Rolla High School April 2015

Echo

www.rhsecho.com Vol. 66 - Issue 5 - Apr. 10, 2015 Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, Missouri 65401

Living History: Rolla residents share their stories of what once was on Pine Street and beyond. pg.10&14 Phil Allen recognized as an outstanding mentor posthumously pg. 3

Do you text and drive? How do Bulldogs answer the question? pg. 6 Rolla students share their story about their Islamic faith and culture pg. 18 Rolla Basketball has an historic season pg. 20

In this issue...

Wheelchair basketball...........................................................................4 Texting and Driving: We all do it..........................................................6 Rolla’s state wrestlers............................................................................7 How a high school injury could change your life..................................8 A look at Rolla’s downtown: What it was and could be.......................10 The controversial word still used casually today.................................12 RHS Muslims speak about their religion.............................................18 Boy’s basketball by the numbers..........................................................20 Mr. Gray will see you now....................................................................22 S&T’s multimillion dollar project........................................................24

Letter from the editor b y

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During a recent trip to Willard High School for a winterguard competition, I was struck by how academic their school was. They had banners for students scoring a 30 or higher on their ACT, and glorified their brightest students in a way Rolla only glorifies their athletes. While athletes are provided with banners to be hung for everyone to see, students who have worked just as hard and put just as many hours into band, colorguard, choir or other equally worthy pursuits go unrecognized. Is every school activity not equally valuable? We are a sports focused school, but we are a school whose purpose is to focus on education. Rolla High School and it’s administration is not to blame for this problem, as the real culprit is the entirity of American culture.

Students from other countries are often shocked by the prevalence our athletics programs take. Sports teams are touted as being team build-

ECHO Magazine Staff ECHO is an open forum for student expression. All letters to the editor must include the writer’s name, signature and class or position. Anonymous letters will not be published. ECHO reserves the right to reject any letters. should be sent to ECHO, Rolla High School, 900 Bulldog Run, Rolla, MO 65401.

Editor In Chief - Maggie Duncan, Managing Editor - Theodora Leventis, Webmaster - Rohit Allada, Staff Writers: Chloe Myers, Trustin Dinsdale, Rahel Pommerenke, John Giesey, Amanda Steineman, Luke Walker, Elise Mazzeo, Celia Parsons, Emily Roberts, Samuel Frimpong

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ing and teaching students valuable life skills however, wouldn’t an academically based team such as Robotics or Science Olympiad teach far more valuable life skills? Sports constantly cause students to miss time in the classroom, not counting the lengthy practices and meets which make it even more difficult for students to catch up after missing a day.

True, MSHSAA rules state that students must have a certain GPA to remain on their sports team which prevents students from falling too far behind, but some students may only make the lowest required grade to pass, thinking that sports are more important to them. Rolla spent huge amounts of time fundraising to acquire the one million dollars it cost to build our turf, and other schools spend far more money on extravagant spots complexes. Wouldn’t this time, energy and money be much better spent on education?

Many students pursue sports for the scholarship opportunities, but with such a small percentage actually reaping the benefits that time, for many, could be much better spent on studying to get an academic scholarship.

Phil Allen awarded ‘Compass Award’ for outstanding mentorship b y

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n March 7, the Rolla Robotics teams participated in the Missouri state FIRST competition at Missouri S&T. The robotics team has faced a trying season, beginning with the loss of their beloved mentor Phil Allen after his death in a car accident earlier this year. However, they continued to succeed, and after reaching the state competition, decided to honor their coach.

“Phil was a top notch mentor and we thought he deserved to be recognized,” sophomore Dawson Satterfield said.

The teams nominated Allen for the Compass Award, an honor given to FIRST coaches who have “provided outstanding guidance and support” to their teams. The teams submitted a video submission, and to their surprise, Allen won the award.

“It was a very heartfelt mo-

ment when they announced that the video had won. When we walked down to receive the award many of the judges had tears in their eyes.

However, the most memorable part was turning around to see that the entire crowd had honored Phil, his son, and his teams by giving us a

“The Compass Award recognizes an adult Coach or Mentor who provided outstanding guidance and support for an FTC Team throughout the year. The winner of the Compass Award is determined from candidates nominated by FTC Team members, via a 40-60 second video submission, highlighting how their Mentor has helped them become an out-

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standing Team.” USFIRST.org

Phil was a top notch mentor and we thought he deserved to be recognized,” sophomore Dawson Satterfield said.

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5 minute standing ovation. It was an amazing sight,” Satterfield said, “Phil really inspired everyone that got the privilege to work with him in robotics. After his death many people missed the next few practices, but we just strived on like we knew he would’ve wanted us to.We have all learned how to look forward and to keep our friends and teammates close in times of happiness and in times of grief.”

Forum & 10th Street Rolla, Missouri feature 3

Driven Mason Davis finds joy and meaning on the court b y

Mason Davis, a senior here at Rolla High School, is a very involved student. He is an AP Chemistry student, as well as a Link Crew member amongst other high school activities and obligations. Davis, while being a dedicated student of RHS, is also an athlete.

“My team is based out of St. Louis. I go for practice twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday from about 6:00 to 8:00. We travel all over the country, at least once a month, if not, twice a month,” Davis said.

Davis plays wheelchair basketball. This team in particular was started in an inspiring way.

“The team itself started in the 1950s. I believe it was a bunch of WWII veterans,” Davis said.

According to Davis, this was a way to adjust when they returned from war.

“I guess they didn’t really know how to adapt to life when they go back. It was a little bit like the Wounded Warriors, how it started,” Davis said.

Other than the chair, there are really no other differences between wheelchair basketball and typical basketball, according to Davis.

“There are very few differences between regular basketball and wheelchair basketball. It is regular basketball, except you are sitting down. I mean we are playing with 10 ft rims, on regulation courts. The one thing is that your chair is considered a part of your body, so you can’t just come up and ram somebody. That is a foul. It’s not bumper cars,” Davis said.

There are three divisions of wheelchair basketball. First, there is a prep division for kids thirteen and under. Then, there is a JV division, which Davis plays in. Lastly, there is a varsity division.

“It is awesome to watch, the difference in the levels. You see those

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little kids out there, giving 100 percent and working their butts off,” Davis said.

Davis’s favorite moment on the court was one that happened last season.

“We were at the national champ tournament. Last year there were only 3 high schoolers on our team: me and two other guys. We are a pretty young team,” Davis said.

Although Davis said they lost every game, it was still a good memory.

“Every single game we lost, we lost by one point. That was insane.

The first game we played that game I fouled out with two minutes left.

That was probably the worst thing I could’ve done ever, but it was good to sit on the sidelines and watch that last play, although I wish I could’ve been out there,” Davis said.

According to Davis, he gets pretty physical during games.

“I foul a lot. I actually spend most of my time on the floor. I flip over more than anything,” Davis said.

Between basketball and academics, Davis does a good job prioritizing and doing his best in everything he does.

“Outside of basketball, I have to manage my time wisely, because more than anything I am a student. It’s all about time management,” Davis said. This hard work has paid off for Davis, who is attending St. Louis College of Pharmacy next year. It was a little bittersweet for him, however, when a college coach talked to him recently about playing for his team. Although this was awesome, he said he cannot pass up his opportunity to study in St. Louis.

“It has given me the opportunity to live a dream I’ve always had.

For as long as I can remember I have been on the sidelines watching sports. I wouldn’t trade that for the world, but just to be able to experience the stuff for myself, its been the greatest time of my life,” Davis said.

Historically Known In Beautiful Downtown Rolla

Blossom Basket Florist 10th and Cedar Streets

Rolla, MO 65401

573-364-7101

Address: 1119 Kingshighway, Rolla, MO 65401

Phone:(573) 368-5535 Hours: Open today - 10:30 am – 9:00 pm sports feature 5

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Texting and driving. We have all done it. You know, when you’re in the car driving to the store and your mom texts you saying, “Don’t forget the milk!” or when you’re on your way to meet your friends and they text you asking where you are. You reply a quick “yes” or “on my way!”. Maybe you constantly text and drive and it’s just as natural to you as looking both ways at a stop sign.

What most people don’t realize is that, according to www.textinganddrivingsafety. com, teens who text and drive spend approximately 10% of the time they spend driving outside of their lane. In Rolla High School alone, 25% of students say that they have never drifted into another lane or gotten in an accident while texting and driving. On top of that, 26% of Rolla High School students feel that they’re good at texting and driving.

“I think that I’m good at texting and driving because I haven’t gotten in a wreck or came close to getting in a wreckyet,” sophomore Seth Morris said.

While many teenagers have this attitude, texting while driv-

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ing makes a teen twenty-three times more likely to crash.

This is a scary statistic considering 17% of RHS students text while driving regularly, and 25% of students admit to occasionally texting and driving. If the chances of getting into an accident while texting and driving are so high, why do teenagers (and adults for that matter) continue to put themselves and others at risk for a text?

“People text and drive because they think that they can multi-task. You’ll be in the car and your phone goes off and you check it and it you think, oh it’ll only take a few seconds, I can multi-task,” Sophomore Tyler Myers said.

According to Breanne Chenault, English teacher at Rolla High, people text and drive for another reason.

“I would say that people text and drive because they don’t have the patience to wait until there is a safe time to text.

They get that text and want to reply right that instant so they take the risk,” Chenault said.

These days, we live in such a fast paced society it seems natural to always have technology around us, even if it isn’t necessarily safe. We are always connected and its weird for us not to be even for just a short time. 78% of Rolla High students feel that texting and social media outlets such as snapchat have greatly affected the amount of phone use by teenagers.

“Though I do believe cars have the best selfie lighting, I try to take my snapchat selfies while I’m parked,” Junior Briana Isakson said.

What Rolla High School Has to Say Do you think social media Yes outlets such as snapchat have affected phone use Texting Talking Both bad Both Fine while driving?

Which is worse, Do you feel like you’re texting and driving or Yes good at texting and talking on the phone driving? and driving?

While texting and It’s okay It’s bad-I still do it How do you feel about It’s bad driving have you Yes texting and driving? ever felt yourself drifting or gotten How do you feel about Laws should Laws should No into an accident? against laws concerning be passed not be passed opinion What do your parents texting and driving? think about texting and driving?

Do you text and drive?

Yes

No

Occasionally

17% 58% 25%

54% 1% 38% 7% 64% 7% 29% 60% 10%

30%

No

No opinion

No

I don’t text and drive

No

I don’t text and drive

They do not care

They text and drive

78% 13% 9%

28% 18% 56%

12% 25% 63%

54% 14% 32%

A Strong Team with Big Dreams

“There are a lot of people who inspire me, but nobody inspires me more than my parents. They support me through the toughest times in wrestling seasons all the way till the end,” Barr said.

Rolla High’s wrestlers had an outstanding season. The halls of RHS were filled with excitement as the boys on the team achieved many of their goals this season. Mark Sells, head coach of the team, was very impressed with their performance this season.

“This year we were a very strong team in many of the fourteen weight classes. We had six wrestlers with 30 or more wins,” Sells said.

They did, according to Sells, have some challenges.

“This year was different in that we were very strong at some weight, but could not fill all the weights which cost us some dual matches and higher placing in tournaments,” Sells said.

Sells said that the upcoming seasons should be very successful.

“The future of the wrestling team is bright with eleven starters returning next year which includes six state qualifiers of which two are state finalists,” Sells said.

RHS’s wrestling state finalists include sophomores Tristan Barr and Seth Veatch. Both Barr and Veatch talked about the hard work that they put into this season, resulting in their ultimate success.

“I went through lots of hard practices [to get where I got this year].

I started getting into the wrestling room around July and I went to camps and met some admired wrestlers in the world,” Veatch said.

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“I went through a lot of training, mentally preparing and physically preparing [to get where I got]. I suffered, I fought, I went through the blood, sweat and all the tears to get where I was. I took my season one match at a time and that is basically how I was so successful this season,” Barr said.

Veatch has big aspirations for his future wrestling career.

“My future hopes for wrestling are that I can continue to wrestle throughout my life and that I can become a high school state champ, and maybe wrestle in college if I put my work in,” Veatch said.

Barr has big plans from his future in wrestling as well.

“My hopes for the future in wrestling is and always has been for the eight years that I’ve wrestled, is to wrestle D1 for University of Missouri, Mizzou Tigers,” Barr said.

Veatch’s favorite moments include getting his hand raised after winning, as well as team talks before tournament.

Both state wrestlers said that their family members were important to their success.

“There are a lot of people who inspire me, but nobody inspires me more than my parents. They support me through the toughest times in wrestling seasons all the way till the end,” Barr said.

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The role of sports in a high school is huge. There’s nothing that comes close on the level of gathering students and the community together and instilling school pride. For athletes, high school sports can be the definition of reward, gratitude and exhilaration. However, it can have another effect on their lives in the form of physical damage, with the most dangerous form being a concussion. Concussions, or the stressing of brain tissue due to a large impact, are fairly common in sports with an estimated 19% chance of a high school athlete experiencing one. They are one of the most dangerous injuries out there.

“In my career, I’ve never actually had a kid actually get hurt bad enough that he wasn’t able to come back. I’ve seen broken arms and legs, but usually you can bounce back from that if you want… I would say the most common injury is either concussions or just twisted, turned ankles… [We dread] concussion[s the most], because it can have a longer-lasting effect. Between 50 and 60 [people on the football team]... this season, we had two or three [concussions]. I would say there was one severe concussion, and the rest were able to come back,” assistant-coach to the Rolla High School football team Tim Webster said.

The danger of concussions is nothing to be understated. Junior Brian Saladino, who experienced two concussions over the last football season, can attest to this.

“For football players, you want to be tough and manly, so you don’t want to complain about your head hurting because your teammates might give you a hard time or not trust you on the field as much if they don’t think you’re tough. You also just want to keep on going and push through it. I had two concussions this year. Both happened when I was playing football and me and another guy went helmet-to-helmet. Other times I’ve been hit and there’s been just like a flash of black for a second, and I’m dizzy and just stumbling around, then I’d get a massive headache that would last for a while. The first time I knew something happened because I passed out and fell down. I told my coach my head hurt really bad so he had me sit out. The next day I went to a doctor and was diagnosed with a concussion. The second time was when I just had a headache for a bit, but I proceeded to keep on playing but my headache got worse and worse, so I went to a doctor and was diagnosed a second time. One of the worst parts of my concussions was how boring recovery was. With concussions, you’re not allowed to do

8 sports feature

any mental activity because your brain needs lots of rest. I could only do thirty minutes of actual mental activity a day, so watching TV, reading, homework, I couldn’t do any of that. All I could do was sleep and do nothing. It was impossible to keep up with school. Luckily it was in the beginning of our season and the school year, so the school I missed was stuff teachers give students to help them ease into school. In the end, I was mostly behind for all of first quarter and to an extent I was behind for first semester,” Saladino said.

Due to the danger of concussions, awareness and caretaking procedures have experienced major development. Casey Robinson, the official athletic trainer of Rolla High School, has witnessed this movement from its start.

“There is lots of new research coming out now that shows an increased brain cell death rate from concussions. They are also being linked to increased chance of Alzheimer’s. The reason so much about concussions is being brought to light is because of former wrestlers committing suicide and athletes like Junior Seau of the NFL. But with all of these athletes, MRI’s and CT scans are showing all kinds of brain cell deterioration and other damages. So the long-term effects are mostly mental. Physically-wise, your body can recover, but it’s the brain that suffers the most from a concussion, according to research,” Robinson said.

With more science and knowledge behind concussions being brought to light, concussion treatment and protocol have advanced.

“With precautionary stuff there’s really only so much you can do.

MSHSAA, or the Missouri State High School Athletic Association, has lots of mandatory regulations, like a limited number of days a football team can have serious physical contact in practice, they put regulations on gear and what should and shouldn’t be worn. The biggest one is the process of letting an athlete return from a concussion because it’s almost impossible to prevent concussion, but the main thing is how an athlete can get back from it. The biggest fear is letting them come back too soon, because if they come back and get hit when they’re not fully recovered, their chance of death or severe damages increase exponentially. And so through MSHSAA we have concussion protocol and regulations, for example, athletes must wait a minimum of seven days after their injury to start playing again, they must be cleared by a physician and they must be 24-hour symptom free. After all of this they have to

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go into a slow progression back into activity,” Robinson said.

Coaches disagree with the amount of time that a player must sit out, which could jeopardize the game. However, others are understanding of the guidelines because they ensure the safety of the players.

“I agree with [it]. Honestly, I don’t like it, but I know it’s necessary because it saves kids’ lives and keeps their mental states or whatever intact. I can definitely tell that after my concussions I’m not as smart as I was. I stumble over words a lot more now and forget a lot. Sometimes I’ll repeat myself and not even know it. Things that were really easy for me like reading or doing homework take more time than they used to,” Saladino said.

While there are actions taken in order to prevent concussions, it is not possible to keep players completely from harm. “[P]revention-wise, it’s almost impossible to prevent concussions entirely, but the return and handling of concussions once they happen is in my opinion, the most important,” Robinson said.

As a football coach, Webster can also verify this, as well as partake in insuring RHS’s athletes are kept safe.

“We make sure all the kids are always wearing their mouthpiece, which is a huge thing because their teeth chattering can also cause a concussion. We have Revolution helmets, which are supposed to be one of the best for preventing concussions. We only do full-contact stuff for a little bit each day. We try to stay away from hitting each other because eventually, kids are going to run out of the ability to take a hit before they get hurt. So, if you just take care of the kids, there’s less of a chance they’re going to get hurt. Since I’ve started coaching, [ways to protect the players have] actually made a huge change. A lot of that’s just come from being able to find people that have studied concussions more in high school sports, because they see long-term effects. We might be moving to- the next five, ten years- [to] these caps called Guardian caps. It has a little receptor on it, and, if the head gets jarred enough, like a car collision or something, it will flash red.

That’s an automatic way where kids would be able to [see] if you [need to] get checked out. I can see us moving in that direction. I graduated in 2005, and when I played HS football the coach just said, ‘Are you okay?’ and if you said, “yes,” you go back in. So, now, if the kid [is hurt], they’re not going back in the game. If they come off the field and say their head’s hurting, we won’t take a chance,” said Webster.

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In arguments for better methods of preventing sports-related concussions, people often argue against the sports themselves. One could make a strong argument against the nature of the sports, especially football, but Robinson would not.

“I don’t think it’s a dangerous sport, I think it can have a dangerous mentality, which trickles down from the NFL and smaller levels, as more people become excited to see those big hits from a player coming in using his helmet. Hits like that are where a majority of concussions come from. Less athletes are using proper tackling techniques, where that starts I’m not sure. For example, one of the things now is that you don’t hear ‘good tackle’ anymore, you hear ‘good hit’. I think it’s that mentality that is hurting the sport. Like I said, I don’t think it’s a dangerous sport, because I’ve had concussions and injuries from almost every sport. There’s more contact in football, but proper technique can go a very long way in concussion and injury prevention,” Robinson said.

Saladino would also mirror that statement.

“I’d argue that any sport is dangerous depending on how you play it. We wear a lot of protective gear playing football. I think… [football is] one of the more dangerous sports, but it’s not at a level to where I’m afraid to play it. I can’t wait to start playing next year. For example, I’d say rugby can be really dangerous, as it’s really similar to football in terms of contact, except they don’t wear any protective gear. I think football can be dangerous if people play it wrong, but it doesn’t have to be. If everyone plays it correctly then I think it could be much safer.

Normally whenever you see an injury it’s because of a cheap or late hit. There are cheap hits and mistakes in the NFL, and a lot of the time you have adrenaline pumping and you do things without thinking, as it can all happen so fast. I feel completely comfortable with our football program because of how they train and Casey on the sidelines are very quick and effective in diagnosing concussions. They won’t let you play until a good amount of time has passed to allow your brain to heal. So I totally agree because concussions can mess you up for the rest of your life. There are people in the NFL who have been told they can’t play anymore because they are in so much danger from so many concussions. And Mohammed Ali, after being punched in the face so many times, he can’t even walk or speak regularly anymore,” Saladino said.

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Fifty years ago, Pine Street thrived with business as people bustled from store to store picking up groceries from Kroger, shopping for clothes at Bishop’s Clothing for Men and Women and admiring the wide selection of shoes on display in the multiple shoe stores. Barbers, photography studios, gas stations, drug stores, clothing stores, beauty salons, banks and three theaters lined the busy wide sidewalks of the two way street.

“There were very few, if any, empty store fronts in downtown at that time; you could find anything you wanted on Pine Street,” Kent Bagnall, owner of Kent Jewelry said.

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photo provided by Larry Bowen

In the days before the internet and large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Pine Street was the commercial center of Rolla. Several things factored into the decline of the thriving downtown, one of them being the abolishment of the two way street. There are many theories to why the city decided to redirect south going Rolla Public Library. Previously the Rolla Post Office traffic on Pine Street to Rolla photo provided by Larry Bowen Street.

“One theory is that the The relocation of the USGS elimirailroad and the dead end at nated one of the biggest employers the beginning of Pine Street downtown. JC Penney’s and the would have made it impossible Ford dealership, which were also for fire trucks to pass if a train located along Pine Street, moved to were driving through. People Bishop’s Avenue. However, this was could have been stopped at not the first time that downtown the end, making it impossible suffered due to the loss of employfor the fire truck to pass,” Jim ers. In the 1850s, Pine Street began Marcellus, employee at Phelps to evolve around the railroad which County Bank said. ended there.

A second theory is that the “The Civil war came along in 1861 two-way street made it difficult and the military had its headquarfor deliveries to be dropped ters [where Phelps County Bank is View from the intersection of 9th and Pine St. looking south off at stores. Since most didn’t located now]. It was under military have alley access, all of the occupation. There was martial law drop-offs had to be done by the street front doors. Either way, to here in which a general was in charge of the entire area,” Marcelprevent traffic issues, the street became one-way in the 1950s. lus said.

“I think it has done us an extreme disservice to businesses on After the war, the Union troops left town, and the structures Pine Street, because we have half of the traffic coming down they had built along the main street were claimed by store the road. Every day we see six to eight cars coming the wrong owners. Downtown began to grow. In 1870, another major condirection on Pine Street, so it’s obvious that they want to come tributor to the expansion of Rolla came to town. As the School downtown the wrong way so much so that they’ll break the law of Mines, now known as Missouri University of Science and and go down the one-way street to do it,” Larry Bowen, owner of Technology grew, the town grew with it.

Readers Corner, said.

“We’re talking about one hundred to one hundred twenty-five Another reason for the decline of the activity downtown was years of growth here,” Marcellus said. the United States Geological Survey moving out of their buildMany years later, when Route 66 was built, Pine Street, as the ing on Pine Street. As the employer of close to eight hundred main street in Rolla at that time, became part of this cultural people, five to six hundred who worked on Pine Street, the USGS icon. Close to eight thousand people gathered at the Edwin Long attracted both business and people.

Hotel, which later became Phelps County Bank, to watch the “[It] helped create a vibrant downtown, as those employees ate governor cut the ribbon to the local section of the route which lunch downtown and shopped after work,” Bagnall said. ran from St. Louis to Oklahoma City.

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photo provided by Larry Bowen

photo provided by First State Community Bank

Rolla Mo Theater owned by Gasconade Theatres “It was the moon project of the day.

My generation, put a man on the moon in 1969. The 1930s literally took the country from dirt and rock to asphalt and concrete. You can hardly imagine how important it was to be able to drive on something at 60 miles per hour and not have a flat tire or hit a pothole and blow out,” Marcellus said.

This encouraged traffic, however, when World War II came and when Fort Leonard Wood was constructed, Pine Street could no longer sustain the flow of military vehicles. Route 66 was moved to Bishop’s Avenue, and later to the modern I-44. This change was further encouraged by large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, whose cheaper prices and wide variety of products put many long standing downtown stores out of business.

“The ‘big box store’ culture came to Rolla. ‘One stop shopping’ became more appealing to consumers.

Downtown now has more of a service-based atmosphere, with lawyers, an optometrist, insurance companies, loan shops, banks, financial advisors and the like,” Bagnal said.

There are several stores on Pine Street that are speciality shops. These shops offer unique products, that many times can’t be found elsewhere. However, as more and more people move to shopping at big chain stores, they are becoming disenfranchised with the unique, local businesses Rolla has to offer.

“I don’t like the homogenous world

Pine Street at Christmas looking south over the brick road.

that we live in now. I like diversity, and I think we’ve given that up. It is a great thing to be able to say that you’re the only place in the entire world like you.

Now with all the chains, everything is pretty much cookie-cutter the same.

I think it’s a sad thing because later generations might not know what it’s like to have a cheeseburger from an independent restaurant,” Bowen said.

However, it seems that there might be a resurgence in the popularity of downtowns. As stores open up that offer specialized gifts, more people are interested in what downtowns can offer them.

“Downtowns are becoming more and more of a destination. People love them, out of state people love them. We really have a lot of people that come to downtown Rolla to shop from out of state.

We have three billboards now that pull people from all over the United States, and they come back. Rolla is kind of the stopping point,” Marilynn Langston, owner of Langston Interiors and Red Door Gifts, said.

“This planning process focused on the Main Street approach to planning, addressing four main areas of concern: Design, Organization, Promotion and Economic Restructuring,” Meramec Regional Planning Commission said in their official plan proposal.

Although many store owners advertise their businesses through billboards, it has not drastically changed the come and go of customers. In 2009, the City of Rolla came up with a plan to revitalize

the historic downtown.

Focusing on these main areas, the goals include adding archways to the entrances of Pine Street, diversifying the retail to appeal to student and senior populations, adding more niche and speciality shops, attracting convenience stores and restaurants, improving the esticial appearance and activities on Pine Street, specifically in the nighttime, addressing parking and lighting issues, as well as revitalizing empty, rundown buildings. These renovations and additions to Pine Street would cost thousands of dollars according to the estimations of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan, but the final outcome, a once again lively downtown area, is meant to bring the community together.

“The city kind of works with downtown.

I know they are trying to design new banners for there. Cities that have a strong flourishing downtown are a real benefit for the city itself. Not only does shopping local benefit the store owners, on a sales tax basis it benefits the community as well,” Aimee Campbell, Tourism Director at the Rolla Chamber of Commerce, said.

It is vital to the renovation of downtown that a sense of community exists to bring in profit to the businesses there.

“We have a Downtown Business Association so that I’m not the only one working to get stores downtown. We have just a little nucleus group that we care about each other and we check up on each other. We work really hard to be a community. I try to promote the downtown and that we have this wonderful group of people that care about each other,” Langston said.

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For generations, the culture of African-Americans has heavily influenced America. Today is no different; stereotypical “ghetto” black culture has spread through social media, music, and pop culture and reached young people of all races, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Baggy clothes, snapbacks, and tattoos have evolved from the accessories of a “gangsta” to typical apparel of teenagers at the mall .

Hip-hop has gone from a niche genre heavily dominated by black men to a mainstream category captivating white kids by promoting Iggy Azalea’s proclamations of drinking in the club. The exposure to this culture has also changed the slang of this generation, with words like “finna”, “aight”, and most controversially, “nigga” entering the everyday vocabulary of many. The interests and behaviors of one who would be labeled as an “urban youth” twenty years ago can now describe an average American teenager.

Some may see this as mockery of black people, simply taking their culture and ways and turning it into the cool way to act, but this isn’t always the intent. Many don’t realize that the hip-hop songs boasting of sexy women, fast cars, stacks of money and copious amounts of alcohol don’t represent the genre’s beginnings as an outlet for poor black people to express their troubles and life hardships. The word “nigga” has evolved from an extremely offensive racial slur to a term

Undecided (15%)

Should not be allowed to say the word (38%)

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for friends; whether people agree with its new usage or not, it’s being said by young people every day with non-threatening intentions.

“It kind of bothers me when people throw the word around without thinking about it,” senior Aita Ikuenobe said. “People don’t really realize the impact it has, even if they don’t mean it that way. The history behind the word makes me feel uncomfortable when I see white people calling black people niggas.”

The word has created a controversy across the nation, dividing people of all ages and races. Some argue that the historical context of the word deems it inappropriate, especially since we are only fifty years removed from a time when black people were denied the rights of white citizens. Others counter that the world is rapidly changing, and that if black people are willing to call each other the n-word, everyone should be allowed to use it.

“The word ‘nigga’ has downplayed a lot since it’s first hurtful meaning. Kids throw out the word all the time. I personally don’t like the use of the word. I’m not black, but I find it disrespectful to those who are,” a Rolla High School student said in a recent survey. Other students opinions from the same survey can be read below. The survey was administered to four classes of diverse students on April 3.

“It’s just like the word ‘cracker’ referring to white people; no one should call each other anything other than their name. It’s offense and everyone should respect each other, no matter the race.”

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of Rolla High School students say they believe people should be able to use the word “nigga” if it is not meant in an offensive or insulting manner

“‘Nigga’ seems to be another way of saying ‘this guy’, or ‘my friend’, or referring to someone that is doing something that makes him or her stand out.”

Sometimes listen to rap music(15%)

36%

Do not listen to rap music (49%)

of Rolla High School students say they listen to hip-hop and rap music on a regular basis

“It influences me in that I tend to act, talk, and dress less refined and less conservatively.”

“I think it has vastly affected the way that high school age kids talk these days. Since many people find humor in ‘ebonics’, it is becoming more and more popular for white people to talk like that.”

“Teenagers in today’s world buy into popular trends.

Be it TV, or music, or language. They see and repeat what they think is cool. So if one person started using some word they thought sounded cool but may offend people, other people are going to pick up on it and keep saying it. Even if it’s not right.”

13%

Occasionally use the word (12%)

of Rolla High School students say they use the word “nigga” regularly

Do not use the word (75%)

“I feel a lot more at ease throwing around the word ‘nigga’. It’s said many times in rap with no negative consequences.” feature 13

History Living

Some of Rolla’s oldest residents and local legends tell their life stories.

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rs. Lelia Flagg came to Rolla to attend Missouri S&T, which was then known as Missouri School of Mines, in 1956 at a time when Rolla High School had just become recently became integrated (African American students in the past were bussed up to a high school in Jefferson City) and the university had so few women in attendance that they didn’t even offer any women’s housing. Flagg was a trailblazer, and became the first African American woman to graduate from S&T. Although Flagg grew up in St. Louis, she found her way to Rolla when a teacher recognized that she was extremely talented in mathematics.

“When I was in high school I did so well in math that I had a math teacher tell me that I had to go toward engineering. At that time engineering was relatively new to our community. We didn’t know about it at all. When they saw what they figured was a very unusual math ability they started pushing information in my direction. I graduated in January of ‘56 and I spent a semester in Harris, a junior college in St. Louis. I spent a semester there doing pre-engineering and even the staff there told me that I shouldn’t finish in junior college, and that I needed to get down to MSM,” Flagg said.

Once Flagg was accepted, the first problem that she faced as a new student was finding housing for the next four years of her life.

“When I was accepted as a student my mother and her brother drove down here with me and we went to the registrar’s office. When we went to him he said ‘Good, we have accepted you. now you have a problem. You have to figure out where she’s going to live’ because at that time there was no housing for women on the campus. That first year I still believe that there were only six or seven women on the entire campus in different housing. I was helped in finding a place to stay by a man named Carter.

The office told us to go talk to him to see if he could help us find housing. He said ‘When I leave at noon, follow me’ and he took us to Mrs. Winfrey’s home.

She said ‘I don’t have a lot of room here, but yes I will keep her,’ so that’s where I stayed for the full four years,” Flagg said.

Most of Flagg’s social life during her college years stemmed from her association with Mrs. Winfrey and the church they attended called Elkin’s Chapel.

Being the only African American woman on campus made it difficult to socialize, especially since there were so few women on campus in general. Although S&T still has an uneven male to female ratio, it has vastly improved during the last century. To give an example, Flagg and a few professors tried through-

out her four years to start their own chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. The only requirement was that they needed 8 women, and they never could meet that requirement.

To offset her lack of female friends, Flagg spent a lot of her time with the Baptist Student Union and would also attend dinner parties put on by some of the other African Americans in town.

“I started with Elkin’s Chapel and they became an extra family to me. I think that if they had not been there I may not have been able to survive the seclusion on the campus. My daughters, they have always had girlfriends from college. That’s something I don’t have except for Martha Carolyn Shultz.

When I worked in California Martha had a summer job at a company out there and it was a thrill to me for her to get in touch with me and we spent time together during that summer she was out there.

That has always meant a lot to me. That’s something a pioneering situation keeps a woman from having,” Flagg said.

Although Flagg, as valedictorian of her high school, had a scholarship, she still had to become very resourceful in order to stretch out her limited budget.

“My parents had to spent $35 a month for my housing and my food, for room and board. After, I don’t remember exactly when, but my landlady decided she didn’t want to feed me anymore so for $10 a month I was buying corn flakes and frozen spinach,” Flagg said.

Although Flagg was at a disadvantage when it came to money and housing, she had an even playing field in the civil engineering department.

“As far as on the campus I believe I was fairly treated in many ways because Professor Carlton, is the chairman of the department, he, plus my advisor, Mr. Roberts, were going to make sure that I was not really mistreated. So in the civil engineering department it was okay for me. It was a rough study for four years and I had to have the grades and pass, but I feel the civil engineering department treated me fairly. I believe that’s why I was the first African American to graduate because of the open mindedness of those two people,” Flagg said.

Even though Flagg had positive experiences in the civil engineering department, other areas of the university were not always so welcoming and she recalls having her complaints frequently brushed off by an administrative member, as well as one particularly rude teacher.

“I remember once, in an English literature class, I had a teacher who was very antagonistic to women and I believe people of color too. He would sit and just openly insult me as often as he could. I got to the point where I just looked not at him, but I would

Lelia Flagg in her youth. Photo courtesy Lelia Flagg today. Photo by Maggie of Lelia Flagg.

Duncan.

look at his ear. He was throwing out insults left and right and I did not react. I did not react to him at all. I think because of the way that my family had raised me and the experiences that I had very early in life I might have been best prepared for what was happening to a person who was so different from everyone else on the campus. It was okay from that standpoint, but I stilL needed the support from the people at that church,” Flagg said.

During the fifties S&T had much greater name recognition and was one of the top engineering skills in the country, on the same level as schools like MIT. Although Flagg should have had no trouble getting a job, her race made it difficult.

“I remember one of the instructors came to me one day and he says ‘You know, looks like you’re gonna graduate. Looks like you’re on the right road. but now we have to figure out where you’re going to go work,’ because they all knew that in the midwest at that time, in St. Louis particularly, my chances of being hired were zilch. At that time the state of California was coming to the campus to interview students before graduation and I did go and interview with them, and that’s b y

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where I was hired,” Flagg said.

Another time that Flagg experienced prejudice in her field was after her graduation when she was invited to a meeting in St. Louis put on by the Society of Women Engineers.

“My sister and I drove out to where this meeting was supposed to be.

I had my little invitation that SWE had sent me and they were meeting on the lower level. The head waiter says “Oh, you can’t come in here.” and I told him so he says “just a minute” and he went downstairs and got the lady from SWE and she came upstairs and talked to him and talked ot us and asked us to sit there until they finished eating downstairs and then go to tour the Chrystler plant and my sister, who’s 22 months older than I, after we had sat for maybe 2 minutes said ‘You know, I think maybe this is one of those times when we need to get up and leave,’ so we got up and left. I contrast that with the attitude of [the civil engineering department].If that had happened they would have said ‘either she comes down here or we all leave.’ I think that that is why here in Rolla I saw no overt prejudice,” Flagg said.

28 years later Flagg returned to S&T to accept a job to support her growing family. While she was “I did work towards my PhD but I didn’t get a chance to do my research because I had 100 students and every time I would go to the library one of them would find me and want help. By that time I realized that, as a parent, if I’m paying for my child to get an education I want that child to have the help they need instead of having someone brush them off and say ‘I have to do my research now, just go away’ so I never could do that. And I did not finish my research so I am what they call ‘ABD’ all but dissertation,” Flagg said.

A major change that Flagg saw during her absence was what she feels is a decline in the dedication of the students despite more tutoring opportunities becoming available to them. “[Students need to keep in mind] that I am here to study. I think that because of the student support no one needs to flunk out. But back then they were telling us that two thirds of the people in our class were going to be gone. You just had to make up your mind that you wouldn’t be one. I think that attitude, campus wise, changed in the 90s. I think there’s a swing in the country that we want the young people to be educated, and they don’t just have to fight and claw to get educated,” Flagg said.

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ou would expect former district judge Weldon Moore, age 94, to have had at least one exciting era in his life but as it turns out Moore has been doing great and unprecedented things his whole life; starting at an early age.

Moore was born, raised and, educated in Missouri but he has some even deeper connections with education in the Show Me State as when Moore was fresh out of junior college he was asked to teach first through eighth grade at a one room school house in Boone County at the age of 19 years old.

“I learned more than the kids did. They were a nice bunch of kids, good bunch of people. They’ve done real well. [It was a] one room schoolhouse, one teacher. Somewhere around 30 kids. I had a boy named Elwood as big as I was. But they were good. [I got the job because the] lady next door to us was a teacher in an adjoining district and knew that they were looking for teachers there so she told them about me. Why I don’t know. Then they called me and asked me if I would be interested, but before I could apply I had to go take an examination from the county superintendent of schools in Columbia.

So I went and took that examination and I guess I must have passed because they hired me to teach the school. I guess I just studied what I was supposed to be doing. Maybe you could say I didn’t teach, I held school but I tried to give them a little education you know. Course I had to give myself some too,” Moore said.

After his brief stint as a teacher Moore had a another brief yet successful career, this one as a sports reporter. However his time on the air was cut short when he enlisted in the Navy Pilot Program in 1942 where he survived not one, but two mid air collisions during practice.

“They were in practice dive bombing runs. They put three planes in a

Moore during his years as a judge. Photo courtesy of Weldon Moore

group and some of the planes had to cross over. The first one I had the fellow crossed underneath me and pulled up underneath my plane and cut it all to pieces. The second time I was flying with a man I hadn’t flown with before and instead of nosing down to dive he pulled up to dive and he pulled up into my plane and I lost the wing again,” Moore said.

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Weldon Moore today. Photo by Maggie Duncan.

The first accident Moore had was in Florida and the second was in Hawaii but both were extremely lucky for the young pilot. t down in the everglades and didn’t hit a tree or anything. Got out of it thing the navy would do you know, move heaven and earth to try to pick you up,” Moore said.

When asked what he was thinking when he had to eject from the plane Moore responded that he wasn’t.

“You don’t [think]. It’s instinctive. It’s just as if you were standing in the street and a car was running at you and you’d jump out of the way.

It was an instinctive reaction,” Moore said.

Moore used his G.I. bill to attend the University of Missouri Law School. After graduation he was elected to be the prosecuting attorney for Texas County, then after four years there became the circuit judge in Rolla in the late fifties.

As a judge Moore gained many professional distinctions, and was assigned to hear appeals in St. Louis and Springfield appellate courts.

In one case Moore disagreed with the circuit judge’s ruling to turn the

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lice Mae Duncan, 98, has lived nearly and in Rolla since she was born. Before she moved into town, she lived in the country “I went to a country school for a while.... [it was a one-room schoolhouse], and my aunt taught there… I’d say about forty people went to school there. We had a lot of fun going to school. Coming from school, especially. She’d walk with us, and we’d pull down trees and at night they’d have practice for plays. We’d go to school and take our lunch, and our evening meal, and we’d practice for plays and we’d go down to the creek and play around there. It was a lot of fun. It was a mile and a half walk [to and from school]. We’d walk there every morning and evening. [When the creek got full] there was a fella that lived there, and he loved to take us across the creek on a horse. Lots of times, when he couldn’t take us, we’d spend the night at their place- they were a lot of fun. [They would fix us breakfast.] They would even kill chickens and fry some chicken for breakfast. They went all out. [When the creek wasn’t that high] we had a bridge and we cross that. We had grapevines, and we would swing on them across the water… “[For fun] we’d walk around, and I went home just about every weekend, but my girl friend and I would take pictures and things like that. We would walk around the town, around the campus, [which] was small. [There were] no parks. We went to the movies… located on 8th Street. We went there a lot. We went to a couple dances… [We would do] the round dance and the square dance. [In the country], we went to some dances

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accused man loose so he wrote a dissenting opinion which was then adopted by all the judges on the court. The case went all the way to the supreme court, where the supreme court justices read Moore’s opinion and one justice wrote him a note complimenting his viewpoints.

However, Moore’s career has not just been exciting from a professional standpoint as he has also tried several cases that made headlines in the media.

“I tried a lady whose nickname was Antifreeze Annie. She poisoned her husband with antifreeze. This was up in St. Louis county but somehow or another it got down in my division and I tried it. It took about a week I think to try. The jury found her guilty but her sister brought her children and the children would testify provided the state would not ask for the death penalty of the lady, it was a one eyed lady, and so the kids did testify and I remember one of them said ‘This is the way she told us she was going to do him in. She told us she was going to take this antifreeze and give it to him in his drink.’ She almost had him cremated before they got his body and made an inspection of it and determined what had killed him. Later on she was sentenced and she filed a motion for new trial that I had to hear so I thought that she didn’t want me to hear it. So I made an order and sent it to her that somebody else would hear it and she wrote me back a letter and said ‘You cut that out.

You heard my case so you stay right there and hear this too.’ I thought that since I’d done what I’d done she didn’t want me to hear that but she did. She was something else,” Moore said.

Even though he taught a school at 19, survived two mid air collisions and was a district judge Moore says his greatest challenge in life has simply been trying to do the right thing.

“The one thing I’ve tried to do, and with the Lord’s help it’s been pretty good, is not to say bad things about anybody. I’ve tried to keep away from that. There’s enough of that that goes on without me getting into it. I guess one of those things I would like to do is make things right but human beings don’t always have that ability.I’ve been treated very well wherever I’ve been so I’m a happy individual. Be the best you can and have a good attitude,” Moore said.

Alice Duncan in her youth. Photo courtesy of Alice Duncan.

Alice Duncan today. Photo by Maggie Duncan.

out there. [We would play] drop the handkerchief and things like that,” Duncan said.

Duncan had experienced the announcement on World War II in Rolla. “[When they first announced World War II], and I sat on the floor, listening to them talk about it on the radio. [It didn’t scare me.] I think a lot of people were [scared]. There was a lot of people from Rolla who went to war, and some of them didn’t come back… [During World War II], they rationed a lot of food. They rationed coffee, and I never drank

coffee until it was rationed. I had a cup of coffee all the time, and I got to where I liked it… [When the war ended] people went out in the street cheering on,” Duncan said. [them] in Rolla for quite a while, and now they bring [the carnivals], but this was big. I think they had carnivals, too,” Duncan said.

Duncan, while raising four children, Keith, Janice, Kenneth, and Gerald, and later caring for Gerald’s four children- one with special needs, until he was sent to a home- for a long period of time, was running a private business by herself after her husband passed away when Keith was 17.

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“We first went in with somebody else [for our moving company], and then, after a short while, we bought our own rights. We were really busy after they built Fort Wood, and a lot of people stored furniture.

[We started out with a trucking company that just moved things and cattle, and then we moved into moving furniture.] They would store stuff with us, and whenever they had the things out in Fort Wood, we’d ship it on and send it to them. We were really busy then,” Duncan said.

Throughout her life Duncan has always tried to stay positive.

“I guess we just took what we had. We were poor, but we didn’t know it. We had fun,” Duncan said.

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esse Roach, basketball player, drugstore owner, loving wife and mother, and clog dancer. Roach is an 89 year old resident of Rolla,Missouri who has lived an interesting life of traveling with her husband, Jack Roach, and clog dancing for every nursing home or state fair that she could. Even though Roach didn’t grow up in Rolla, she has lived here for quite sometime.

“I was raised in Newberg. I went to school 12 years in Newberg because my dad was a railroad engineer. He’d take trains from Newberg to St.Louis and then bring them back. He’d tie up in Newberg so we lived there all my highschool years and my grade school years. But, I was here in Rolla all the time. It’s changed so much because we used to have a big WalsWorth Dime store up on Pine Street. There was a little jewelry store up on Pine street and that old man made me a ring and I love it. I’ve had it 50 years. He had just a little tiny hole in the wall, and he made beautiful jewelry,” Roach said.

Roach played on the Lady Wolves basketball team all four years of high school. One game against Cuba, the Lady Wolves ended the game with 19 points and Roach scored everyone of them. She also worked at the local drug store all through her teenage years and some of her adult life.

“When I’d get out of school I’d go down to that drugstore and work there until they closed and then after I graduated from high school, I found me a man with enough money that he could buy it. That was the best move we ever made. Jack [Roach’s husband] continued to work on the railroad for a while and then I was doing better in the drugstore than he was on the railroad so he quit and came to help me in the store. We stayed there for 20 years. We did well there, “ Roach said.

Roach has been very active her entire life. She has danced since she was ten years old and still does it today.

I clog dance and I still do it and I’m 89. I taught clogging out in my garage. These 6 ladies would come to my house once a week and boy would we work hard and learn new routines. Then on the weekends, we’d do two or three shows. I bet I’ve danced in every nursing home in Missouri. We’d love to go dancing for those people and they would tell us the funniest stories. One time we were dancing at a nursing home in Rolla and we always wore fancy little dresses and skirts. This day I had a yellow dress on and I was up there just clogging away and this little

Jesse Roach in her youth. Photo courtesy of Jesse Roach.

Jesse Roach today. Photo by Celia Parsons.

lady in the front was tapping her feet the whole time I danced. The nurse told me she was 100 years old, but she came up there when we got through dancing and got a hold of my dress and she said, “I can do that.” And I said “I bet you can.” She said “Yeah but I’m not going to.” And, I said, “Well I wouldn’t either if I was you.” Then she said, “Well I’m not going to because I’m pregnant,” and she was 100. We had those kinds of stories all the time. We also went 22 years to the state fair as the golden girl cloggers and we are all in our 80s. We got standing ovations every place we went. They just couldn’t believe that we were in our 80s,” Roach said.

Roach and her husband traveled far and wide from trips from her husband’s job at the Shelter Insurance company.

“We came here to Rolla when Jack came here with Shelter Insurance after we sold that drug store and he was very successful with that. We went 22 years overseas with trips he won from his company. We went to Spain, Brazil, Africa, Japan, Germany, Switzerland. You name it, we’ve been there,” Roach said.

Being the only one out of her five siblings to graduate high school, Roach shares some advice for high schoolers.

“Go everyday that you possibly can. Get the most out of it that you can and have a little fun on the side. It’s that simple, doing what you’re supposed to. It pays off,” roach said.

Roach has lived a long and happy life from traveling all over, raising two children, and clog dancing with her girlfriends all across Missouri.

“I’ve had a busy life, but I’ve had a good life and I thank god everyday for it,” Roach said.

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Ameri ns “Islam” is often a controversial word in America. For many Americans, it is associated with oppressed women, radical terrorism, a threat to liberty, or backwards theocracies, with the list going on.

With the amount of attention being focused on the extreme negatives of Islam, it is common for Americans to fail at understanding Islam and its followers, creating a thick atmosphere of tension in our nation. This is unfortunate, as some Muslims are our neighbors and fellow students at Rolla High School.

Firstly, a basic understanding of the religion could help significantly in erasing many American fears and ignorance. This would allow us a more peaceful coexistence, which itself is a core element of Islam.

“The core belief of Islam is to live a life of purity and peace by doing good, because that is all that really matters in the end. I love being Muslim. For me it’s like a guidebook on living a worthy life.

We believe in Jesus, that he died on the cross and ascended into heaven, only we believe it was because he was a prophet favored by God, instead of the son of God. We do have to pray five times a day, which is supposed to be once in the morning, twice between the morning and afternoon, when the sun sets and before you go to bed.

I do one before school, two after I come home from school, one at sunset and the final one before bed,” junior Anwaar Ibrahim said.

“Muslims must pray five times a day. The prayers are Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. Some people don’t really participate in the prayers, but most do. The only ‘required’ time to go to the mosque, the place of worship, is to eat after fasting in Ramadan. Ramadan is thirty days of fasting in the daytime and feasting and celebration at night. We kind of have a worship day on Fridays, but that’s more for men. As Muslims, our biggest restrictions are we cannot go out and party a lot and do drugs and drink alcohol, but I don’t want to do any of that anyway. We can’t really date anyone, especially without the intent to marry them. We also have to wear a scarf, known as a hijab in the presence of men,” senior Roba Elshiekh said.

Many Americans often think of Islam as more than a religion, instead thinking of it as a threat or a political controversy. However, sophomore Fatima Elaweb sees American Islam as another of America’s religions. photo by Chloe Myers

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“The core belief of Islam is to live a life of purity and peace by doing good, because that is all that really matters in the end. I love being Muslim. For me it’s like a guidebook on living a worthy life.”

“I do feel like Islam is very close with Christianity and Judaism, as they all believe in the same one God and share the same core belief, but there are very large cultural differences between traditionally Muslim and traditionally Christian nations. I believe it is culture and not religion that can causes conflicts between the two cultures. Being a Muslim in America is not too hard at all really. It’s mostly the same.

We still pray five times a day and fast. I would say that it’s just more of a you-and-your-family type of thing than a communal thing. In Libya, where my family is from, Islam is the religion and everyone follows it, while here you have to keep in mind that not everyone is and furthermore, we have to acknowledge and respect that other people are not Muslim in the same way that I hope people respect me and my religion. One major difference is that mosques in Libya have someone recite a verse from the Quran when it is time to pray to let everyone know. Over here we have like, reminders on our phones that remind us it is time to pray and stuff, but the mosques wouldn’t do that here,” Elaweb said.

Muslims in America must face many stereotypes and outside assumptions about their faith, particularly whenever radical terrorist groups are in the news. While nobody suspects Rolla High School’s Muslim students of being terrorists, many of them are familiar with indirect levels of discrimination or alienation. It is important for Americans to understand that radical Islam is in no way a representation of Islam; a statement many Muslims agree with.

“I definitely know people who have been discriminated against and I see it on TV. It makes me sad because you wouldn’t blame Christianity or Jesus for the KKK, but people blame Mohammed and Islam for radical terrorists. Every sentence of the Quran is against what radical terrorist groups stand for. The main thing in the Quran is to not kill or inflict woes upon others. You are sent to hell for eternity for murder.

Somehow, terrorists overlook that. Furthermore, suicide is seen as worse than murder, because it’s your body which God gave to you and you’re borrowing it, so why are you destroying it? I would even say they are not Muslim if they commit suicide-murders. I literally cannot understand radical terrorism under the name of Islam. I don’t understand why they do it, but I think maybe they feel they are being judged, stereotyped, or having an expectation being placed before them by the world, so they fill in that expectation because they think it’s what they should do. They also might be retaliating for their religion being treated poorly. That’s still not an excuse though, because if they really looked in the Quran and cared about what it said they would find that that is not the way to retaliate or treat others,” Ibrahim said.

“There are good Muslims and bad Muslims, like ISIS, who say they are Muslim but they are not because they spread terror and kill people, even other Muslims. All the Muslims I know in Iraq are good people who don’t kill anyone, they are good Muslims. I saw on the news yesterday that ISIS went to a town and destroyed everything, even its

mosques,” sophomore Mohammed Jawad said.

“In my English class we read a book called A Thousand Splendid Suns and its about two Afghani women and they witness groups like the Taliban stopping schools and education when the Quran says that the most important thing for humans is to learn, to speak and to read.

But the groups get rid of educational systems. Honestly, I cannot understand how groups like that do what they do in the name of Islam, as everything they do goes against the Quran,” Elaweb said.

The other major stereotype following Islam is that it oppresses women due to its laws and traditional wear. It is important to note that Islamic law does state that men are to be held in higher regard than women, which does certainly sound misogynistic, but Ibrahim argues that this does not make her religion sexist or oppressive.

“I love wearing my hijab. I wear it because God said to wear it. It’s not about oppression at all; I wouldn’t wear it if I didn’t want to. It’s entirely my choice. That’s the thing about Islam is that it’s a choice.

Lots of people think we are being forced to wear it or else we’ll be excommunicated and shunned from our families if we take it off, but that’s just ridiculous. If we didn’t want to wear them we wouldn’t. I wear a hijab because I choose to. I don’t think Islam is sexist at all. I would say that Islam is not equal, but it is fair. It’s not equal because women and men do not have the same rights, but it is fair to women and it makes up for it. For example, a Muslim woman, if she gets married her husband must pay for everything and she doesn’t need to lift a finger, the only thing she must do is take care of herself. In Islamic law, men have to keep up a dowry and not women, also, men have to prove themselves worthy to a woman before they can marry her. Another thing is during Ramadan, when women get their periods they are exempt from the fasting but men do no matter what. Another thing is for a man, if he raises three girls and they all grow up to be honest women who are pure and faithful to Islam, he is allowed to go to heaven, assuming he doesn’t start killing people or something like that. Lots of people do get hung up on stuff like polygamous marriages, but if a man does want to marry multiple women, he has to keep up the same level of responsibility for all of them. And in the Quran, it says that a man who does not look after his wife properly will be damned to Hell and be severely punished. It also says that marriage has to be for a legitimate reason, like if your first wife cannot bear children. A man must also ask his first wife if she is okay before marrying another woman as well. I wouldn’t be in a polygamous marriage personally though. Also a man raising a girl gives more “good-deed points” than raising a boy. In Islam, it is the man’s major responsibility to look out for his wife and to make sure all of her needs and wants are met. He does have a type of executive authority over her, but he is only to make choices that have her best interests in mind. Men get more power, but they have much more responsibility, men are the protectors of women,” Ibrahim said.

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District championships in school history

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The Bulldogs final rank on the season

106 Points scored against Union, tying a record set by the ‘91 team.

Final record for the Bulldogs, boasting an 89.7% win percentage, better than the record set by the ‘55 Bulldogs. They went 27-5 with an 84.4% win percentage

73.7 points

per game, a new team record

This season, Rolla had the highest ranking it has ever seen during the regular season The Bulldogs made it to the

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for the second time in school history

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Ozark Conference Title with the Bulldogs

2014-15 Season A Historical Year for the Rolla Bulldogs

By The Numbers

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Rolla’s school spirit was on full display throughout the season

3 Never before had Rolla beaten a ranked team before

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record number of 3-pointers made in a game by the team.

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1,000

Number of career points eclipsed

by Senior Caleb Copeland

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Bulldogs selected to the All District team: Seniors Caleb Coplean and Carter Wands and Juniors Kobe Wands and Samuel Marshall

211 3-pointers made, a new season record

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Rolla Man, a twitter page created by students, supported the team and raised school spirit

Coach Miller’s Top 3 Moments

“Winning the Republic tournament, because that’s a really high quality tournament. For us to get out to a start like that was really good, and it was a lot of fun.

Also winning the district championship and getting to play in front of the crowd we got to play infront for [during sectionals] and have success. Those would have to be three of the top moments,” Miller said.

First time in school history that 2 players were selected to the Class 4 All-State 1st Team. They were Senior Caleb Copeland and Junior Kobe Wands.

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Tournaments won: St. James tournament and Republic tournament

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Seniors who played pivotal roles in bringing success to the Bulldogs

Photos by Gerald O’Brennan

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There is no doubt that society’s ideals are shaped constantly by technology, media and literature. However, the ongoing phenomenon Fifty Shades of Grey, as well as other novels and movies like it, has set a new model for relationships worldwide. Some argue that these stories encourage violence against women while others say that being in these types of relationships is simply an option. Though the text exhibits textbook signs of abuse such as stalking, controlling, isolating and threatening, the way it is portrayed causes several people to question what is right and what is wrong. According to sociology instructor Samantha Kaysinger, the storyline goes against her values of society, adding to the new culture of “everything goes”.

“Whether it’s books or movies or whatever, I think that people have always had those types of expectations. I think this is catering to many female wants in relationships like being a hero and saving the man and all of that. I think with it being out there and being a bit risque, it makes people want to see it happen out more and experience it or question its normalicy, so it’s something I’m sure a lot of people, especially young people, have not considered as being a lifestyle, so it’s not necessarily a positive thing when it comes to relationships,” Kaysinger said.

Fifty Shades of Grey does not just have a few harmless scenes of BDSM, but it clearly depicts a deeply abusive relationship. Christian, the love interest, actively controls Ana’s behavior, food intake and who she is able to spend her time with. He tracks her every move using a GPS app, purchases her place of work, buys her the latest technologies and safest car so he is assured that she can be in touch with him at all times, and isolates her from her friends and family. The worst thing, however, is that she doesn’t seem to realize this.

“I think it goes back to that whole shock value of what’s something out there that we can do to get attention. I think of like Magic Mike a few years ago and I think it’s a little bit disturbing that we are such a shock value society that some people are just not affected by it in either a positive or negative way; it’s just entertainment, but also you have those that again lean into that ‘anything goes’ type mentality in society. I think it’s definitely a hot-bun topic. Everybody’s perception is different; is this an assault on moral values and relationships and the real sanctity of what relationships are to be based around? Yeah, I think there are some definite concerns there. Again though, there’s also the definition of perception. Things that are made for entertainment purposes, you need to keep that separate in your mind, and people have

Photo by Theodora Leventis

FIFTY SHADES OF AGE 22

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The new idea of romance is harmful, and not just in the ways people might think. Real abuse at the heart is portrayed loud and clear in between the lines of several books and movies, as they continue to mistake infatuation and obsession for romance and love.

a very difficult time doing so especially when it is so pervasive and permissible in society, so I definitely see both sides to the argument there, but I think for those individuals who are the most impressionable, it’s not a good thing,” Kaysinger said.

An aspect some people may fail to observe is the reason behind the actions. Abuse is never the right approach, but there is more beneath the surface than what people tend to notice. Like all abusive relationships, it’s complicated. Senior Kadie Clark views the plot as pure entertainment, but will not argue with anyone who feels differently.

“I think that the people who have not read the book or seen the movie and are just saying it’s a horrible book don’t really have the right to say that, because there’s a lot more to the book than just sex.

If you read the book it goes into detail about this man who has this horrible childhood and who is being born in this place where he’s treated badly and he grows up and he’s still treated badly. He changed his ways, because he realized that he loved Ana enough that he didn’t need to do that stuff anymore. I think there’s a difference between doing what he did, which kind of was just revenge, and going at it in a loving way, and he realized that what he was doing was not in any way, shape or form being caring or loving,” Clark said.

Couples may not necessarily take this type of relationship as a norm as in something they must do, but it surely adds to suggestion. As American society becomes more prevalent to publicity, less things are private or sacred anymore. Whether it is in movies or social media, everything is getting more outside of the private sphere, and it is not necessarily the healthy option.

“I think it really raises a value conflict within people, because you have the persuasion of the public and pop culture which is so strong, and then you have again that moral regulation, so I think you are putting people in positions that cause value conflicts and that’s something each person has to work through, but it’s kind of the power of persuasion and pop cultures. I’m not saying it causes people to deviate from their path, but that it makes people question the lines of right and wrong and values in general whether or not that be a good thing or bad thing,” Kaysinger said.

Though the novel is supposed to seem “sexy,” there are several instances of rape, where Ana is forced to have sex. There is a horrific lack of safety or consent in the novel, and even though it is exagger-

Photo by Theodora Leventis

ated, instances like this sadly happen more often than not.

“I think that the abuse that [Christian] faced helped to contribute to that [lifestyle], but it’s also as he grew up the opportunity that presented itself that came from that, and again we all have to choose our own opportunities; what to take and what not, but I think that made it that much more, for him, in a psychological means. It fulfilled mental anguish. It was like an outlet for feeling bad about oneself,” Kaysinger said.

Abusive behaviors are too commonly confused with adorable flirtatious interaction. Domestic violence is often met with approval by people turning entertainment into reality.

“I think [the arrangement] started out to cause Ana pain, but then he realized that he didn’t want just another sub. He realized that he actually cared for this person and didn’t want to hurt her anymore.

“I think it’s a little bit disturbing that we are such a shock value society that some people are just not affected by it in either a positive or negative way; it’s just entertainment, but also you have those that again lean into that ‘anything goes’ type mentality in society,” Kaysinger said.

The way people think is very black and white. You date, you get married, you can do this stuff but you do it a certain way. Anything else is wrong. I guess it kind of depends on the environment you grow up in. It’s just all about opinion. It depends on how you think about love, and it’s consensual. As long as both of the people involved are okay with it, then I don’t see a problem. I would count as what Christian did to Ana as more along the lines of domestic abuse than agreement, because he was mad at her and actually wanted to cause her physical pain, and that’s not what it should be about. It should be about an intimate moment between two people. It’s about love, not taking it out on someone. He was not in a loving place when he did those things, and it’s all dramatized in the storyline,” Clark said.

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Uncanny, Green Approach to Energy at MS&T

Images courtesy of Facilites Department at Missouri S&T

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issouri University of Science and Technology has recently embarked on a project that is unprecedented among higher education institutions. The university will now be partly heated and cooled by three geothermal plants on the campus. These three plants are located in McNutt Hall, Bertelsmeyer Hall and Straumanis-James Hall. The plants are connected to multiple well fields that are under many of the university’s parking lots. These wells circulate water that is then pumped into the plant, heated, then returned back into the well field. Jim Packard, director of facilities operations at MS&T, gives more insight on the project.

“This geothermal project was a four year project. What we basically did was retire our steam power plant. Now we’re using mainly heat recovery chillers to heat and cool the campus. To be able to utilize those, we’ve tied those to a geothermal well field, so that we can balance our heating and cooling needs. The heat recovery chillers are very versatile, we’re making hot water for heating to distribute to campus. We can also make chilled water and distribute that to campus,” Packard said.

These heat recovery chillers work by pumping water into one of the 789, 440 foot wells in the ground, letting it reach a certain temperature, and then recirculating the water through the heating or cooling pipes. Some might wonder how efficient this new system would be and how extensive the reach would be.

“The design was to provide ninety percent of the campus heat with the heat recovery chillers. So, they don’t make one hundred percent of our heat. They’re backed up by boilers. We have three boilers at each three plants,” Packard said.

Before the geothermal system was installed, MS&T’s campus was heated and cooled by a power plant that was constructed in 1945.

Inside, it has three boiler that are coal and wood chip fired. They are

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inefficient and produce a lot of pollution, so given the many benefits of a geothermal system, its seemed like a no brainer to the university to switch to a geothermal system. “ What we found before we did this project was that we only used a third of the steam made in the power plant for heating. Twenty percent we used for the chilled water. A lot of it was wasted heat,” Packard said.

After consulting with CM Engineering and McClure Engineering on the current system, it was decided that the aging steam powered plant needed to be replaced.

“We increased the efficiency of the campus by cutting energy use in half. Were actually exceeding that goal so far. We’re reducing our CO2 emissions by twenty five tons. Its going to save ten million gallons of water a year, instead of the projected eight. When we make chilled water with a traditional plant, we have a cooling tower which is dissipating that heat through the evaporation of water through the air. Now were putting it in the ground,” Packard said.

On top of these environmental benefits, there were also aesthetic benefits for the university.

“We’ve relandscaped this area [around McNutt hall]. We had to redo all the parking lots where we drilled well fields. We were able to do some deferred maintenance through the project. Like Gale-Bullman will be air conditioned for your graduation,” Packard said.

While this project was very expensive for the university, it will pay itself off in the long run. The final cost of the project was $52.6 million.

However, the deferred maintenance that was addressed during the project was $61.3 million and the annual saving for the first year is projected to be $1.1 million. For fiscal year 16, it is estimated to save $2.8 million dollars. It seems that MS&T made a good investment.

“This is very capital intensive, but it made a lot of sense for us, because we needed to address our chilled water system around the campus,” Packard said

Healthy Living b y a n d

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Having a healthy lifestyle is not an easy task. With eating right and exercising on a regular basis, plus handling other obligation on top of that, being healthy is almost like a second job. It’s typical for high school students to get caught up in their lives. While staying up late studying for an exam, a teenager may get hungry and start snacking on that junk food. It’s difficult to be healthy all the time, but according to senior Nirvani Amarakoon, it’s important to take care of oneself as best as possible.

“I started going [to the gym], because I just played tennis, and obviously it’s too cold to play right now and I just feel like I’m not active.

I can feel when my body is at its best and right now I know it’s not at its best. I want my body to be [in shape] for next season. I want to feel healthy. It’s not so much about looking hot, but about feeling good about myself. And when I go and work out and I get nasty and sweaty, I feel good,” Amarakoon said.

Students may be under the impression that they are healthy enough, but what does it actually take to be healthy? It is a common misconception that if a person works out a couple times a week that they are fit, when in fact, there is much more involved. Senior Cameron Maedgen is an aspiring body builder. He does 30 minutes of cardio every morning and about an hour workout at night. He tries to focus on every single muscle group at least twice a week so that all his muscles grow equally. Though he works hard while he’s at the gym, eating healthy is just as important to him.

“The main purpose of it all is to eat healthy. That’s how you see results. It all starts with your diet. To get motivated, you have to see

change; you have to see progress. That’s how 90 percent of people get motivated, so start where the diet is. From there, go to cardio. From there, go to working out,” Maedgen said.

Senior Jessie Kaczmarek is very active in volleyball and avidly works out at the gym. She does yoga once a week, and crossfit training and lifting twice a week. Like Amarakoon, part of her workout motivation comes from athletics. Though Kaczmarek is active and eats balanced meals, she enjoys the occasional sweet treat.

“I eat a lot of junk food honestly, but in my meals I eat healthy, like I eat a range of things. I have fruits and vegetables and meats. I eat a lot of dairy and calcium to try to strengthen my bones, but between meals I get snacky with candy,” Kaczmarek said.

Though working out is beneficial appearance wise, it also affects overall well-being. People work out for various reasons, however, staying active will also improve health conditions and combat diseases in the long run.

“My motivation to work out would probably be to make sure that I can do things physically active just because I like to play sports and stuff, so I like to make sure I’m able to do that and enjoy it and not be tired the whole time. I prefer to do endurance. The first thing when I go to the gym is run a mile,” senior Theron Weeks said.

People tend to think that longer workouts are more hard core, however, shorter workouts are less strenuous to the body and more advantageous overall.

“I like to work hard for about an hour. The longer workouts don’t work as well, because the longer you work, the less intense it gets, so if you go really hard for about an hour, then you get a max workout with not much injury on your body. It’s not too straining but you get gains,” Kaczmarek said.

Working out may seem daunting to some, but it’s all in the approach. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Starting out slow is the key to meeting goals.

“If you want to start working out, definitely the best way to start is to get a friend that wants to work out with you, because then it’s like ‘Oh I really don’t want to do it today,’ but your friend is going to be like ‘No, I do. Let’s go together,’ so it’s kind of like a motivation. Somebody else can get you in the gym,” Kaczmarek said.

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Living on your own Life will get you there, will you be ready?

Being overly dramatic about situations is too easy, and at least for me, I never notice when I’m doing it. I guess it’s pretty common to dislike change, because it has to be adjusted to. That’s the nice thing about vacation. Everyone knows it’s not permanent, and that eventually, they will go back to their normal routines. Even though people say “Oh, I wish I could stay here forever,” deep inside they probably don’t mean it, because people are just too used to the way they live their lives. It’s their comfort zone, what they know. And being pushed out of it can be unpleasant.

However, in some cases, change cannot be avoided. It’s a part of life. There are small changes- where people grow up and their interests evolve or they meet new people and learn new things, and

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then there are the bigger changes- where a person may move into a new home or go off to college or begin their career. There comes new additions to families as well as losses, and nobody can forget the continuous advances in technology. It seems like people tend to not notice changes if they don’t affect them as much.

When a new change comes up though, it’s probably best to just go with it. In my experience, fighting things that are supposed to happen only causes misery. And here is why: they happen anyway.

Trying to prevent them only slows down the process. So instead of trying to stop change, I found that it’s better to embrace it, because change is life. And even though it doesn’t seem right at the moment, it is.

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The world-traveling mother of two who wants you to read a book edition

Being a librarian can be hard. Especially if you are a seventh grade boy with ADHD. It’s a job not for the faint-hearted/dyslexic. Thankfully Rolla High’s school librarian, Jessie Kirkbride, is okay with reading. While some may see her as the seller of premium fruit roll-ups and pop tarts, others might see her as a librarian. Regardless, her job in the school has numerous parts, some of which involve books. She can attest to this. Go ask her.

Behind every legend there is some history, blood, sweat and former teaching positions. Kirkbride is no exception. “[Before I was a librarian] I was actually an English teacher here. It was something I had been wanting to do so I took the classes and got certified. This was six or seven years ago. [I do miss teaching] but I do summer school to compensate for that. I see a lot more kids this way, but I don’t really have the intimate one-on-one connection that you can get in a classroom and I do miss that. I don’t miss grading papers though,” Kirkbride said.

Apart from librarianing, Kirkbride’s responsibilities also involve taking hungry kids money in exchange for Capri Suns out of hope that they’ll start reading. “[Offering food] started as something I did in summer school the year before I became librarian to pay for the couches and coffee tables I wanted to bring in to make the Library more comfortable. It did so well that I asked if I could do it in the school year. I initially just did it during Pride time. The principal’s loved it as it was supplementing my budget fairly well. The food income nearly doubles our money, so we can pay for author visits and do events like the poetry jam and give out free cookies. [Like I said], before I came the library didn’t have couches, just tables. So I’ve tried to make it friendlier, more comfortable and a place kids want to go to. On the food and other programs, in my opinion, anything that can get kids to come into the library and be exposed to literature is good. Maybe they’ll see a magazine and read that and then they’ll ease into a book and learn to like reading,” Kirkbride said.

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The Bulldog Toilet Talk, Kirkbride’s creation, is more integral to the culture of Rolla High than making jokes about Missouri weather. I know I’d be pretty devastated if they left.

“I don’t remember where I saw the idea. Lots of businesses put ads in front of toilets and urinals so probably from them. I thought it would be a good way to get a newsletter out there because my My Big Campus page is lacking in followers. I usually try to pick a book that I have recently read and strongly feel students will connect to. I try pretty hard to keep the book one that is targeted for teens, interesting and new,” Kirkbride said.

Speaking of her creations, she also has two boys and pleasant-sounding family.

“I have two boys, a nine year old named Luke and a Three year old named Cole. They’re both just boyish and crazy. They like to play around and they also like books, but that’s probably because everywhere you look in my house there is a book. [I also got married over the summer] and that was tons of fun. We went to Italy for our honeymoon and went all over the country. We saw Rome and ran all over Italy trying to see as much as we could in ten days. We started in Rome and saw The Coliseum and other Rome touristy stuff. The big thing I wanted to see was the Trevi fountain but that was blocked off for construction of course. We went to Venice for a few days and it was very cool but also crowded but it was neat to ride in the boats. The food was all so good too. Then we were in Florence for a few days also. And we spent a night in London on the way there and the way back but we didn’t see much,” Kirkbride said.

I suppose there are other factors that play into librarianing, like reading. Not surprisingly, she does know how to read and does it quite a lot actually.

“I do read a lot. I read at school and at home and I always have a book in my purse in case I ever have time. I probably read about a book per day at a pretty constant rate,” Kirkbride said.

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Disclaimer: This column’s purpose is to not rant on about my opinion… well maybe a little bit… but I do want to provide a new outlook on different issues that affect high school kids, like myself. But like always, I promise some silliness at the end to lighten up the seriousness.

Testing. Its kind of bittersweet. It really stinks that you have to study for all these crazy tests that could make or break your borderline grade or your future career... but on the bright side you get to watch movies afterwards instead of getting homework, right?!

In my opinion, a lot of the tests we are required to take are seriously silly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really do love watching The Incredibles instead of doing parabolas as much as the next highschooler, but standardized tests are not really my idea of valueable.

Instead of throwing a lot of statistics at you, I am just going to lay out some things I have noticed in my experience with standardized tests.

I know one person whose story really stands out to me. We will call her Betty for privacy. Betty is someone that I have known personally.

She was a good student and got A’s and B’s throughout high school while working an after school job as well as participating in sports.

Math in particular did not come naturally to her, but she worked hard and would pull through with a B. Her work ethic and drive to succeed was incredible.

It came time for her to take the ACT, so she started studying very hard. Unfortunately, Betty had test anxiety. She took the test several times and studied a lot in between each test, but never could get a very good score. This made Betty feel stupid and embarrassed. She was not

able to get scholarships like some of her friends.

My point is, with Betty’s story, is that we are setting one standard that people must fit into in order to be successful. In a society that pushes the idea of celebrating our differences so much, it is not really doing a good job at doing so. Just because someone does not get a good ACT score, does not, by any means, mean they are not smart.

The ACT did not measure Betty’s worth. It measured if she could use a semicolon correctly or solve for x under the pressure of a stopwatch.

Betty’s great work ethic and drive to be successful is what is truly important. Sadly, our education system has not fully recognized this yet.

The big question is, how can we fix this seemingly unfixable thing?

Well I will tell you something amazing. We high schoolers are the future and we have the ability to make a change! I say, lets stop trying to standardize students and truly start celebrating our differences. We talk about it an awful lot, so lets start taking some action here! Everyone is a Mozart or Einstein. By that, I mean everybody has their own unique talents in which they are amazing.

Now for the promised silliness: So screw you standardized tests, we are all beautifully different and capable of achieving anything we are passionate about!

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Spring has sprung and it’s time for college visits. Now I know what you’re thinking, where will I fit in? Who offers my degree?

What if they don’t have my sports? I’m here to help you figure that out. University of Missouri is a broad college with several amenities that pertain to various interests.

About two hours from Rolla, Mizzou has a place for just about anybody. MU offers a variety of options and paths that make it easy to find your niche including a self design degree programs that allow a student to create his or her own major. It alternates between the first and the second best journalism school in America and it is affiliated with 330 schools that work with students that are getting education degrees. Mizzou offers many things that most schools don’t. Among these is a classics program that rivals Wash U and SLU. Their athletic department speaks for itself. Missouri sports are quite famous and athletic scholarships are very generous. With a beautiful campus, MU is very enticing from the inside and out. They import palm trees to add to the decor and they always keep their gym 70 degrees. The university is very accepting of people in all walks of life and have special dorms just for people who are discovering their sexuality. They don’t want people to feel left out or unaccepted and they go the extra mile to prove it. No matter what your interests are, Mizzou has a place for just about everyone.

For more information got to mizzou.edu.

Photos courtesy of Katie Williams

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