Vol84issue16

THE MANEATER JANUARY 24, 2018 • THEMANEATER.COM

Author and activist Junot Díaz speaks at MU’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 22, 2018. “We’ve entered this stage in white supremacy that you can be a full-out public racist and a huge portion of a community thinks this is a really good idea,” Díaz said during his lecture. PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | VISUALS DIRECTOR

IDENTITY

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Junot Díaz speaks to MU students about racial identity

Díaz confronted an MU audience after pointing out its notorious attention from national media.

MICHAEL WILMARTH

Reporter

Author and activist Junot Díaz

spoke in Jesse Auditorium on Monday night as part of MU’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and his writing, while not autobiographical, is personal. His Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao tells the story of a family’s emigration from the Dominican Republic to the U.S.

and contemplates racial identity. He has also been active in community organizations in New York City, such as the Dominican Youth Union and the Communist Dominican Workers’ Party.

Díaz began his lecture by taking inventory of the audience, asking

RACE | Page 4

PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | VISUALS DIRECTOR

Shows to look forward to this spring page 7

SOLIDARITY MARCH

Solidarity march and rally held in Columbia on anniversary of first women’s march The march and rally featured six speakers and two musical performances.

CAITLYN ROSEN

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

EDITORIAL: Greitens’ scandal sheds light on other issues page 11

Staff Writer

On the one-year anniversary of the first Women’s March on Washington and in general opposition to President Trump’s agenda, almost 2,000 people gathered in downtown Columbia for a solidarity march and rally Saturday afternoon.

The march, organized by the MidMissouri Solidarity Network, and co-sponsored by 48 organizations

from the Missouri area, began at the Boone County Courthouse and continued 10 blocks through the city of Columbia.

It also featured six speakers whose topics ranged from civil rights to the economy, education, the environment, foreign policy and healthcare. Two speakers spoke prior to the march and the remaining four spoke at the conclusion of the rally.

In comparison to last year, there were far more sponsors and organizations involved in the march.

However, fewer marchers attended.

“We definitely had more people last year than this year, but the weather last year was amazing,” speaker Michela Skelton said. “[This

year] it was a little bit colder, had a little bit of rain, but still the crowd was amazingly enthusiastic.”

Along with the speakers, the rally also featured two musical performances from the groups Violet and the Undercurrents and Decadent Nation.

“2017 was a year of nonstop resisting, and it’s so hard to not be worn out and lose hope ,” said Violet Vonder Haar, lead singer of Violet and the Undercurrents. “But attending this event is a great reminder of why we have to stay strong. When so much of our personal freedom is at stake, we don’t get to take a break.

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T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 24, 2018

MSA

MSA elects new senate speaker in emergency meeting The election came after Hunter Windholz resigned on Jan. 15.

THE MANEATER The Student Voice of MU since 1955

culture change in senate.

“The dynamics of this university are changing, as we see with budget cuts, and if students are being impacted more so than they have in the past, then we as MSA need to step up our efforts to meet those changes and respond,” Davis wrote.

In Davis’ opinion, one of these issues is the disconnect between the student body and MSA. “We are there every week as students representing them, but yet a common student or a lot

However, she plans to continue to oversee the committee.

“I’m going to leave the position vacant for the time being just because I don’t see value in CAITLYN ROSEN appointing a new chair, unless Staff Writer they went through confirmation very quickly, because in two Taylor Tutin was elected months the new speaker could senate speaker for the Missouri Students Association in an want someone totally different emergency senate meeting on to fill the position,” Tutin said.

Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Tutin will serve as the “Speaker [Hunter] Windholz speaker for the remainder of unexpectedly resigned for Windholz’s term, and elections personal reasons on January for the new speaker will be held 15, 2018,” according to an MSA after budget is passed press release. later in the semester.

MSA had no further “THE DYNAMICS OF THIS comment on the Tu tin ’ s main UNIVERSITY ARE CHANGING, resignation. goal as speaker is Tutin ran against Tim AS WE SEE WITH BUDGET to ensure a smooth Davis, chair of the Campus transition period CUTS, AND IF STUDENTS and Community Relations Committee, but won in an ARE BEING IMPACTED MORE following Windholz’s resignation.

11-10 vote.

SO THAN THEY HAVE IN “Obviously, with “I believe that Taylor THE PAST, THEN WE AS an unexpected and I were both highly qualified and highly MSA NEED TO STEP UP OUR resignation, it’s been respected candidates,” a little tumultuous,” EFFORTS TO MEET THOSE Davis said. “The chamber Tutin said. “With had a hard decision to CHANGES AND RESPOND.” the necessity of make and did not make - ACADEMIC SENATOR passing the budget it lightly, as the vote it’s important that SOLOMON DAVIS reflected. In the end, they there’s consistency, felt like Taylor would be and trust the better leader, and I have of students can’t tell one thing communication, nothing but respect them for we’ve done for them this past within the association, so I’m their decision.” year,” Davis said. “And that’s probably not going to start any Academic senator Solomon a pretty big problem in my initiatives that are new and Davis, whose speech was read by revolutionary. I’m probably just opinion.”

Aleksander Shanks, vice chair of Since Tutin is now the official going to be the backbone until the Social Justice Committee, speaker, she has to resign from the next speaker gets there.” because Davis could not attend, Edited by Skyler Rossi mentioned that the vote for the her position as chair of the new speaker needed to reflect a Academic Affairs Committee. srossi@themaneater.com

Vol. 84, Issue 16 G210 Student Center • Columbia, MO 65211 573.882.5500 (phone) • 573.882.5550 (fax) editors@themaneater.com www.themaneater.com

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All text, photos, graphics and other content are property of The Maneater and may not be reproduced without permission. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the University of Missouri or the MU Student Publications Board.

“I like my noodz soaking wet.”

Reporters for The Maneater are required to offer verification of all quotes for each source.

If you notice an inaccuracy in one of our stories, please contact us via phone or email.

Editor-in-Chief Victoria Cheyne Production Coordinator Cassie Allen Copy Chiefs Sam Nelson David Reynolds Anna Sirianni Online Development Editor Michael Smith Jr. News Editors Skyler Rossi Morgan Smith Stephi Smith Sports Editor Joe Noser

Opinion Editor Hunter Gilbert MOVE Editors Claire Colby Brooke Collier Visuals Director Madi Winfield Designers Allie Greenspun Sara Marquardt Elizabeth Ustinov Social Media Editor Kaelyn Sturgell Sports Social Media Manager Adam Cole Adviser Becky Diehl

Want to work with us? themaneater.com/workforus

MSA speaker Taylor Tutin in her new office. PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

NEWS

Online this week: 21-person search committee discusses ideal qualities of the next provost and vice chancellor at forum and more at themaneater.com.

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GRAD SUCCESS

Recent survey finds nine of 10 recent MU grads have found successful career outcomes The survey gathered data from almost 76 percent of alumni from the fall 2016, spring 2017 and summer 2017 graduating classes.

GALEN BACHARIER

Staff Writer

An MU survey regarding career outcomes for recent graduates conducted in December found that 90.4 percent of graduates reportedly held positions in professional fields, public service, military or postgraduate education.

Graduates from the classes of fall 2016, spring 2017 and summer 2017 were surveyed.

The 90.4 percent rate outpaces several peer groups that the university uses as a barometer for success, such as the Association of

American Universities public institutions’ 75.6 percent and the Southeastern Conference institutions’ 75.5 percent, according to an MU News Bureau release.

“We’re here to prepare students to be able to secure meaningful opportunities once they get finished,” Jim Spain, vice provost of undergraduate studies, said.

“Nine out of ten places us well above average for all the peer groups we compare ourselves with, and we continue to have more employers coming to Mizzou.”

The survey also revealed that 74.1 percent of recent graduates have found employment, with 66.1 percent of them employed full time — also higher than the rates for peer groups.

Almost 76 percent of recent graduates took part in the survey, which was distributed at several different times; one month prior to graduation,

at graduation, three months after graduation, six months after graduation and one year after graduation.

The survey was graded according to the national standard set by the National

Association of Colleges and Employers, and the university used the vendor GradLeaders to produce the survey, creating a standardized platform.

“Most departments had

their own homegrown surveys, but if we’re going to report and aggregate this data, it needs to be a bit more centralized for collection,”

GRAD | Page 5

NET NEUTRALITY

ENGINEERING

Changes to net neutrality concern many at MU

Engineering students receive third place at national competition

MU communications law professor Sandy Davidson: “A big question is this: Who do you trust more to do this expansion?”

The Traffic Control Device Challenge issued students the challenge to create a unique and feasible system to prevent wrongway drivers.

WILLIAM SKIPWORTH

Reporter

While MU students enjoyed their much-needed break from school, controversial changes were made to regulatory laws regarding the internet. On Dec. 14, net neutrality, a regulatory status that guarantees equal access to all sites on the internet, was revoked by a vote from the FCC, led by chairman Ajit Pai. Opponents fear this decision will allow internet providers to discriminate which websites consumers will get the best access to based on which websites pay more money, or based on what consumers themselves pay for.

The revocation left many around the country frustrated, including some MU students.

“I don’t necessarily trust that companies are going to put what their consumers want over their profit margins,” junior biology major Jacob Stockton said.

His concerns also extend to how this may affect him as a

LAUREN BISHOP

Staff Writer

communications law professor at the School of Journalism has spoken at length about this issue.

“A big question is this: Who do you trust more to do this expansion? The government with all of its regulations? Or businesses with their profit motives?” she wrote in a piece for the Columbia Missourian.

In her view, the debate lies between two opposing viewpoints. First, there are the supporters of removing neutrality who believe the market will

Five MU seniors created a siren system plan to help prevent wrong-way driving, earning them third place in the Traffic Control Device Challenge and a trip to San Antonio.

Hosted by the American Traffic Safety Services Association and the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board, the Traffic Control Device Challenge took place in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7-11.

In their fall 2017 Transportation Safety class, students were asked to follow the guidelines for the competition, but were not obligated to enter their projects. Seniors Elizabeth Farr, Robert Gallup, Katy Harlan, Jacob Kaltenbronn and Kaitlin Windsor proposed a siren system that would alert wrong-way drivers of their mistake.

ATSSA’s website states wrong-way driving is “when a vehicle enters a traffic stream travelling in the opposite direction and drives against the oncoming vehicles.” According

NET | Page 5

SIREN | Page 5

MANEATER FILE PHOTO

student.

“It may raise costs for the university to have access to materials, but then that could also raise costs for the student,” he said. “Even subscriptionbased stuff like a lot of the Mastering software and Pearson and all that.”

Lauren Spear, a sophomore journalism major, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think we should have a right to access and have net neutrality, especially for educational purposes,” she said.

Sandy Davidson, a

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RACE continued from page 1

those of Caribbean, Latin, African American and Dominican descent to raise their hands. Díaz was impressed by the numbers.

“OK, Missouri,” he said over laughter, “I had to check, because you guys have been in the newspapers lately.”

The racial inequality that put MU in the media spotlight in 2015 and continues to shape the nation’s sociopolitical discourse was the focus of Díaz’s speech.

Like his writing, his lecture presented complex ideas punctuated with slang that kept the audience laughing and interested. Díaz focused his lecture on a type-specific racial

MU student Molly Stawinoga celebrates during Saturday’s march. Stawinoga attended the event with a group of friends and was overjoyed to see the large, passionate crowd. “It was heartwarming to see people of all ages and genders coming together in solidarity for causes that are vital in this time,” Stawinoga said. “Just standing there looking around was a surreal feeling, with all the love and passion just overflowing from the crowd.” PHOTO BY TRISTEN ROUSE | PHOTOGRAPHER

MARCH continued from page 1

There is comfort and hope in knowing we’re not in this alone. Resistance is a nonstop battle, and this march is a great reminder that people are still here and still working.”

The rally had various voter registration booths set up, along with petitions to sign for various legislative causes around Missouri.

“We wanted to make sure that action was the center of the rally, and obviously getting people registered to vote and making people aware of their voting rights is a big part of that,” said Kate Canterbury, an organizer of the event from CoMo for Progress.

Many MU students attended the rally, including freshman Caitlin Kelleher. This was Kelleher’s first time attending a women’s march, because she was unable to attend last year.

“I went to the march because I believe in letting my voice and the voices of all women, races and genders be heard,” Kelleher said.

“Young girls need to know they have the power to do anything they want and be anything they want in this lifetime. I believe that when people come together for a common goal, anything can be achieved.”

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 24, 2018 bias that was practiced by members of his own community, which he called the “logic of authenticity.”

“Oh, you grew up in the suburbs?” he asked. “You ain’t black, yo. Your mom is white? You ain’t black. You can’t dance? Bueno.”

Díaz called on all audience members to assume the responsibility of their own privilege, which he insisted everyone had.

“Your privilege is there to help in others’ liberation, not to help perpetuate it,” he said.

Díaz pointed out that the racial bias that disenfranchised people themselves hold can be more difficult to confront than the obvious examples in the media.

“We’ll flip the hell out about Donald Trump all day, but all of the active reservoirs where white supremacy really lives, we scarcely are interested in pursuing, examining,

exploding them,” he said.

Ouma Amadou returned to campus after graduating last year to hear Díaz speak. She felt encouraged by Díaz’s words to continue to pursue her academic interests.

“His speech reinvigorated my own academic thinking, especially when thinking about the diaspora,” Amadou said.

Senior Lorena Fernandez felt that Díaz’s message was one that was important for MU to hear.

“I think he brought up a lot of topics and questions that MU specifically needs to be thinking about, in terms of defining privilege and solidarity,” Fernandez said.

For Fernandez, who is a secondgeneration Mexican immigrant with an Italian mother, Díaz’s words hit home.

“These questions of identity and belonging, of not being Latino

enough, of not being American enough, and his talk about what identity is was really personal for me,” Fernandez said.

When asked where home was for him, Díaz employed a softer tone.

“It is in the nature of diasporas often to live in a permanent condition of journey … I’m in the journey always, and that is home for me,” he said.

The lecture ended with Díaz warning against the fear that has been instilled in young people by the old.

“If you understand that this is the sea in which you swim, you can begin to resist,” he said. “The day that young people feel their power and their strength more than they feel fear, the world will begin to change.”

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

GRAD

Continued from page 3

said Amanda Nell, senior student service coordinator for the Career Center, who helped gather data.

The Career Center worked with Spain to ensure that all departments, or “units,” on campus were working with the same tools and data.

“Our role was to coordinate the campus effort, because we all have to report our data to the UM System, and the UM System reports our data to the state of Missouri,” Nell said.

NET

Continued from page 3 ensure consumers get the best internet because it is in the company's best interest. On the other hand, proponents of net neutrality believe that because there still may be situations where what is best for the consumer isn’t always best for corporations, it is best for the government to regulate the internet.

Although the results are encouraging for the university, Spain believes there are still improvements to be made — specifically regarding what MU is actually doing to help those graduates who have yet to find success.

“We didn’t do anything intentional as an institution to say, ‘We need to connect you with this resource, with this person,’” Spain said.

“We’re at 90.4 percent, nine out of 10, and we want it to be 95 percent, so what are we going to do to help students find that post-graduate career? Doing things that intentionally support and help students reach that

outcome, and we’ll make an investment in that.”

Spain added that those measures would include contacting MU alumni, potential employers and faculty to help with employment and graduate school entry.

The survey in its current form began last year, which was the first instance of the university using a nationally standardized platform. It came about as a result of the state of Missouri establishing immediate post-graduate success as one of its funding metrics — this is set to begin in fiscal year 2019, Nell said.

The university conducted a similar survey in the early

2000s called the “destination study,” but due to several university departments conducting competing surveys of their own, it was discontinued, Nell said.

“It was a campus-wide survey, but some of the academic units were doing their own exit survey, so it was a competing effort,” Nell said. “So the university decided their response rate wasn’t great and let the academic units handle it.

Some units have been doing their surveys for a long time, and some units didn’t. Our role was to get everyone on the same page, which took several months.”

The university hopes to use

the survey to improve future career efforts for students and to ensure graduates have proper opportunities.

“We don’t want a student to invest four years here, get their degree and then not have an opportunity that they’re really excited about,” Spain said. “A college degree is a significant financial investment and a significant investment of four years of your life. I want it to be worth something; we need it to be worth something.

That’s our focus.”

Edited by Morgan Smith mosmith@themaneater.com

“You have two conflicting views,” Davidson said. “If Ajit Pai is correct, unleashing market forces will lead to enhanced products and a better internet experience.

If you take the opposite viewpoint and you’re really concerned about net neutrality, you might be concerned that some voices will be throttled or some might be blocked.”

As for which view Davidson takes herself, she believes it’s difficult to foresee which

prediction will prevail.

“I’m mistrustful of business at times because I think if you unleash market influences sometimes what you’re talking about is basically trying to get advantages over your competitors and then things could go wrong, [but] to some people, the idea of big government worries them,” Davidson said.

Although, Davidson has her own ideas about how the internet could be run.

“If I controlled the

universe, I would like this country to consider broadband cable as just part of our basic infrastructure like highways, or like electricity,” Davidson said.

“So if it’s not economically viable for a company to take broadband out to an area, perhaps that would be a place to have government help.”

However, Davidson doesn’t rule out the possibility that these regulatory changes won’t be reversed in the

future.

“I want to be optimistic that if the vision of enhanced internet experiences proves wrong

and

we

do

get

discrimination and blocking, then the FCC might rethink another vote ... say ‘no, we’re going back’,” she said.

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

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“It just started as a class project so we didn’t expect it to go too far,” Kaltenbronn said. “When we were in [Washington,] D.C., we had a couple people that weren’t judges come up and say that they’d really like to see it implemented, so it’s something that we might end up pursuing.”

The top three teams, including MU, are invited to attend ATSSA's 48th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 26-30 to display their posters and formally receive their award.

Edited by Morgan Smith mosmith@themaneater.com

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Challenge participation guide.

Twenty finalists were asked to attend the TRB annual meeting and present their proposals.

Three winners were named, with MU’s team receiving third place, earning them a $500 prize and a plaque.

Kaltenbronn helped represent the group with Harlan at the Traffic Control Device Challenge at the TRB annual meeting. Kaltenbronn presented the project to meeting attendees and judges for the competition. He said he was surprised by the results and would consider using the project in realworld applications.

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Katy Harlan and Jacob Kaltenbronn pose in front of the poster for their project. PHOTO COURTESY OF @MIZZOUENGINEERING VIA TWITTER

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to the Federal Highway Administration’s website, approximately 300 to 400 people are killed annually by wrong-way driver crashes.

There is already signage and illuminated warnings in place on some roads, but Harlan said the audible proposal in their project may help the driver notice their mistake sooner.

“Since most wrong-way driving is due to inattention, we thought that adding another sensory component to it would be very beneficial,” Harlan said. “[The group] got together and threw out ideas about what would get our attention [and] what would help us if we went the wrong way.”

The competition was based on a project proposal outlining the group’s device and addressing the judging criteria. The specifications included the ability of the plan to address the problem, the ease of understanding by the public, how applicable the device is to real-world situations and how practical the implementation of the project is, according to the Traffic Control Device

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T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 24, 2018

6 PHOTO BY EMMALEE REED | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ART SHOW

Sager Braudis Gallery to change art exhibits each month A Columbia art gallery combines artists from various places to showcase in exhibits.

EMMY LUCAS

Staff Writer

Combining artists’ work from around the world, Sager Braudis Gallery compiles a cohesive collection of various mediums in its Columbia studio. Beginning this year, the gallery will feature new artists and a new exhibit each month.

As a team of five, the gallery’s owners, director, designer and curator work together to select artists to showcase in the upcoming 2018 exhibits. The team created the calendar for the gallery in 2017, fitting in various artists to feature each month.

“People should watch for exhibit changes every month, which is intense for a small business to do,” gallery director Hannah Reeves said.

Since the team members are also artists of their own, diversity is an aspect the gallery is keen on when

selecting artists and their work.

“The works we represent can be really various and diverse,” Reeves said. “We want to represent that variety of media and hold a high threshold for craftsmanship when curating artists.”

Artists whose work is featured in the gallery hail from areas in the Midwest to countries around the world.

The team selects artists by scouting in person, attending art fairs and exhibits, taking submissions and being active on social media. The gallery seeks an array of artwork while also wanting the room to visually work together as a composition.

“We combine five artists per exhibit based on what medium, what their palate looks like and how their color and style all fit together,” Reeves said.

From photography and collages to printmaking and paintings, the team looks for variety in the stories different artworks tell.

One artist in the Sager Braudis Gallery January exhibit is MU assistant teaching professor Matthew Ballou.

“My work is currently in a few shows around the country, but I love showing work here in mid-Missouri,” Ballou said. “This work is all new and

fresh and was made to express my experiences in the Midwest. I’ve been in a number of shows at Sager Braudis but have never been a main feature artist, so I’m pleased with that opportunity.”

Featured in the local gallery’s first exhibit of the year, Ballou’s work is among other local and international artists. As the gallery curates artists at Midwest art fairs as well as exhibits in Cuba and Germany, diversity is shown throughout the gallery’s exhibits.

“Sager Braudis [Gallery] does incredible work and they are a pillar of the community here,” Ballour said. “I hope to continue working with them.”

Ballou describes his artwork as abstract as well as representational.

Ranging from collage and spray paint to oil and oil pastels, Ballou’s works are chromatically intense.

“When I’m working representationally, I certainly have a scene or direction that I am considering, or that is informing me,” Ballou said.

“When I work abstractly, the purpose of the work is investigation and exploration.”

Inspired by experiences and observation, Ballou said his artwork tells the tales of his experiences

primarily in the Midwest.

Sager Braudis Gallery works to understand each artist and their message such as Ballou and the experiences he conveys in his artworks.

As director of Sager Braudis Gallery, Reeves describes her role as communicative. Reeves works to understand the works the gallery carries, why each work is valuable and why the work is chosen by interviewing the various artists to understand the messages of their work. Reeves is able to communicate those meanings to visitors at the gallery and start conversations about the various artworks.

“Sometimes people feel they can't talk about art, and it’s really my role to start that conversation with people,” Reeves said. “People should trust in what they like and be able to talk about what they like. We really want everyone to feel welcome coming in the door.”

Free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sager Braudis Gallery encourages everyone to explore and engage in art.

Edited by Brooke Collier bcollier@themaneater.com

AWARD SHOWS

Golden Globes kick off highly anticipated award season SADIE LEA

Reporter

With award season in full swing, MOVE hopes to shine a spotlight on the award-winning films, TV shows and music featured this year. With most of these films showing in Columbia this semester, students can be up to date on all things award season.

The 75th Annual Golden Globes, which aired on Jan. 7, set the tone for the 2018 award season. Many celebrities wore black in solidarity with victims of recent sexual harassment allegations that have sparked controversy in Hollywood. Some also wore pins that said “Time’s Up” to support a legal defense fund that advocates for women in the workplace. It was a night of speaking out and encouraging women in all industries, including Hollywood.

This year’s winners were as follows: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” won Best Drama, “Lady Bird” won Best Comedy/Musical, “The Shape of Water” won Best Director for Guillermo del Toro, “Big Little Lies” won Best Television Limited Series, “The Handmaid’s Tale” won Best Television Series for a Drama and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won Best Television Series for Musical or Comedy. This sets the stage for the next few weeks as award season begins in earnest.

The 23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which aired on Jan. 11,

followed in the footsteps of the Golden Globes with similar features taking home awards. The big winners of the night were “The Shape of Water” with Best Picture, “Big Little Lies” with Best Limited Series and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” with Best Actress for Frances McDormand.

The 49th Annual NAACP Image Awards followed shortly after the Critics’ Choice. “Black-ish” was the star of the night, collecting awards in almost every television category.

The 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by Kristen Bell, aired almost a week after the NAACP Image Awards. “Big Little Lies” took home Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series for Alexander Skarsgård and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series for Nicole Kidman. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” took home Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Sam Rockwell, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Frances McDormand and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards will air on Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. on CBS. The huge lineup of performers will feature Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Alessia Cara, Khalid, Logic, a tribute to the mass shooting at the Route 91

Uprise Bakery, Ragtag Cinema and Hitt Records come together near the corner of Hitt and Broadway for a community-favorite hangout spot. MANEATER FILE PHOTO

Harvest Festival in Las Vegas and a tribute to Broadway.

Nominations for Album of the Year include the works of artists such as Childish Gambino, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and Bruno Mars. The nominees for Song of the Year include “Despacito,” “4:44,” “Issues,” “1-800273-8255” and “That’s What I Like.”

Lastly, the 90th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will premiere on March 4 on ABC live at 5:30 p.m.

If you want to see any of these films, many are playing in Columbia this award season — some even for free.

Ragtag Cinema is now showing “Call Me

by Your Name” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” If you can

hold off on seeing some of these, they will be featured during the Missouri

Students Association’s Free Wednesday Films in Wrench Auditorium located in

Memorial Union. “The Florida Project” is showing on Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. “Three

Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” will be featured on March 7 at 8 p.m.

and “The Shape of Water” on April 25

at 8 p.m. “Lady Bird” is also playing on April 6 and 7 at various times in Wrench Auditorium for $1 with a student ID.

Edited by Brooke Collier

bcollier@themaneater.com

T H E M A N E AT E R | M OV E M AG A Z I N E | JA N. 2 4, 2018

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LIVE MUSIC

Big names in rock will take the stage in Columbia this spring Don’t miss the opportunity to see Portugal. The Man, Waxahatchee and others at The Blue Note.

BY JANE MATHER-GLASS

Staff Writer

Columbia’s live music scene this spring is sure to draw crowds, with big names coming to The Blue Note all semester long. The venue will host artists that span genres, from indie rock to folk and blues.

Whether you prefer a high-energy concert or a more mellow singersongwriter type of show, there will be something for you to enjoy. Some of these shows are not to be missed, so get your tickets as soon as you can.

Portugal. The Man

One of the most highly anticipated shows of the season is sure to be Portugal. The Man and Twin Peaks.

The show, which will be at The Blue Note on Valentine’s Day, is already sold out and will no doubt be an incredible night. Portugal. The Man, originally from Alaska, has been making waves in the rock world for years, most recently with its hit “Feel it Still.”

Know before you go: “Feel It Still,” “Live in the Moment”

Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks will open the show on Feb. 14. The band started playing its classic garage rock in Chicago, where the members went to high school, and has been beloved by fans ever since. It has recently been working with Calpurnia, a band fronted by one of the “Stranger Things” stars, Finn Wolfhard. This will be a night of rock you won’t want to miss. If you don’t have a ticket already, ask around and see who has an extra.

Know before you go: “Making Breakfast,” “Shake Your Lonely,” “Wanted You”

Hippo Campus

Indie-rock band Hippo Campus will also stop by The Blue Note on Feb. 2. The four Minnesota natives have put out three EPs since their debut in 2014 and put out their first full-length album last February.

They have a classic indie sound that draws on many other bands in the genre. Songs like “Little Grace” are reminiscent of Vampire Weekend’s sound, from the intricate riffs to Jake Luppen’s vocals, while “The Halocline” sounds like a Fleet Foxes song.

Know before you go: “Way it Goes,” “Suicide Saturday,” “South”

Julien Baker

Columbia is also lucky enough to host Julien Baker later this spring.

Baker, a singer-songwriter from Memphis, will put on a moving show in April at The Blue Note.

Her songs are heart-wrenching and have been described by The Fader as “cathartic.” Her indie-folk music is intensely personal, especially on

her most recent album, Funeral Pyre.

While a lot of shows this spring will be great for dancing, this is one where you are more likely to stand in awe and get introspective.

Know before you go: “Appointments,” “Turn Out the Lights,” “Distant Solar Systems”

Dr. Dog

Later in April, Dr. Dog will take the stage at The Blue Note. Dr. Dog has an infamously large discography.

The band has been together for around 15 years and has put out almost as many albums. Its indie rock is inspired by the ‘60s and will make for the perfect high-energy show everyone will need at the end of the semester. Its next album, Critical Equation, comes out on April 27, just a couple weeks after their show in Columbia. It’s likely that it will play some unreleased songs from its upcoming album at this show.

Know before you go: “Where’d All the Time Go,” “Heart it Races,” “Listening In”

Waxahatchee

Waxahatchee and Hurray for the Riff Raff are set to be one of the last concerts of the spring, coming to The Blue Note on April 25. Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee first released her bedroom-recorded album American Weekend in 2012.

Since then, she’s put out three more studio albums and has toured with big names like Sleater-Kinney and Kurt Vile. She’s also toured with indie-rock band Snail Mail, who visited Columbia earlier this fall.

Crutchfield lays it all on the table in her synth-backed indie rock. Her songs gradually build energy and are full of intimate details that make you feel like you know the singer personally.

Know before you go: “Summer of Love,” “Never Been Wrong,” “Silver.”

Hurray for the Riff Raff

New Orleans-based band Hurray for the Riff Raff will join Crutchfield onstage. Alynda Segarra’s folk blues is beautifully simplistic and honest.

Her voice as she tells stories over music with just the right amount of twang. Some of these are her own, but many of her most popular songs are covers of classic rock songs, like “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Jealous Guy.” Her songs often have a melancholic feel but don’t feel overwhelmingly sad. Their upbeat backing music juxtaposes the heavy subjects Segarra sings about.

This leads to a compelling mix of emotions that will make you want to keep listening.

Know before you go: “Entrance”, “The Navigator”, “Hungry Ghost” Edited by Brooke Collier | bcollier@ themaneater.com

Folk artist Tyson Motsenbocker plays an acoustic guitar during his opening set at The Blue Note on Sept. 28, 2017. Motsenbocker, along with Irish indie band The Academic, opened for Judah & the Lion on their Going to Mars tour. PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | VISUALS DIRECTOR

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COLUMN

Rotten Tomatoes ruins movie culture Rotten Tomatoes is a review aggregation website that Americans trust as the model for their movie consumption, but its binary approach to criticism undermines the values of the film industry.

JESSE BAALMAN

Reporter

Ahead of the Justice League premiere in November, Rotten Tomatoes withheld negative reviews until the debut of its See It/Skip It series the night before release. The stunt was a conflict of interest between Warner Bros.’ web show promotion and the unflattering reception of its DC Extended Universe. This instance says everything about how a simple score can profoundly influence people when choosing a movie and therefore the current movie marketing predicament.

The website approves a few thousand active and professional critics whose reviews are tagged as “fresh” or “rotten” based on its own rating system or further clarification between the two. The percentage of positive and negative reviews are calculated and an overall score is assigned; 59 percent or below is rotten, and 60 percent or above is fresh. For movies with at least 40 reviews, five of which

are from designated “top critics,” a seal of freshness is applied to movies with a score of 75 percent or higher.

Most critics practice a five-star rating system, but even they recognize the fact that film as an art form is principally interpretive and exists outside the boundaries of ratings and scores. The website says slightly positive or praising reviews and slightly negative or scathing reviews are the same. It reduces an entire critique into the words “yes” or “no.” Rotten Tomatoes complicates the business by removing nuance and mystery from the film experience, as if the goal is to turn us into mindless robots incapable of critical assessment.

Blind faith in the percentageobsessed Rotten Tomatoes can be attributed in part to the increasing polarization of the media and the public’s desire to definitively “like” or “dislike” something no matter how arbitrary and destructive. Not only does the website rob potential ticket buyers of critical description, evaluation and interpretation, but it threatens the personal expression of industry professionals.

The problem facing distribution companies today is that the promotional elements of movies such as trailers, advertisements and merchandising cannot withstand the power of an aggregate score, so many accept it as truth when it pops up under their Google search results. Who wants to go

The “Certified Fresh” logo, given to movies and TV shows that meet certain Tomatometer and professional review criteria. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROTTEN TOMATOES

see a movie with a bad score?

The latest installment of the Star Wars franchise has a 91 percent “fresh” reviewer score and a 49 percent “rotten” audience score, prompting actual discussion and divide between fans who don’t know what to make of an entry unlike all the others. This is the kind of debate every movie deserves as there is no absolute and conclusive analysis of a movie whether

or not it leans positively or negatively.

It is a strange reality when movie culture ruins movie culture, so let The Last Jedi be a calling card for entertainment consumers who want the most emotional satisfaction and intellectual stimulation from the movies they watch and live with.

Edited by Claire Colby ccolby@themaneater.com

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T H E M A N E AT E R | M OV E M AG A Z I N E | JA N. 2 4, 2 0 1 8 WOMEN’S MARCH

Second annual solidarity march takes the streets On Jan. 20, nearly 2,000 people gathered at Courthouse Plaza displaying signs, badges and banners to march in solidarity on the anniversay of Trump’s inauguration.

A marcher holds a poster at the solidarity march in Columbia on Jan. 20, 2018.

PHOTO BY KATE SEAMAN | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kyle Cornellier marches carrying a banner advocating for climate change awareness.

Cornellier was one of many advocates for causes other than women’s rights, with other marchers representing Black Lives Matter and DACA. He viewed the flower as a “symbol of resistance.” PHOTO BY TRISTEN ROUSE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Citizens guide marchers along the route of the solidarity march in Columbia on Jan. 20, 2018.

PHOTO BY KATE SEAMAN | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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OPINION

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

We want to hear your voice.

Submit a letter to the editor by emailing letters@themaneater.com.

EDITORIALS REPRESENT THE MAJORITY OPINION OF THE MANEATER EDITORIAL BOARD.

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THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THE MANEATER COLUMNISTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE MANEATER EDITORIAL BOARD.

COLUMN

Is President Trump really a racist?

President Trump’s comments about Haiti, El Salvador and African countries have been slammed as blatantly racist, but there is more to the comments than face value suggests.

BRANDON BARTLETT

Opinion Columnist

Brandon Bartlett is a freshman political science major at MU. He is an opinions columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater.

President Trump held a meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to talk about immigration issues on Jan. 11. Following the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told the press that the president asked, “Why are we having all of these people from sh-thole countries come here?” referring to countries such as Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.

President Trump then suggested that the U.S. bring in more immigrants from countries such as Norway, as well as Asian countries.

Many media outlets ran wild with this news, claiming the only possible conclusion for what the president said is that he is a blatant racist. I will admit that at face value, the statement could be construed as racist and bigoted. Despite the fact that many Republicans and the president have denied that he said such things,

I do not doubt he said it, as Trump is not known to be the most selective with his rhetoric. However, I believe there is a lot of context that is missing from the story that makes the statements seem worse than they really are.

Let’s start off with the fact that the countries the president was talking about are, in fact, not great places.

According to the CIA, the poverty rate in Haiti was 58.5 percent as of 2012, and El Salvador’s was 34.9 percent as of 2015. Statistics from worldhunger. org indicate 47 percent of the PHOTO COURTESY OF GAGE SKIDMORE population of sub-Saharan Africa lives VIA FLICKR on $1.90 or less every day. These people eat so-called “cookies” that merit-based immigration policy would are literally made of dirt, according to be the joke that is the Diversity Visa articles as recent as 2016, just so they Lottery currently in place in the U.S. can fill their malnourished bodies The DVL is a system that makes up with something. However, poverty to 50,000 immigrant visas available and hunger are not the only major annually that are provided to people problems these countries face. from countries underrepresented in Haiti and many African countries immigration to the U.S. at random, have less than a 50 percent literacy according to the U.S. Citizenship and rate, according to worldatlas.com, Immigration Services. and El Salvador is one of the most The only factor that is used to dangerous countries in the world with a homicide rate of 80.94 per 100,000 decide who the recipients of these citizens as of 2016, according to the visas will be is their country of origin.

Overseas Security Advisory Council. It is possible that the conversation This is not the fault of the people who in the meeting was on the subject of inhabit these places, but any country this immigration policy, with Trump with these kinds of problems in 2018 suggesting if the U.S. is going to take that fails to meet the standards the people in based off their country of U.S. and other developed countries origin, it should at least take them from stable countries. The average have set.

Also, this meeting revolved around income in Haiti, which Trump referred the subject of immigration. President to as a sh-thole, is $817 per year, Trump said in a press conference and whereas the income of Norway is on Twitter that he wants immigrants just over 100 times more at $82,440 from everywhere and a merit-based per year. Bringing people into the immigration policy. The opposite of a U.S. who have basically no money is

just asking for problems. There are many immigrants who cannot get on any social services for their first five years or longer in the U.S., and the poverty they continue to live in doesn’t do them or the United States any good. Furthermore, after that five or so years, a large amount of them use welfare and other social services. According to an article from USA Today, “51% of immigrant-led households receive at least one kind of welfare benefit, including Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches, and housing assistance.”

Medicare/Medicaid is the largest budget item in the U.S. and one of the greatest forces driving the country further into debt, according to usdebtclock.org. Why would we bring in an enormous amount of low-income immigrants into the U.S. when trying to cut down on such expenses? This is not to say that many immigrants do not become successful after they come to the U.S. and begin their new lives. In fact, 37 percent of Nigerian immigrants obtain a bachelor’s degree according to chron. com, and migrationpolicy.org states that Asian immigrants are known to do better in education than most, if not all, other immigrants and native citizens.

I understand how the statement by President Trump sounds racist, but as responsible citizens, we need to consider the context of such statements before undermining the point he was trying to make. In truth, the president needs to be more selective with his statements in the future, but he makes an important point about the flaws in our current immigration system.

NIBBLING AWAY AT CORRUPTION

Republicans take CHIP funding hostage and shutdown the government in one move MADDIE NIBLETT

Opinion Columnist

Maddie Niblett is a freshman journalism major at MU. She is an opinions columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater.

As the clock struck midnight on Saturday, marking exactly one year since President Trump took office, the continuing resolution that had been keeping the American government afloat and funded for three months expired, effectively shutting down the government and sending every federally funded group into a state of frenzied limbo. This political fiasco was caused by issues unrelated to funding and is the result of Congress’ inability to negotiate issues calmly like it is supposed to do, rather than holding federal programs hostage to meet its own biased goals.

So, how did we get to this point?

In September of last year, Trump dismantled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act that gave temporary, renewable amnesty to immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children and gave Congress just six months to come up with a new DACA bill. Instead of passing a “clean” bill, Republicans insisted that provisions like tighter border security and Trump’s infamous wall be written into law with DACA. Since Republicans control both houses of Congress and could pass such a bill any time they want, Democrats refused to vote for any budget bill (which needs 60 Senate votes rather than a simple majority) unless it included legislation for DACA without unnecessary add-ons like a 30-foot border wall.

But wait, there’s more. A long time ago (last September), in the galaxy that we are all in right now, the funding for a program called the Children’s Health Insurance Program expired. Congress had the option of

renewing CHIP’s funding for six years with an uncontroversial plan that would actually save the government money but instead decided to add the CHIP funding provision onto its latest continuing resolution bill in an effort to ensure that Democrats would vote for it, despite their insistence on DACA’s inclusion.

So there you have it, folks. Polarized party politics in its purest form.

While Congress is figuratively taking sick children and illegal immigrants hostage, millions of federal workers will be furloughed, or forced to go on unpaid leave, indefinitely, federally funded parks and museums are closed and military personnel are working without pay. Members of Congress are still being paid, of course, though Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill backed a bill to withhold pay from lawmakers in the event of a government shutdown.

It has yet to pass.

Party leaders on both sides of the aisle are doing their best to brand the shutdown as the other side’s fault; popular hashtags

include both #TrumpShutdown and #SchumerShutdown. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell even went so far as to tweet a picture that read, “Democrats have a choice to make: CHIP recipients or DACA recipients.”

Government officials should not be forced to make a choice between saving sick children and allowing other children to stay in the only country they’ve ever known. These two issues are entirely unrelated and could easily be dealt with outside of the toxically political nature of a government shutdown. Republicans’ refusal to come to an agreement with Democrats about DACA as well as the use of CHIP funding as leverage to get their way in the budget has caused millions of people across the country to face the dire consequences of a government shutdown. Americans wait with bated breath, hoping Congress gets its act together long enough to give DACA and CHIP recipients the peace of mind that can only come from negotiation and a swift decision.

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T H E M A N E AT E R | O P I N I O N | JA N. 2 4, 2 0 1 8

EDITORIAL

Editorial: Greitens’ inexcusable actions bring other issues to light

Greitens’ affair highlights Missouri’s lack of revenge porn laws and adds to the list of sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Gov. Eric Greitens once again addressed the scandal that has enveloped his office since earlier this month on Monday night. The governor allegedly photographed a woman while she was bound and naked. He allegedly told the woman — his former hairdresser — that she should never speak of their affair or mention his name or he would release the photo of her. The governor, who ran a family-first campaign, is now accused of being anything but a family man; the affair occurred while his wife, Sheena, was either pregnant with their second son or already caring for him as a newborn.

The timeline of this scandal is jumbled, as it’s littered with statements from the governor that both vehemently deny some events yet acknowledge others. In an interview with the Associated Press, the governor claimed “this was a consensual relationship,” while maintaining that “there was no blackmail, there was no violence, there was no threat of violence, there was no threat of blackmail, there was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. All of those things are false.” The governor attempted to set the record straight as to what exactly happened during the affair.

However, the governor did not deny

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

in his statement the existence of the photograph itself. While the entire ordeal is embarrassing for the governor, it has highlighted other issues related to this scandal.

Professor Sandy Davidson discusses the fact that Missouri lacks any sort of revenge porn laws in a column in the Columbia Missourian. Revenge porn laws exist in 38 states and the District of Columbia. If Gov. Greitens’ alleged actions had occurred in one of those 38 states, the distribution of those photos would be a crime. With the subject of sexually explicit photos in such a high-profile scandal, there could not be a more appropriate time for Missouri to pass a law which criminalizes revenge porn.

Furthermore, in light of the

#MeToo movement, we have come to question the ethics of the journalism surrounding this scandal. The now ex-husband of the woman Greitens had the affair with was the source of this scandal. He told his own side of the narrative and put his former wife in a position of submission by releasing an audio recording of a conversation he had with her that revealed the intimate details of her affair.

This news story was aired by KMOV without the approval of the woman, who expressed in an email to Greitens that she “need[s] to move forward in [her] life.” Although this story is newsworthy — one of the individuals in question is the governor of Missouri — the news broke without the woman in

question deciding to come forward.

By releasing the information, her former husband allowed her to be scrutinized by the public for actions which she regrets. By publishing the information, KMOV did the same.

Ultimately, she deserved to have control of this story. The audio was recorded unbeknownst to her, but the recording is legal because Missouri is a one-party consent state. This story was hers to tell, but due to the nature of the information, it was reported regardless. This is a decision that we believe was vetted by those in charge at the station, but it is telling that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch decided not to run a story because the woman in question declined to speak to them.

This affair coming to light is another ripple of the wide-reaching #MeToo movement. The movement must remind our society that power dynamics play an integral role in how sexual misconduct and assaults occur in our world. There lays a sense of control in retelling one’s experience with one’s own words.

Shedding light on despicable acts committed by individuals in positions of power can reveal hope, but the survivor’s narrative must be kept at the forefront of the conversation.

The MU Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention center provides services related to decreasing the ubiquity of rape, sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking and can be contacted at (573) 882-6638 or in room G216 in the Student Center.

COLUMN

The American way of war is having your cake and eating it too U.S. foreign military interventions done in the name of democracy should not result in an increase in foreign anarchy.

TATYANA MONNAY

Opinion Columnist

Tatyana Monnay is a freshman journalism major at MU. She is an opinions columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater.

During my winter break, I watched HBO’s docu-series “Witness.” The four-episode series followed five different photojournalists in their journeys in covering war, devastation and corruption in foreign nations. The second episode featured Libya post Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s death. It showed raw footage of pain, death and anguish among the local citizens that triggered something inside of me. I’ve never felt such a visceral reaction to a documentary before. I was suddenly overcome with sadness and anger that I knew belonged not

to me, but to the people who lost so much after Qaddafi's rule. This documentary made me think about, for the first time in my life, the repercussions, if any, of U.S. invasion and involvement in foreign nations.

In the case of Libya, the country has seen more devastation without Qaddafi. In 2011, the U.S. helped revolutionary fighters overthrow Qaddafi, but what else did we do to further democracy in the country or stabilize the country and its citizens after losing its leader? It is clear we did not finish the job we started.

Something that really stuck out to me in the episode is that multiple people said they were happier under Qaddafi’s rule. They said they had more money, more of their family members like their sons, brothers and fathers were still alive and they were better off. Do not get me wrong; Qaddafi was not a good leader and should have been stopped. But, I do think there could have been other ways to try and help the people of Libya. War should not be taken lightly, and U.S. presidents should not be trigger happy, especially if they have no plan of rehabilitation.

In 2014, in an interview with the

New York Times, Barack Obama said this about NATO’s decision to help overthrow Qaddafi: “‘[W]e [and] our European partners underestimated the need to come in full force if you’re going to do this,” he said.

“Then it’s the day after Qaddafi is gone, when everybody is feeling good and everybody is holding up posters saying, ‘Thank you, America.’ At that moment, there has to be a much more aggressive effort to rebuild societies that didn’t have any civic traditions. … So that’s a lesson that I now apply every time I ask the question, ‘Should we intervene militarily? Do we have an answer [for] the day after?’”

From giving humanitarian aid to other countries to overthrowing corrupt foreign leaders, the United States has arbitrarily made itself the world’s big brother. This is all done in the name of democracy. However, when the U.S. takes out a corrupt foreign leader, such as Qaddafi or Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, it seems as if that country is worse off than it was before with more chaos, pain, death and anarchy.

These unfinished missions often create a bed of chaos that furthers corruption, tyranny and death that

gives birth to many more dictators.

Believe me, I understand the argument for invasion and military intervention. I want all countries to have a democratic system and, of course, I do not want people across the world to be abused by their government or have their rights taken away from them. But, is invasion the best way to help these foreign nations?

It is simply unrealistic to believe that our military intervention is the solution to democracy across the world. If we do resort to military intervention, we should do it with a plan that includes rehabilitation for that country and a commitment to its citizens that we will complete the job.

If we really want to free developing nations of their dictatorships, there are other ways we can do that. In lieu of military intervention, we should try sanctions and negotiations first.

Then, if all else fails, our government can consider military intervention.

Either put a plan in place to achieve peace, or leave it alone. Anarchy can not and does not solve tyranny.

SPORTS

Online this week: Women’s basketball beats Arkansas, swim and dive tops Missouri State and more at themaneater.com

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

Just how bad is Mizzou basketball with a late lead?

Many of Missouri’s games have followed a familiar plotline — and the discouraging endings have become all too familiar.

BENNETT DURANDO

Assistant Sports Editor

The plot roller coaster is literature’s most undeniably basic story structure.

The simple template never seems to fail at charming its consumers — that is, unless its classic up-anddown visual becomes the consistent model for the plotlines of a basketball team’s games.

The Missouri men’s basketball program has spent the 2017-18 season making itself an antihero to that exact unpleasant twist. The expectation-defying season has been nothing short of a roller coaster, and the Tigers’ success — or lack thereof — in many of their games has taken the now grisly form of that imposing rise and fall.

So have their fans’ stomachs.

Promising starts have made way for big leads and bigger leads and peak leads — and with it all, elation and hope like most MU students haven’t experienced before.

Then comes the drop.

When Mizzou (13-6, 3-3) has led by double digits this season, seven times that lead has dissipated by either 10-plus points or into a one-possession game … at least.

Once it’s close, there’s not much hope left to hold onto. With heartwrenching defeats to West Virginia, Florida and Arkansas in the final seconds, Missouri has come to expect disappointment if it doesn’t have a substantial enough lead by the last media timeout.

The Maneater has compiled numbers from the ends of those three losses, along with similarly patterned contests against Central Florida, Stephen F. Austin, South Carolina and Tennessee, to examine just how lousy Missouri can be late in games after seemingly being in control.

The statistics recorded all share one trait: they are Mizzou’s numbers for the remainder of a game after the

Missouri guard Terrence Phillips warms up before the season opener against Iowa State on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 at Mizzou Arena. Missouri won the game 74-59. PHOTO BY JACOB MOSCOVITCH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

point in the second half at which its win probability was highest; that is to say, the top of the roller coaster

lift, just before the drop.

The steepest of those drops was a 16-point collapse to West Virginia

in what could’ve been a resonating

loss | Page 13

SUPER BOWL

Philadelphia Eagles poised to upset New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52 Nick Foles’ and Tom Brady’s play will determine the Super Bowl 52 champion.

AIDAN CARLSEN

Staff Writer

The New England Patriots are set to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52 at U.S. Bank Stadium

in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 4. The Patriots will be looking to become backto-back champions, while the Eagles are still searching for their first Super Bowl win.

On paper, this looks to be a close and competitive game, with no team truly having an edge over the other. This postseason, the Eagles’ attack is ranked third in total offense (YPG) with

395. The Patriots are a close fourth with 391 YPG. Defensively, both teams have performed well, but Philadelphia has a slight edge overall by allowing 307 total yards to opposing offenses, good for second in the postseason. New England clocks in at third with 320.5 yards allowed per game. The only team better defensively was the Buffalo Bills, but

they only played one game, while Philadelphia and New England each have played two.

Both teams have been performing exceptionally throughout the playoffs, but there are a couple of factors that will determine who takes home the Lombardi Trophy.

For the Patriots, two big questions will be regarding Tom Brady’s hand and the

status of Rob Gronkowski, who left the AFC Championship game with a concussion near the end of the first half.

Going into the AFC Championship game, there was talk about Brady and the status of his hand, as he seemed to sustain an injury during practice and required 12 stitches. On Monday, the

BOWL | Page 13

T H E M A N E AT E R | S P O RTS | JA N. 2 4, 2 0 1 8

LOSS Continued from page 12

win from November to March. After having a win probability of 98.7 percent with 7:58 to go, the Tigers were outscored 31-11, only making two more field goals while committing nine turnovers and registering just one assist.

Poor shooting, turnoverto-assist ratio and rebounding

BOWL Continued from page 12

quarterback went on WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan show to discuss it.

“Wednesday, it happened, and Wednesday night I definitely wasn’t sure, but it was just a crazy injury in practice,” Brady said. “It didn’t look good there for a little bit, [so] unfortunately Thursday I didn’t practice; I took some time off. Friday, did just a little bit and things kind of felt a lot better on Saturday and [Sunday] I was just able to kind of do what I needed to do.”

While Brady seemed shaky at times during the AFC Championship against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he played well enough to keep the game in hand and complete another signature drive in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots the lead and eventually the win.

As for Gronkowski, special teams captain Matthew Slater spoke to reporters on Monday about his teammate’s status.

“He was in pretty good spirits when I talked to him today,” Slater told the Boston Herald.

While Slater did not provide any specific info regarding Gronkowski’s status or Super Bowl LII, the fact that Gronkowski is talking to his teammates about how he feels can be viewed as positive. The extra week to rest will also be a big

is a cumulative 16 for 55 from the field and 3 for 20 from outside, with 25 turnovers to just eight assists and a minus-17 in rebounding.

This is across a total of approximately 60 minutes though, which brings about the real question: Exactly how bad is the drop? When mathematically converted to a regulation, 40-minute contest, what results would those stats produce on average if Mizzou played all game like it was protecting a second half lead?

A 102-50 loss.

13

have all made a pattern out of their untimely appearances.

Mizzou shot 3 of 8 and was outrebounded 9 to 4 in the last 7:58 to Florida while a 20-9 run erased the Tigers’ 90.2 percent win probability.

They only had one turnover during the stretch, but it was their most haunting of the season.

Nine more turnovers nearly haunted them as a 13-point lead and 96.3 percent odds evaporated against Stephen F. Austin last month. Missouri held on

by the claws, but only after a 1-for-7 finish from deep helped the lead close to one.

Amidst other close calls, heartbreak resurfaced in Fayetteville. Mizzou stormed back to lead Arkansas by six, but no field goals in the last 4:43 brought an 83.1 percent win probability to zero. Holding on for dear life was all the team could do while similarly going the last 6:42 without a field goal against Tennessee.

After hitting the drop in those seven games, Missouri

benefit for him, as it gives more time to be evaluated and heal.

Having Gronkowski back would certainly be a good sign for the Patriots, especially since they have to go up against a stout Eagles defense. The Eagles had the best run defense in the league during the year, allowing just 79.2 rushing yards per game. While they allowed 227.3 passing yards a game during the same time, they managed to intercept Case Keenum twice on Sunday, one of those being a pick-six.

The biggest factor for the Eagles will be how Nick Foles plays. In the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings, Foles finished the game with 352 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He completed 26 of 33 passes and ended with a 141.4 passer rating, his third straight game with a passer rating of over 100. All those stats came against a Vikings defense who had the secondbest pass defense and number one overall defense in the league during the regular season.

Meanwhile, the Patriots finished 29th overall on defense at the end of the regular season. If Foles comes out the gate firing and can play as well as he did in the Conference Championship, Philadelphia could be be taking home its first Lombardi Trophy come Feb. 4.

Edited by Joe Noser jnoser@themaneater.com

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox returns a fumble against the Washington Redskins on Sept. 10, 2017. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

Missouri has a lot of work

to do if it wants to be playing basketball

in

the

second

half of March. Whether it be youthful inexperience or poor

situational

coaching

that’s costing it games late, the team simply has to get

over that hump; or rather, to not get over that hump.

Edited by Joe Noser

jnoser@themaneater.com

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14 COLUMN

Undefeated Missouri wrestling team deserves more attention 15-0

Daniel Lewis’ record this season

23-0

GRAPHIC BY ALLIE GREENSPUN

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said in a press release. “We didn’t want that to happen again.”

No one likes getting an 89 percent in a class when you believe you deserve an A, just like no team wants to come so close to winning a title and then lose. Smith may have had doubts that other coaches would remind their teams of a bad memory, but he knows what he’s doing. This is his 20th year at Mizzou, and with a 263-93-3 record and five straight MAC championships in five years of being in the MAC, it’s clear that Smith does not fit into the Most Coaches category.

Separate from the coaching, several veteran wrestlers have had impressive individual seasons. The team’s top six wrestlers — redshirt sophomore Jaydin Eierman; redshirt juniors John Erneste, Grant Leeth and Daniel Lewis; and redshirt seniors Joey Lavallee and Willie Miklus —

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match is only two athletes on a mat, nothing else — there is something strategic and fundamentally competitive about wrestling that deserves more attention than it gets.

Especially when the Mizzou wrestling team is the focus of that attention.

On Jan. 19, the team beat Central Michigan to win the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Dual Championship. Before the match, Central Michigan was the only other undefeated team in the MAC; Mizzou won 29-6 after individual victories in eight of the 10 matches.

Head coach Brian Smith said winning the dual title had been a team goal this season. The team won it in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

“Most coaches wouldn’t do it, but I reminded the team of the feeling last year after we didn’t win the dual title, how much of a letdown that was and how much it hurt,” Smith

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Why don’t more people care about Missouri wrestling?

Here’s the simple answer: not enough people know about it.

Before being assigned to cover wrestling, I couldn’t tell you how many weight classes there are in collegiate wrestling, or how impressive the Missouri wrestling team is. So, if you’re a wrestling amateur, here are some fast facts: I love football games just as much as any other student, but if Mizzou fans gave half the attention they gave to the 7-6 football team to the undefeated wrestling team, Hearnes Center would be much fuller than its average attendance of 656 people this season.

Disclaimer: Yes, wrestling is not a traditional American pastime like football or baseball. The uniforms are different than the pads, helmets and jerseys that sports fans are used to, and it is a much more individualbased sport than most.

But when you look past the lack of bells and whistles — an individual

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Missouri’s wrestling record this season

Staff Writer

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10

have combined for a 113-8 record.

Lewis is undefeated at 23-0.

He won the 2016 and 2017 MAC championships for the 165-pound weight class. After a season of wrestling in the 174-pound weight class, it seems like a similar performance could be in order when the Tigers head to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, in March for the MAC Championships.

The main struggle for the team has been in the heavyweight category.

The four Missouri heavyweight wrestlers this season have combined for a 33-34 record. But when only one weight class presents a problem, and nine other weight classes perform with incredible results, one weak spot in the lineup does not seem to be an Achilles’ heel for the team.

In Smith’s time here, since the 1998-99 season, the team has only gone undefeated one other time, in 2014-15. The MAC Championships are in the beginning of March — aka, when the new semester feel has worn off and spring break still seems too far away. For these reasons, pay (more) attention to the Missouri wrestling team.

Edited by Joe Noser jnoser@themaneater.com

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HANNAH HOFFMEISTER

Number of weight classes in a collegiate wrestling match

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The 15-0 team won the MAC Regular Season Dual Championship on Jan. 19 and has a deep, talented lineup.

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T H E M A N E AT E R | S P O RTS | JA N. 2 4, 2 0 1 8

15

T H E M A N E AT E R | S P O RTS | JA N. 2 4, 2 0 1 8

Missouri’s gymnastics team huddles up before starting a home December 2016 meet. MANEATER FILE PHOTO

GYMNASTICS

Missouri beats Arkansas by 0.175 in its second meet of the year Friday’s event was highlighted by Kennedi Harris and her final floor score that took home the win for Missouri.

REAGAN LOFTUS

Staff Writer

After a loss to No. 23 Auburn last week, Missouri gymnastics took home a win Friday when it knocked off No. 10 Arkansas.

The meet recognized breast cancer awareness in the annual Pink Out meet.

The Tigers had an apparel sale to raise money for the cause leading up to the meet.

Mizzou came out strong starting with their energetic entrances to the meet. They performed short dances and gave out high fives, wearing their breast cancer awareness gear. which led into the first rotation of vault and uneven parallel bars. Missouri beat Arkansas in vault 49.025 to 48.975. Although Arkansas’ Braie Speed was the highest scoring individual in vault with an impressive 9.9, Mizzou’s scores were more

consistent across the board, leading the Tigers to score 0.05 points higher in vault.

After a rocky start to the season in her first meet, redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter showed she was back and ready to perform after her injury last year. She took the top score in bars, posting a 9.9, which sent the crowd wild when she stuck the landing to her performance.

Mizzou went into the second rotation with a 0.175 lead and continued to perform well. This rotation consisted of beam and floor routines from Britney Ward, Aspen Tucker and Allison Bower, who all scored higher than 9.8. Tucker earned the highest all-around results for Mizzou, scoring a total of 39.175 for all her events combined.

Ultimately, the meet came down to one final performance that determined if Mizzou or Arkansas would take home the win: senior Kennedi Harris’ floor routine. She did not know going into her performance that she needed to score a 9.75 or higher to secure a win for the Tigers, however,

as she likes to turn her back to the scorers table before she steps on the mat to avoid putting too much pressure on herself.

Head coach Shannon Welker knew that Harris had to perform well, but he was confident she would be able to pull off a high-scoring performance.

“I knew she needed to hit in order for us to win, or have a shot at winning,” Welker said in a press release. “But she’s been in that situation many, many times over her career and I think she’s done a pretty good job in that role. That’s why she’s at the end; that’s why she’s our closer.”

Harris blew the crowd away with a 9.925 performance. Her teammates ran to her the second her routine was finished and embraced her.

The final score for the Pink Out meet was Mizzou 196.325, Arkansas 196.150.

Next up, the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to face No. 9 Alabama on Friday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Edited by Joe Noser jnoser@themaneater.com

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