still remind myself I like to run, but I’m not a runner. I am not the sport. I am not cross country. I am someone who runs cross country.”

Northwest track and field then-junior Caroline Cunningham and coach Brandon Masters hug after Cunningham won the women’s one mile run in the 2021 MIAA Indoor Championships Feb. 27, 2022.

FILE

Northwest track and field senior Amber Owens, sophomore Tori Castle, senior Caroline Cunningham and freshman Whitney Post stretch before practice Feb. 21. Cunningham has six individual track program records.

WESLEY MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

SEASON FINALE

After eight track meets, Northwest prepares for conference

WESLEY MILLER Sports Editor | @wesleymiller360

Athletes are often described by their performances in the biggest moments. For Northwest track and field, one of those big moments is the MIAA Indoor Championships Feb. 24-26.

After competing in eight meets throughout the indoor season, Northwest’s athletes will have one chance to prove themselves as the best in the conference for the 2022-23 season. Coach Brandon Masters said the offseason, preseason and all of the meets have been in preparation for the championships.

“We talk about a lot, the MIAA is what we do track for,” Masters said. “Everything else is just practice with other people there. We don’t have a win-loss record, we don’t play other teams, this is the only meet that matters. … When we talk about it in team meetings, everybody understands a personal best is great, but if we don’t perform at the championships, we messed up.”

All of the men’s and women’s teams in the MIAA will head to Pittsburg, Kansas, for the weekend of events, with most of the track events’ preliminaries happening Feb. 25 and the final races Feb. 26.

Northwest men aim for 23rd regular season

MIAA title at home

After nearly four months of games, Northwest women’s basketball is in the home stretch of the regular season. The Bearcats have just two guaranteed games left this season and are still fighting for a spot in the MIAA Tournament March 1-5.

The ’Cats will have chances to secure their second consecutive tournament appearance against Central Oklahoma Feb. 23 and Missouri Southern Feb. 25 — both in Bearcat Arena. Freshman guard Lindsey Kelderman said playing at home is special.

“I think these two games are really big for us,” Kelderman said. “Especially since they’re at home, I think we’ll just have that homecourt advantage with all the fans

N

TOP RIGHT: Northwest men’s basketball junior forward Wes Dreamer prepares to shoot a free throw during the Bearcat win over Missouri Western.

BOTTOM LEFT: Northwest men’s basketball senior guard Diego Bernard shoots the ball during the Bearcats’ 68-59 win over Missouri Western Feb. 18.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Sophomore guard Isaiah Jackson drives through the line for Northwest men’s basketball against Missouri Western Feb. 18.

WESLEY

MILLER

Coach Ben McCollum said the experience of being in big moments helps players remain focused instead of thinking ahead to potential titles.

“It’s what they deal with on a daily basis,” McCollum said. “They’ve had the

coming out. I think that’ll help us a ton and really just get us going into our postseason.”

Coach Austin Meyer, who has experienced the environment in Bearcat Arena as a player from 2002-06 and as a coach since he became the men’s team’s assistant in 2008, said playing in front of a home crowd is fun.

“We get good crowds, and we get great fan support, and I think it’s really important,” Meyer said.

The ’Cats (13-13) have lost back-to-back games after winning three in a row. In both losses, they failed to score 60 or more points.

Meyer said it’s important to be playing the best they can at the end of the season. Northwest has lost the last two games of the regular season in three consecutive campaigns.

“I think that’s a big thing —

ability to maintain a ‘present mentality,’ and, again, you can’t win Thursday’s game today, but you can lose it today.”

McCollum said improvement and focus in practice will be vital to how the team performs against Central.

The Bearcats (25-2, 18-2 MIAA) and the Bronchos (23-3, 17-3 MIAA) are the only teams that can claim the top seed in the MIAA Tournament March 1-5 in Kansas City, Missouri.

SEE FINALE | A6

Masters said he expects great things from his women’s team, who are No. 10 in the most recent top-25 poll by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Out of 17 events across Division II, the Bearcats are in the topfive finishes five times, including three in relays.

“We’re really good,” Masters said. “I think we should be one of the favorites. The other one would be Pittsburg State’s women. They’re very good. After that, it does drop off a little bit. ... I’m always a ‘go for it’ mentality type of guy. I want to win. I certainly want to beat Pitt. I certainly want to beat Pitt at their place, but they’re really good. It really will come down to who is best on the day.”

Pittsburg State is No. 5 in the USTFCCCA’s poll, and Lincoln comes in at No. 15 as the last ranked MIAA team.

SEE TRACK | A6

NEXT

MIAA Indoor Championships

gaining momentum and gaining confidence — because you see the teams that make runs in March, whether it be in a conference tournament or the NCAA Tournament, a lot of times it’s the teams that can get hot and make a run,” Meyer said. “So, just hopefully we can step out here Thursday night and play well to build some momentum and kind of see what happens.”

SEE TOURNAMENT | A6

Northwest senior athlete talks about breaking multiple program records.

MAKAYLA

RIVER BOYD Sports Reporter | @RiverBoyd5

Women’s basketball fights for spot in MIAA Tournament

Sports Editor | @wesleymiller360

TOP LEFT: Freshman guard Bennett Stirtz dunks the ball for Northwest men’s basketball after nabbing a steal on the defensive end Feb. 18.