Vol84issue17

THE MANEATER JANUARY 31, 2018 • THEMANEATER.COM

Garnett S. Stokes addresses the crowd at her farewell reception on Jan. 30, 2018. Stokes, who has served as MU provost since 2015 and as interim chancellor from May to August 2017, was recently appointed as president of the University of New Mexico. During her address, Stokes elaborated on the importance of university administration. “We make a difference in the states that we’re in, and we transform the lives of the students that are here, but we also have tremendous impact on everyone in our states,” Stokes said. PHOTO BY TRISTEN ROUSE | SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

PROVOST

RIGHTS

Stokes says farewell at reception MSA outlines

Stokes will take office for her new position in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 1.

LAUREN BISHOP

Staff Writer

Provost Garnett S. Stokes received warm wishes at her farewell reception Tuesday, as she will take office as president of the University of New

Mexico on March 1.

After a 10-month search headed by 22 committee members, Stokes was chosen to succeed interim President Chaouki Abdallah as the new president of the University of New Mexico, according to a press release from UNM. Stokes has served MU since February 2015. In that time, she has appointed multiple deans and a vice provost, served as interim chancellor and helped create the Office for Civil

Rights and Title IX on campus.

MU hosted a “celebration of leadership” in Stotler Lounge to acknowledge Stokes’ efforts during her time here.

Chancellor Alexander Cartwright was the emcee for the event as he introduced the faculty speakers and made his own remarks about Stokes’ departure. Cartwright said Stokes has left an impression on MU that the

WELL | Page 4

SPEAKER

Tutin talks experience in MSA before being elected speaker Senior Taylor Tutin places value in forming close relationships and advocating for worthy causes.

MAWA IQBAL

Staff Writer

She had not gotten an email back.

It had been a few weeks since she entered her name and email address into the Missouri Students Association interest form on its website, and still nothing back.

A million maybes began bouncing around inside of her head.

Maybe they don’t want me. Maybe they’re full. Maybe I’m not qualified enough. Maybe they don’t like me because I’m a freshman.

Those millions of maybes didn’t

disappear until she met recently elected senate speaker Kevin Carr at MU Improv. Carr, who was familiar with the ins and outs of MSA, got her involved quickly.

And once she began attending meetings, she never quit showing up even after three years.

Now a senior, senate speaker Taylor Tutin manages the MSA email. She’s set it as one of her bookmarked tabs on her office computer so logging in and responding to emails from interested students is just one click away.

“I don’t want a student to feel the way I did,” Tutin said. “I don’t want there to be like a month delay in getting back to a student who’s interested.”

Tutin believes a delay in response can lead to students losing interest

TUTIN | Page 4

New MSA speaker Taylor Tutin in her office in the Student Center. PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | VISUALS DIRECTOR

goals for new semester JACOB ROBINSON

Staff Writer

Between unfinished projects from last semester, changes in leadership and the looming presidential election, Missouri Students Association senator Dylan Cain believes the semester holds a lot of potential for the organization.

“There’s a number of projects, especially in the Social Justice Committee, where I’m sure a lot of relationships could be built,” Cain said. “I think that’s something we need to do as an organization a lot more, to branch out to other nonstudent governments. I feel like a lot of those places can be more efficient.”

Forming more relationships is one of the biggest goals MSA has this semester, as strategies like bringing in guest speakers proved helpful with projects last year.

“We established those relationships last semester,” Cain said. “It makes it 10 times easier to start new projects.

Having that mindset, having that knowledge of what’s going on in the community is going to be incredibly helpful.”

An ongoing project for Cain and MSA is battling Columbia’s food insecurity problem, something Cain believes could be solved by making more outside connections.

“We’re still having a lot of our meetings for the food insecurity task force,” Cain said. “We are, again,

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T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 31, 2018

THE MANEATER The Student Voice of MU since 1955

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Adults and children march in protest of abortion in Jefferson City. PHOTOS BY LIA WALDRUM | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Eighth Annual Midwest March for Life draws hundreds

by Lia Waldrum

The Maneater is the official student publication of the University of Missouri and operates independently of the university, student government, the School of Journalism and any other campus entity. 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 think we should secede from Mizzou.”

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 The view from the second floor of the Capitol Rotunda as marchers arrive at the protest.

Online Development Editor Michael Smith Jr. News Editors Skyler Rossi Morgan Smith Stephi Smith

Anti-abortion activists from across Missouri gathered in Jefferson City on Jan. 27 for a peaceful protest. To start the march, protesters gathered at St. Peter Catholic Church and listened to several speakers. They proceeded to march around Jefferson City, chanting and presenting pro-life signs.

The march ended at the Capitol Rotunda, where the activists held a rally with more speakers followed by a fundraising lunch.

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CORRECTION: The Maneater mistakenly identified CJ Roberts as Terrence Phillips in a photo caption in the print issue last week. We regret this error.

Protesters gather outside of St. Peter Catholic Church the morning of Jan. 27, 2018.

Missourians march in hopes that their peaceful protest will bring about change within the state and, later, the country.

NEWS

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Online this week: Survey reports MU graduate success in career outcomes, engineering student group places third in national competition and more at themaneater.com.

STUDENT FORUM

Claire McCaskill speaks about college affordability, DACA, other issues at student forum About 200 students attended the forum, which took place Friday afternoon in Jesse Wrench Auditorium.

NATASHA VYHOVSKY

Staff Writer

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., spoke at Memorial Student Union Friday afternoon to a room of nearly 200 students and community members as part of her reelection campaign, answering questions about her work and goals on various issues. The forum was hosted by Mizzou College Democrats.

She began the forum with a short speech about her position on college affordability, refinancing student loan debt, net neutrality and campus sexual assault.

McCaskill then opened the event up to questions attendees submitted

on forms. Questions she answered related to climate change, regulations relating to the war on terror, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and DREAM Act status, gun violence in schools, Medicare, foreign policy and government spending on education.

During the forum, a dozen people stood dressed in black for solidarity while they took turns asking McCaskill questions about her work with immigration. They wanted to know how she would ensure immigration reform that included protections for DACA recipients and their families.

One of these people, Brayan Mejia, a 23-year-old undocumented St. Louis resident, human resource manager and member of MO Dreamers, travels around the state and the country to advocate for protections for DACA recipients, DREAMers and undocumented residents. He has been in the U.S. since fifth grade, but he and his family face potential deportation.

“I want it to be heard because

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill speaks at Columbia City Hall on March 18, 2014. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

it’s important for me; it’s important for my life,” Mejia said. “There’s a lot at risk right now … so it’s really important to me that the DREAM Act gets passed so that I stop worrying

RURAL HEALTH CARE

about what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

McCaskill reassured the DREAMers

Forum| Page 5

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

State lawmaker pushes for mandatory civics test ABIGAIL SHAW

Reporter

MU’s Rural Track Pipeline Program places focus on expanding rural health care The program tackles misconceptions students may have by exposing them to practice in rural environments, all while benefiting the community.

LAUREN CLERC

Staff Writer

The MU School of Medicine is expanding health care access in rural areas. Research from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services shows only 18 percent of Missouri doctors practice in rural areas, despite 40 percent of the population living there.

Ninety-nine Missouri counties are experiencing a shortage of health care professionals, leading MU to create the Rural

Track Pipeline Program.

The Rural Track Pipeline Program recruits, trains and exposes the next wave of health care professionals to rural areas. This program encompasses four different community and curricular components, including the Lester R. Bryant Pre-Admissions Program, Summer Community Program, MU Rural Track Clerkship Program and Rural Track Elective Program.

“We preadmit students from rural communities so we get the best and brightest from areas of need for medical school,” said Kathleen Quinn, associate dean for rural health at the School of Medicine.

“These students are the most likely to return to rural areas to practice. We offer them three rural clinical programs throughout medical school. Any student can do the programs; it is competitive, but any student

can apply. [Participants] have longitudinal experience in the rural communities over the course of their medical school careers, so any of their misconceptions or fears are addressed. They are prepared to practice in a rural community where there might be fewer specialists or they’re caring for their neighbor.”

This program hopes to dispel misconceptions about working in a rural environment such as having a lack of available resources. Additionally, the pipeline program encourages medical students to move to these areas, Quinn said.

Though this program has been in place for 20 years, a new element was recently added.

Michelle Kenney, a participant in the rural medicine program, said the school has also started

rural| Page 5

A Missouri lawmaker has proposed a bill that would require all college students in the state to pass a civics test before graduating.

Students would have to score at least a 70 percent to receive their associate or bachelor’s degree. If passed, the bill would go into effect on Aug. 28.

House Bill 1528 is sponsored by Higher Education Committee vice chairman Dean Dohrman, with the intent of making students more informed citizens.

“I hope to accomplish better civic education at the higher education level,” he said in an interview with the Kansas City Star. “...It’s always good for us to learn more about our government.”

Individual universities would be responsible for creating their own exams as well as working the material into existing curriculum. Schools would also choose when the tests will be administered.

According to the bill’s fiscal note, this could have an impact of over $100,000 across universities in the state in the creation and implementation of the exam. The UM System says the exact fiscal impact is currently indeterminable but would be significant.

“I know a lot of people in college, me being one of them, want to know more about the government and how it works but don’t know how or where to learn,” junior Madaline Niemuth said. “But I don’t think an exam is the right way to inform them.”

The exam would be known as the “Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement Examination” and would include 50-100 questions. According to the bill, exam topics could fold into existing curriculum and courses.

According to the bill, proposed exam questions would cover topics including the Constitution and Bill of Rights, government institutions and federalism.

civics | Page 5

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community will continue to see.

“She has put new policies and personnel in place that helped ensure Mizzou can continue to achieve our missions of teaching, research, service and economic development,” Cartwright said.

UM System President Mun Choi attended the reception and said Stokes has been a constant at MU during trying times. He also said Stokes’

TUTIN continued from page 1

and deciding not to join MSA. If she had lost interest, if she had not met Carr, she wouldn’t have her position.

What started out as one of the many informational pamphlets she received during Summer Welcome has led Tutin to an MSA career where she has not only advocated for issues she feels strongly about but also realized the power her words can have, shaping her into the person she is today.

But that transformation didn’t just happen overnight.

Tutin spent the first semester of her sophomore year serving as a senator on the Student Affairs Committee. As a younger senator in a committee of 12 older, more informed senators, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated to speak up.

“Leaderhip wasn’t always cognizant of making sure younger people’s voices were heard,” Tutin said. “I don’t think it was intentional. It was just how the committee was structured. I was a newer senator in a well-established committee.”

Tutin spent the rest of the semester attending meetings where her ideas on

T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 31, 2018 qualities as a leader have created a path to continue improving MU. “Her credibility with the faculty [and] with a community was built on her belief in the principles of being sincere, genuine, honest, caring and collaborative and really developed the foundation that [Cartwright] and I are now building on,” Choi said.

After her colleagues expressed thanks and well wishes, Stokes was the last to speak during the reception. She spoke of how she will be watching MU grow after she is gone and said how important land-grant universities are for students and their communities.

“I think that I’ve come to appreciate, even more with my experience at Mizzou, the value of relationships at every level of the university,” Stokes said. “That’s something that I’ve really learned here and I will take it with me.”

Nathan Willett, Missouri Students Association president, said he was grateful for Stokes’ respect for and commitment to students and the MU community.

“On behalf of the students, I cannot thank you enough for your dedication to all stakeholders and always being willing to communicate what you truly

meant and treating us, not just as students, but as equally important stakeholders, making Mizzou the strongest university it can be,” Willett said.

Stokes said she does not “regret for a minute” that she has spent three years here, and that there are remarkable people at this university.

Donations were taken before and during the event for a contribution to Heart of Missouri United Way, which Stokes is involved in as a board member.

Edited by Morgan Smith mosmith@themaneater.com

various projects never made it to the rectangular discussion table. Sitting in a large room where she would have to project her voice to communicate with someone on the other end of the rectangle, Tutin kept most of her thoughts to herself.

But the Academic Affairs Committee met in a much smaller room with a much smaller table. Not only did she feel more comfortable leaving her thoughts out on the discussion table, but she also felt more strongly about the cause.

Serving on the Academic Affairs Committee gave her the opportunity to “channel [her] energy to help others fulfill their academic potential, especially students who don’t have the privileges that [she’s] been afforded.”

During the spring of Tutin’s sophomore year, then-chair of AAC, Tori Schafer, decided to run for MSA vice president, leaving the chair position open. Somebody was needed to give a report to the senate speaker at minute meetings, and Carr thought Tutin could be that somebody.

“I don’t think I was entirely ready for that,” Tutin said. “I just wanted to lay low and do the work because I didn’t really want the position at the time.”

Her hesitancy toward the title wasn’t because of the additional workload or

responsibilities that would come with assuming a higher position; it was having the title itself.

“I wanted to do the work, but I didn’t want the title,” Tutin said. “It’s almost standoffish, especially when you introduce yourself by your title.”

Tutin is against gold-plated name tags, as they eliminate the aspect of introducing yourself to another person face-to-face. Even after she went through the confirmation process that solidified her as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, Tutin made sure her new position didn’t impede on her approachability.

“As chair, I felt it was important being a resource to anybody, not just senators within my committee,” Tutin said. “We’re all just trying to make the student experience better and more attainable at Mizzou.”

It’s the same reason why she joined the Academic Affairs Committee in the first place. When Tutin first assumed her role as chair, she was handed the Open Educational Resources project, which aims to make class materials more accessible.

Tutin saw this project as an opportunity to advocate for an issue she feels affects many MU students.

After rebranding the project to focus

more on textbook affordability, Tutin began meeting with the OER task force on how to make the best resource program at MU. Once it collected data from professors and undergraduate students on textbook costs, the group drafted a report that was used by the vice provost of undergraduate studies to create a new task force, Open and Affordable Educational Resources.

“I’m not short on things to say and I want to channel that into worthy causes,” Tutin said. “I’m really happy that the report and the task force’s work will change the lives of students.”

It’s the student experience that initially piqued Tutin’s interest in MSA. From advocating for issues concerning the MU student body to creating a comfortable environment for MSA senators, impacting the lives of students is ultimately why Tutin stayed in MSA. Now Tutin sits in her speaker office, leaving her door open for senators and other MSA members to stop by whenever they want to work on their homework or just chat over some snacks. Whatever the occasion, Tutin is sure to be in her office, periodically clicking on her bookmarked tab to check for interested student emails.

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

MSA continued from page 1

forming those relationships. Relationships are key on a lot of this.”

A strategy Cain has been exploring to reach out to more people in the community is a brochure outlining the city’s lack of fresh and affordable produce, as well as the consequences food insecurity can lead to.

“It gives our students and potentially, in my mind, legislators or changemakers in the community, it can give them kind of the pitch as to why food-insecure communities in particular impact students and what a food desert status means for the student body,” Cain said.

“That is a segway for another goal, which is to talk to our legislators, talk to public officials. These are the people that really have the resources and the contacts to make serious change.”

Although food insecurity is still a big problem in the community, MSA senator Tim Davis said the organization made big strides last semester.

“Where we really capped off last semester with is the student’s ability, if they’re having financial trouble, to still have access to food on campus,” Davis said. “They can either do that through Tiger Pantry or they can do that through financial aid.”

Last semester also involved maneuvering around budget cuts, as the organization proposed $103,000 in cuts

MSA President Nathan Willett discusses his journey to MU as he introduces the first of Chancellor Cartwright’s series of First 100 Days speeches on Nov. 15, 2017. PHOTO BY MADI WINFIELD | VISUALS DIRECTOR

for the 2019 fiscal year. Fiscal year 2018 included the cut of the Craft Studio, saving MSA $53,000 from the nearly $1.5 million budget, according to MSA’s 2018 budget. The cuts from last year and the work done by the budget committee last semester has pulled MSA out of its $180,000 projected deficit.

MSA has also been working with the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, a student-based political advocacy organization, on student consent education. ASUM recently filed two bills in the Missouri Senate, one of which outlines consent education requirements, a cause Davis hopes to get behind.

“The ASUM legislation going through includes consent education in high school, which I know doesn’t directly affect us, but it does if you look at how high school students will transition to college with a better knowledge base of what consent is and what sexual assault is,” Davis said.

Other goals Davis wants to work toward include education funding, working with Tiger Pantry and campus safety, which MSA focused on last semester with the East Campus Safety Walk. What Davis really wants to emphasize, however, is the importance of getting out into the community.

“I’m less worried about projects with

this committee and more worried about taking student issues to the people that can help us solve them,” Davis said. “I think that these meetings are great. They provide updates for us internally, and we always talk the talk, but I think that we need to get out there and do it.”

Leadership changes will also be a focal point this semester, with the sudden and unexpected resignation of former senate speaker Hunter Windholz. Taylor Tutin was elected senate speaker in an emergency senate meeting on Jan. 16, but Davis believes the change will not affect the organization’s goals.

“She’s always been a, ‘If you have something, run with it,’ nothing-evergets-in-the-way type of person,” Davis said. “She’s always there by your side to help you out if you need it.”

Another shift in leadership will come later in the semester with the presidential election, a process Davis hopes leads to a smooth term and a guarantee that projects get finalized.

“I think the biggest goal is the transition period has to be smooth, and we have to ensure that our projects continue because it feels like every year we’ll hit summer break and we come back in August and it’s like we totally wiped the slate clean,” Davis said. “We just take up new things.

I think that as the semester ends, we’ll be having projects that might be almost at their apex, but they just need to be brought to the finish line. We need to make sure we are continuing to do that.”

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

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T H E M A N E AT E R | N E W S | JAN. 31, 2018

FORUM

Continued from page 3 and their allies that the recent government shutdown guaranteed the passage of a bill protecting DACA recipients. She said to hold her accountable if nothing was done

by March 5, the DACA reapplication deadline.

“We ended the [government] shutdown, but we ended it with an agreement that for the first time in four years, a bill will go to the floor for debate and decision in the U.S. Senate for DACA protections,” McCaskill said. “And more importantly, it will start with a neutral shell.”

RURAL

Continued from page 3 a new program for resident physicians that includes a lecture series and complete residency rotations within rural Missouri clinics and hospitals.

The presence of a physician creates an economic impact worth about $1.3 million for a rural community, Quinn said. A physician signals other health professionals to join them, hopefully allowing for full-range health care to be established in the future. It makes

CIVICS

Continued from page 3

Colleges would be able to offer the exams online, as well as use any exams from courses that already cover all relevant topics.

“I think it would be interesting,” junior Elizabeth Ronecker said.

Ronecker is projected to graduate after the bill goes into effect. “If the materials are given to me then I don’t see a problem studying and taking the exam.”

Dohrman told the Kansas City Star many citizens do not fully understand the federal government outside the role of the presidency.

“We have one of the most, if not the most, complex government systems in the world,” he said in an interview with the Kansas City Star. “So I think it’s a lifelong learning experience for all of us.”

Ronecker believes this bill would help ensure students are properly

In response to the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, McCaskill said she wants to make sure law enforcement is working together with universities and that there is information available to both victims and people who have been accused. She said there is a general lack of understanding about the ramifications of Title IX complaints.

“I know one of the biggest challenges we have is a memorandum of understanding between law enforcement and college campuses,” McCaskill said. “If someone is assaulted on a Friday night, they’re not sure [if] they tell campus police [or if] they tell anyone and what the difference is between going to the university or the police.”

Sophomore Sarah Schlote, a member of Mizzou College Democrats, came to the forum in support of McCaskill.

She encourages students to come to political events regardless of party affiliation in order to be informed voters.

“I think people our age should be involved in politics and know what’s going on,” Schlote said.

“And I think the best way to do that is to actually get involved when there are opportunities like this so they continue to happen. Not just Democrats, but whoever.”

McCaskill is up for reelection for her third term in November.

Her reelection bid follows President Trump’s 19-point margin of victory in Missouri in 2016. McCaskill wants

to ensure Democratic representation for the state and encouraged students to register and to vote, volunteer on her campaign and enable her to speak at more events on campus.

“I don’t need to tell you that 2016 was not a great year for the Democrats in Missouri,” McCaskill said. “It was a year that the pendulum swung, and frankly Missouri has always had a little of both in statewide office. We’ve always had a few Republicans, and we’ve always had a few Democrats … I hope that we don’t change so that everybody is of one party. I don’t think that’s healthy for our government.”

Edited by Skyler Rossi srossi@themaneater.com

businesses more likely to locate to these areas as well, as there will be health care for their employees.

Potential lack of amenities may dissuade rural pipeline candidates.

Urban students may also shy away from an environment they are not familiar with, Quinn said.

“You have to experience rural medicine to learn what it is and really want to go there,” Quinn said. “I have had urban background students be pleasantly surprised. They go and they think, ‘Oh my gosh, I can go to work in five to 10 minutes instead of 40 minutes; I don’t have to deal with

traffic; I can work with generations of families; I can really know my patients; I can be a leader in the community.’”

In recent years, interest in the program has increased, showing that progress is attainable, Quinn said.

“Between academic year 2014 and 2018, we had 17-19 student participants,” Quinn said. “This year, starting in June, we had 26 students who want to participate in the Rural Track for six months of their third year of medical school. That’s almost 25 percent of the class. We’re absolutely thrilled, and the communities and hospitals hosting the students will have the opportunity

to recruit their practice partners or their replacement if they are nearing retirement. The MU School of Medicine could not offer these opportunities without our community partners. These nine hospitals and related clinics are key to our success.”

The Rural Track Pipeline Program will expand as class sizes expand, with goals for the future including expanding residency opportunities to new sites and aiding in loan repayment, Quinn said.

Edited by Stephi Smith ssmith@themaneater.com

educated and informed.

“This bill is important because it means that people have to have a basic understanding of how the government works,” she said. “To be a good citizen, it’s important to know why and how different aspects of the government work.”

She also believes the bill would help college students learn more about voting.

“We are the new generation voting on different things,” Ronecker said. “It’s important for people to know how things work when they are voting on different topics.”

Tracy McGrady, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at Ozarks Technical Community College, found the proposed exam to be redundant. McGrady said students in Missouri are already required to take a civics and government

class before graduating.

“We already have something like that existing,” McGrady said in an interview with the Kansas City Star.

Niemuth, a special education major, only has two semesters left and is worried about the potential impact on her course load.

“I have to take certain classes for graduation,” Niemuth said. “I could

definitely see this causing scheduling issues and stress in my last semesters.”

The bill was recently referred to the House Higher Education Committee and was heard in the committee on Jan. 24. Action has been postponed on the bill, and no future hearing has been scheduled at this time.

Edited by Morgan Smith mosmith@themaneater.com

The Missouri State Capitol. MANEATER FILE PHOTO

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SHOWCASE

‘Gradualism’ gives graduate art students a platform to display work from the semester Pieces featured at the art show used uncommon materials such as piano structures and fabric installations.

SIENA DEBOLT

Staff Writer

Coming together to create a collective show, graduate students at the MU art department created “Gradualism,” an art show and reception from Jan. 16-25 that displayed their work as MFA candidates.

“Every year, we do an exhibition of all of our work and just about all of us participate,” said Zach Nutt, a thirdyear graduate student and president of the Association of Graduate Art Students. “Everybody was allowed two works to display, whatever they wanted to choose. It gets to show the diversity of the program.”

Paying homage to the wide range of art materials used in this exhibit, Erin King used pieces of pianos to recreate the idea of music and art in coexistence.

King displayed three pieces in the exhibit, including “Performance of Etude 1, Opus 2,” a structure created from a music box, a music program and piano parts, “Manuscript for Etude 1, Opus 2,” a wooden piano panel with

intricate weavings of white cotton thread dispersed inside the wooden frame and “Piano Descending a Staircase,” a loosely structured cube composed of piano action parts and string.

“I’m kind of finding my way back to making music into a part of my art, with the end goal of trying to figure out how would one go about interpreting a weaving into music,” King said. “I ended up plotting out the points where I wove on the piano keyboard based on the idea that the openings within the weaving structure would serve as where the hole punches on my music box scroll would go. In that respect, the weaving is actually the source of the song in the music box.”

Using her resources, King found a nonprofit that would donate the supplies she needed to build this series.

“So, I actually got two pianos from a nonprofit in St. Louis called Pianos for People this summer,” King said.

“I sent them an email and said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about doing artwork on pianos. Could I have a piano?’ And they said, ‘We’ll give you two!’ I decided to find some people within my network who could get trailers and drove to St. Louis and hauled the pianos back.”

Another artist using unconventional materials to design xyr project, Nessi

For several months following the opening reception, chosen artists will have the opportunity to fill the gallery with their own work for two weeks at a time.

Alexander-Barnes, created a spiralshaped installation made entirely of quilting fabric. Inside the installation, Alexander-Barnes featured a quilted storybook with laser-etched drawings.

“Quilting fabric is something that makes up beds, and it’s brightly colored and reflective of individual people, and so it’s the material I’ve chosen to tie into the concept of identity,” Alexander-Barnes said. “[The storybook is] based on my experiences with internal mythology, so I am literally burning my internal mythology onto fabric that means ‘people.’”

Alexander-Barnes, who created the book with the intention of telling xyr stories as a queer person, used the structure itself to represent xyr queer culture.

“I wanted to create a space that you could enter, a space where you could

confront a culture that is not your own,” Alexander-Barnes said. “It’s my personal queer experience. So I made a little spiral-ish where you could walk in and be alone with the story.”

After receiving xyr MFA, AlexanderBarnes hopes to continue telling xyr story and inspiring others to tell their own.

“I would like to teach college,” Alexander-Barnes said. “Specifically, painting and drawing. I intend to keep making my own work separately and involving [my stories], but the more important thing is that I want to enable students to tell their own stories.”

The Maneater used the gender-neutral pronoun “xyr” at the request of Nessi Alexander-Barnes.

Edited by Brooke Collier bcollier@themaneater.com

A reception on Jan. 25, 2018, celebrated MU graduate students’ work.

PHOTOS BY LIA WALDRUM | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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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. 3 1, 2018 FRESH START

A new semester gives college students a fresh start to make academic goals for themselves College students jump at the chance to better themselves and their academics at the start of a new semester.

KATIE HARFF

Columnist

Every time the calendar turns to Jan. 1, it seems the entire world creates a new workout plan, buys organic food and makes their bed in the morning. But we all know this lasts a couple weeks or so, and then old habits begin to resurface. This concept of goal making is present in many college students’ lives as they begin each new semester, whether that be with academics or daily habits. But what matters is if we can keep it up or not.

Many students turn to academic goals. Freshman Lexie Deshon is simply aiming to “be a better student.”

There are many ways to do this. For some, it involves not procrastinating, and others just want to study more.

Junior Sarah Abrams is one who wants to leave the habit of procrastinating in past semesters.

“Not procrastinating is a good habit to get into,” Abrams said. “It’s the hardest [resolution] because at the beginning of the semester, you don’t have as many assignments, so

For many, planning and visualizing their goals is an integral part of accomplishing New Year’s resolutions. PHOTO BY KATIE HARFF | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

you think, ‘Oh, I don’t need to do it now; it’s due in a week,’ but in a week you’re going to have more assignments.”

Abrams’ tactic to keep goals for this semester was to make New Year’s resolutions and then continue them as school started. “[My New Year’s resolutions are] to not procrastinate and [apply] lotion every day,” Abrams said. ”Since we haven’t been in the habit of school for a month, it was easy to start bringing those things into my

everyday routine and make it a daily habit for myself.”

Senior Rebekah Mauschbaugh also had school-related goals.

“I just want to focus more on my schoolwork and get through the school year,” Mauschbaugh said. “I have 21 credit hours this semester, so now seemed like a good time to actually go through it, plus it’s my last year.”

There is a notion that New Year’s resolutions never last the whole year. 31.6 percent of people drop

their resolutions within two weeks, according to Statistic Brain. It may not sound like a lot, but when you think about how short two weeks is and how many people make New Year’s resolutions, it’s a sizable group.

However, college students may be successful in the first couple weeks of the semester.

The first week of every college semester is often referred to as syllabus week, since all it really consists of is professors reading from the syllabi they have created. This may be one reason that it is easy for college students to maintain their goals, the first week especially, since they don’t have much else to do.

“It has been pretty easy so far,” Deshon said. “I have been doing pretty decent and staying on top of stuff.”

When adults who have jobs make New Year’s resolutions, they immediately have to go back to working at the pace they were before the New Year, but college students get to ease back into their routines.

So here we are in the third week of the semester, and it appears people have been successful at making attainable goals. It might not be that way a month from now, but it’s a good start.

Edited by Claire Colby ccolby@themaneater.com

GRAMMYS

Women scarce in Grammy Award nominations The problem is bigger than just awards shows.

ASHLEY DORF

Columnist

Lorde’s Melodrama is the only album from a female artist to be nominated for Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Make no mistake — women are powerful. The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have given women a voice to condemn sexual assault.

Women’s marches across the country have allowed people young and old to stand up for their rights.

But no matter how loudly we protest, we are always back to the systemic sexism ingrained in our society. And the Grammy Awards are no exception.

Take the Song of the Year category, for instance. In all fairness, two of the five songs feature female co-writers: Alessia Cara and Julia Michaels. But the other song nominations recycle the same artists from the record of the year category: Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars and Jay-Z. Let’s talk about “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber) for a second. Despite its commercial success, is it really a more well-written song than Kesha’s empowering anthem “Praying,” which received extreme critical acclaim?

Kesha’s past few years have been clouded by her ongoing legal battle

with producer Dr. Luke. Despite this, Luke remains a force in the music industry.

Also for song of the year, Little Big Town failed to receive a nomination for “Better Man,” a country song by a group including two female singers, Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman, and written by accomplished female songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was the winner for the 2017 CMA Award for song of the year and has two Grammy nominations this year — it could have had three.

Women were shut out completely from the Record of the Year category.

“The Story of O.J.” by Jay-Z is not even a single. While it certainly tells a story through rap, giving Jay-Z another nomination when there are other viable options is a bit insulting to the hardworking, talented female musicians of the industry who are also valid contenders for the award.

They say to give credit where credit is due. Women deserve more for their contributions, and no song in the Record of the Year category is a true runaway in terms of production, vocals or engineering (songwriters of the winning song do not get this award).

Nominations for the top prize, Album of the Year, could have very well given SZA a nod. Her debut album, Ctrl, was critically acclaimed and is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America; her single “The Weekend” is certified platinum.

It is already tough to score a big

debut with critics’ approval as an artist, and especially so as a woman; SZA should have been rewarded with a top nomination. She does have five nominations, but she ultimately gets snubbed from a category she deserves no less than the others there.

Will it really take another Weinstein-like revelation to curb the music industry from supporting an

uncomfortable (and rather unfair) culture for women and make the systemic sexism at award shows stop?

It’s time that we celebrate the impact of women in music instead of hiding it. The Grammy Awards should be a celebration of all music, not just music made by men.

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. 3 1, 2 0 1 8

What 2018 has in store for music, movies and more NEW YEAR

Mark your calendars for the hottest albums, TV shows, movies and events in 2018, from local to global.

LAUREN WILCOX

Reporter

As we move into the new year, there are many great entertainment events planned, from music to movies, along with a royal wedding and local film festivals. Be ready to enjoy and explore 2018.

Music

TV Shows Television will for sure grab viewers’ attention with new seasons of Netflix’s “Jessica Jones” starring Krysten Ritter on March 8, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” in April and HBO’s “Westworld.” On the rise this year are new shows such as “The Looming Tower” starring Jeff Daniels on Hulu, which premieres Feb. 28. It is a historical drama examining the rise of al-Qaeda and the events leading to 9/11. Kate Mara and Evan Peters star in “Pose,” which premieres in the summer on FX, with Ryan Murphy behind this project based in the 1980s that takes a look into ball culture in New York City.

Local Stop by Jesse Hall to check out the Mizzou Undergraduate Visual Art and Design Showcase from Feb. 5-9. There will be plenty of work on display, from photojournalism to floral design to paintings.

In addition, the True/False Film Festival is March 1-4.

Don’t miss out on downtown Columbia being transformed into a highly creative atmosphere, along with films premiering and a variety of events to take part in.

Bill Nye will speak in Jesse Auditorium on March 16 at 7 p.m.; tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased at the MU Student Center Ticket Office.

The True/False Film Fest will be held from March 1-4, 2018. MANEATER FILE PHOTO

M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

As we head into 2018, music will roar, with tours from Maroon 5, which will stop in Kansas City on Sept.

11 and St. Louis on Sept.

13, and Lorde, who will be in St. Louis on March 2 and Kansas City on March 3.

There are also long-awaited albums set to be released by Arctic Monkeys, Cardi B and MGMT. MGMT will release Little Dark Age on Feb. 9. This is the band’s latest album in five years. As for Arctic Monkeys and Cardi B, album titles and dates have yet to be announced but have been publicized. New music is set to come from Kacey Musgraves with her album Golden Hour to be released in early 2018 and The 1975 with Music for Cars with the release date TBA.

book of the same name by Kevin Kwan, premiers Aug. 17.

Movies

This year, the theaters will be filled with action-packed blockbusters such as Marvel’s Black Panther with a cast including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o premiering Feb. 16 and Avengers: Infinity War on May 4. Also, Sandra Bullock, Rihanna and the crew of Ocean’s 8 will kick butt in theaters June 8. Moviegoers’ hearts will be content with the animated super-family film Incredibles 2, which is set to hit theaters June 15.

One film to keep an eye out for is rom-com Love, Simon on March 16. This comingof-age film is based on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, a young adult novel by Becky Albertalli. Crazy Rich Asians, based on the best-selling

International

Tune in Feb. 9-25 to see U.S. athletes compete for the gold at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with events such as snowboarding, Alpine skiing and hockey. The hearts and eyes of the world will be on Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when they say “I do” on May 19 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. And even though the United States didn’t qualify for the FIFA World Cup, catch the men’s competition in Russia starting June 14.

Edited by Brooke Collier bcollier@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. 3 1, 2 0 1 8 THEATRE

Students run show in latest theatre department productions The Mizzou New Play Series runs from Feb. 7-11 and features 24 original works developed through the MU theatre department’s Writing for Performance program.

HANNAH MCFADDEN

Reporter

Student-directed, written and performed, the Mizzou New Play Series is a concert staging of 24 original plays. It will run from Feb. 7-11 at the new Studio 4 performance space in McKee Gymnasium.

“There’s a fine art to directing a concert reading,” the show’s creative director Dr. David Crespy said. “It involves learning how little you can block to get across a very evocative moment.”

Concert staging is a type of performance that relies on minimal blocking, set and costumes, Crespy said. The actors read off scripts at music stands. All stage directions are read by another student to set the scene.

“You’re giving a lot of suggestions of what could possibly happen, and the audience is also working from their imagination,” Crespy said.

The unique staging and rehearsal process of the Mizzou New Play Series is known to draw in people who are new to theater.

“For a lot of students, the Mizzou New Play Series is the first time that they’ve done anything in their lives in terms of acting or directing or playwriting,” Crespy said.

According to Crespy, the New Play Series auditions are open to anyone. Although the bulk of the participants are MU students, MU faculty and members of the community are welcome as well.

Among this year’s new recruits is MU freshman Marian Bouchot, who acts in four short plays in the series.

After finding an ad for auditions on Facebook, Bouchot said she was drawn to this production because it seemed to fit with her schedule.

“There’s not actually that much rehearsal time,” Bouchot said. “We rehearse each play at least twice.

It’s definitely really low commitment, and it wasn’t something super stressful or overwhelming.”

Bouchot said she wanted to get involved in theater in high school, which led her to explore filmmaking and directing. Although her theatrical career began behind the camera, Bouchot enjoys stepping out of her comfort zone and into the

MU student and stage manager for Of Madness and the Electric Dream Sara Nolan listens to director Josh Saboorizadeh at rehearsal on Jan. 29, 2018 in the theater below McKee Gymnasium.

The cast and crew of Of Madness and the Electric Dream sits in a circle and reads through the script at rehearsal on Jan. 29, 2018 in the theater below McKee Gymnasium. PHOTOS BY JACOB MOSCOVITCH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

limelight.

“It’s odd being on the other side, but it’s a huge learning experience to just humble myself and let them help me improve my character,” Bouchot said. “I’m still getting comfortable in it, but it definitely teaches me how to be a better director.”

Because of the minimal time commitment, actors in the New Play Series can participate in multiple shows and take on other creative roles in the process of staging a show.

“Everyone here is here to learn, and they’re in roles they might not have had before, such as directing,” Bouchot explained.

Part of the goal of the New Play Series is to get students to try new parts of theater they may be unfamiliar with.

“In one piece you may be an actor, in one piece you may be a director, in another piece you may be the playwright,” Crespy said. “People are taking on multiple roles.”

Although the rehearsal period is brief, the New Play Series is a long process.

Writers submitted their plays online and students applied for directing positions in early fall, according to Crespy. The directors are hired in November. They read through the submissions, select which plays they want to direct and hold auditions for actors.

“Putting playwrights and directors together is a little bit like a marriage,” Crespy said. “It’s teaching people how to work together in this highly collaborative art form.”

Crespy has had plenty of experience in working with actors, directors and playwrights. Crespy created the Mizzou New Play Series

in 1999 after arriving at MU in 1998.

The Mizzou New Play Series is a part of the MU theatre department’s Writing for Performance program at MU. It’s a series of classes, projects and workshops of new plays or other works such as screenplays and teleplays.

It includes the Missouri Playwrights Workshop, the Mizzou New Play Series, the summer Comedies in Concert series and the Life and Literature Performance Series. The focus of the program is dramaturgy, or the art of developing new works for stage.

“We give the students an enormous opportunity to write and hear their works read,” Crespy said.

Once writers hear and see their shows, they can receive feedback. This feedback can come from the actors and directors, though the audience also plays a key role in the process.

“After the play is performed, we have a talk-back session where the audience members are invited to hang out and talk about the plays,” Crespy said. “Quite often, that’s the most interesting part.”

The talk-back session is meant for the playwright to ask questions of the audience that will help them edit and improve their script.

According to Crespy, the interactive session is meant to gauge what parts of the show were engaging and what parts could use work.

“The editorial process, or the play-development process, is happening all along the way,” Crespy said.

“The whole point is for the playwrights to be able to change their scripts.”

Plays in the Mizzou New Play Series can be entered into the Kennedy Center

American College Theatre Festival, which helps them gain recognition and gives them more opportunities to hear their script.

This January, eight original plays from MU were recognized with various awards and honors at the Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Ninety-five plays from MU writers have been recognized regionally and 21 have been recognized nationally at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of the New Play Series in 1999, according to Crespy.

The New Play Series also offers the opportunity for short plays to become main stage productions.

The Green Duck Lounge, a play written by MU alumna Michelle Tyrene Johnson, was featured in the Mizzou New Play Series in 2017.

Now, it’s in rehearsals for a main stage production at MU set to open in February.

“It’s a really big playwriting, dramatic writing machine,” Crespy said.

The New Play Series has also begun to spread beyond MU. Because the series is open to anyone, Crespy said some playwrights have come from different cities to produce their work in this showcase, such as Lewis Shilane of Joplin and David Hawley of St. Louis.

“It’s part of larger project we see where MU theatre serves not just our students, faculty and staff, but the people of Missouri and those who have an interest and ambition in writing for the stage,” Crespy said. “We are here for them.”

Edited by Brooke Collier bcollier@themaneater.com

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.

EDITORIAL

Editorial: Gov. Greitens’ continued budget cuts to higher education are alarming The proposed budget cuts to higher education

by Gov. Greitens for the second year in a row are irrational and harmful to Missouri institutions as a whole.

Higher education is vital to the long-term growth of a state’s economy.

Highly skilled individuals who undertake studies at state institutions such as MU stimulate job growth in the state of Missouri. A college education is something to be valued, and Gov. Eric Greitens, a Duke University graduate and a Rhodes scholar, should understand this far more than the average individual.

Nonetheless, he intends to cut higher education funding in Missouri for the second year in a row.

The overall budget, which has yet to be passed, breaks down the state’s 2019 fiscal year. While the proposed budget does raise the funding for K-12 education to an all-time high, the decision to cut funding to higher education is one step forward and two steps back. If Greitens truly believes that the children of Missouri deserve a better education, then why is he solely concerned with K-12 education? Some of the students he

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens speaks at Whiteman Air Force Base. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

hopes to help by increasing the pay of their teachers will eventually want to attend college. By cutting funding to the University of Missouri System, Greitens is effectively lessening the likelihood of students staying in Missouri after high school.

Student leaders from several Missouri institutions expressed their dissatisfaction toward the governor’s plans to cut the higher education budget in a joint statement: "Public higher education is an

unparalleled economic driver for states like ours. It is not an exaggeration to say that public education paves the way to the American Dream. In addition, it adds value to those who attend institutions of higher education and for those who benefit from the fruits of its labor.”

Members of Greitens’ own party also expressed their disapproval of the new budget, one of whom being Rep. Donna Lichtenegger of Cape Girardeau. She told the Columbia

Missourian that “another cut is going to do nothing but hurt our education system” and pointed out that “people are going to start going out of state to colleges because our professors are going to leave — that’s what I fear.”

Ultimately, students will more than likely have to help Missouri institutions carry the burden of lost funding through increased tuition rates. While the state passed a law that caps tuition rates at the rate of inflation, the idea of repealing this law is now being openly discussed.

Doing so would effectively allow the university to attempt to cover costs that the new budget does not.

This could change how out-of-state students view the university from a financial perspective. Students would be paying more for less of an education. The UM System already cut 500 jobs last year in an attempt to deal with less funding. Further cuts would be crippling to Missouri institutions.

Greitens’ plan to cut funding is a short-term solution that attempts to save face as being “conservative” by saving his voting block money while putting the future livelihood of the state at risk. It would be irrational to believe that anything positive will come from underfunding higher education in Missouri.

COLUMN

Activism requires long-term dedication to a cause To be an activist, you have to be committed and informed.

MADI BAUGHMAN

Opinion Columnist

Madi Baughman is a freshman journalism and political science major who writes about political and civil rights issues for The Maneater.

Maybe you’re reading this because you recently decided to become an activist. You made up your mind to get more involved, so you went to a women’s march. Maybe you even went two years in a row. You’re registered to vote and you promise you’ll come out for the midterm elections, not just the presidential one. You occasionally share posts on Facebook about your political views or causes that you care about. Hell, you even donated to some GoFundMe campaigns where you really feel sympathetic for the person asking for money.

So have I — and we’re not special. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not that great of an activist. And if you can relate to my experiences, you’re not, either.

Here’s the thing about activism: It’s true that getting involved does help, even if it’s just marching to increase visibility of a certain cause. However, your activism needs to go farther than just participating in a march or making it to the polls once every couple of years. It feels good when you finish a march or come home from voting, and we have made big strides, but it’s important to remember that the work is far from over.

For example, 780 million people lack access to clean, safe water, according to the CDC. This might sound like something only thirdworld countries face, but that’s not so. Remember the Flint water crisis?

It got 15 minutes of fame a few years ago when everybody decided to care about it for a week or so, and then the widespread support mysteriously disappeared when the problem wasn’t fixed quickly enough. Three years later, some residents still can’t drink their tap water, and it’s estimated that the problematic piping in Flint won’t

Thousands of people participated in the St. Louis Women’s March on Jan. 20, 2018. PHOTO BY SARAH HASELHORST | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

be completely fixed until at least 2020. And this is just one example of why activism can’t be just a one-anddone type of thing; there are so many people who still need our help — both in our country and worldwide — and millions of causes to choose from.

Lending a hand once in a while is not enough. We have to be there for the people who need it the most. If you really care about something, you should fight for it if you get the chance.

Get involved in your community —

even in your local government, if that’s something that interests you.

Volunteer for a nonprofit that you believe in. Make your voice heard.

Maybe after reading this, you’re asking yourself, “Now what?” We can only try to do better in the future.

So here’s my pledge: I’ll do better in the future. I’ll get more involved. I’ll stand up for what I believe in and actively fight for the society I want to see. If you’re ready to start, too, then let’s get down to business.

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COLUMN

The tax reform bill is not just for the rich The bill passed by congressional Republicans and President Trump has been a success in providing cuts for millions of Americans despite the connotation that it would only help the rich.

BRANDON BARTLETT

Columnist

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

Sen. Elizabeth Warren gives a speech at a Washington, D.C., rally to protest the American Health Care Act on June 21, 2017. PHOTO COURTESY OF EDWARD KIMMEL VIA FLICKR

The tax reform bill passed in late December didn’t provide tax cuts; it was robbery. Future Americans will realize that the bill is a detriment to the federal government. This tax reform bill is the end of the world!

All of the statements just made are similar to quotes from Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Yes, Nancy Pelosi literally said this tax bill is “Armageddon.” Let’s assess if there is any truth to these statements,.

Starting with a tweet from Warren on Dec. 20, “The bill that the Republicans jammed through the Senate tonight isn’t tax reform. It’s a heist.” A “heist” implies that someone or something is being robbed. In the sense of tax reform, Republicans would relate a “heist” to the story of Robin Hood, in which the Prince is stealing from the poor, suffering citizens. According to David A. Graham of The Atlantic, “80 percent of households will see some benefit in 2018” from the tax cuts and NPR estimates that households would get an average tax cut of just over $1,600.

To me, that doesn’t sound like a heist.

The next quote to be analyzed is from Sanders. “And [historians] will

conclude that today is the day of one of the great robberies, criminal activities if you like, in the modern history of this country, because the federal treasury is being looted tonight,” he said Dec. 1. Leave it to the socialist to think the federal government deserves your money more than you do. I don’t think this quote needs much statistical evidence because it’s really more based on what you think is the purpose of government. Most Republicans would agree that higher taxes are what would be robbery.

If you believe in individualism and personal liberty as I do, then you probably don’t want the federal government taking your money. Many people would argue they know how to use their money better than some politicians who are in a different part of the country and don’t know them. However, if you believe the government is there to take care of you and solve all of your problems because they know best and if you believe that the rich should be paying higher taxes because nobody needs that much money, then I would suggest that you should just give all of your money to the Internal Revenue Service and let the government do

what it wants with it. Trust me; they won’t mind wasting it.

Sanders’ tax plan, according to Naomi Jagoda for The Hill, would cost American taxpayers $15.3 trillion over the first 10 years and $25.1 trillion in the decade after. The same article, which was published in 2016, claims that “in 2017, households in the middle fifth of income would see their taxes increase on average by almost $4,700, while people in the top 0.1 percent of income would on average have their taxes go up by more than $3 million.”

Finally, perhaps the most outrageous quote of all, said by Nancy Pelosi, is, “No, this is the end of the world. The debate on health care is life-death.

This is Armageddon.” She brings up health care because the tax bill repealed the Obamacare individual mandate. The individual mandate forces most American citizens to buy health insurance whether they want to purchase it or not and if they don’t, then they are fined through taxes. I’d be surprised if the founding fathers didn’t roll over in their graves when the federal government decided it was OK to force its citizens to buy something from private companies.

The preamble to the Constitution reads, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty … ” It is not liberty to force people to buy something they don’t want. This is what an overreach by the federal government looks like.

There is really no reason to compare this bill to Armageddon. The largest downside is that the bill has the potential to plunge the U.S. over $1.4 trillion further into debt, according to CNBC. That being said, I don’t think the Democrats were complaining much when Obama increased the national debt by about $8 trillion, according to Kimberly Amadeo for The Balance.

The new tax bill essentially doubled the standard deduction and the child tax credit. In addition to lowering the tax rates for some of the tax brackets, the corporate tax rate was lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent.

Because of the tax bill, many companies are giving back to their employees in the way of bonuses or raising hourly pay; some are even increasing matching contributions to workers’ 401(k) plans. These companies include AT&T, Bank of America and Walmart, just to list a few. An article written by Adam Shell for USA Today has a list of bonuses that are being given by some of the major companies who decided to share the money they will be saving from the new tax bill; that short list alone adds up to $870 million in bonuses.

Before the tax bill was passed, the corporate federal tax rate was among the five highest in the world, causing many businesses to send work overseas. Apple has stated it will bring its money from overseas back to the U.S., presumably because of the tax decrease. Thus, it can be argued that this bill was not a heist and did not bring on Armageddon; it just let people keep more of their own money.

COLUMN

Pakistan has long been one of America’s more burdensome allies; it’s time to end the partnership For too long, Pakistan has abused its relationship with the U.S., and it’s about time an American president took note.

JON NIEMUTH

Columnist

Jon Niemuth is a freshman economics major at MU. He is an opinions columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater.

For all the potentially rash decisionmaking that has accompanied Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy in his first year in office, there are instances of Trump actually doing what he claims is his specialty: saying what needs to be said.

In no case so far is this more clear than in his recent Twitter spout aimed at Pakistan.

In the rant — written in typical Trump fashion featuring awkward sentence structure and exclamation points — the president patently accused Pakistan of feeding the United States “nothing but lies & deceit“ over the last decade and a half in exchange for tens of billions of dollars in military aid, vowing to end such large payments in the future.

Trump’s detractors immediately jumped on the message, attacking it for being childish and probably hurting relations with what some consider an important regional ally.

But at least on this occasion, Trump has a point.

In the long American history of ugly friends, there are few small

nations that have been bigger wastes of money than Pakistan. The U.S. officially partners with Islamabad for help in the War on Terrorism, but if that’s the goal, this relationship has been a complete and utter failure.

Since 9/11, the Pakistanis’ antiterrorism efforts have been at best incompetent and at worst malevolent.

Radicals from neighboring Afghanistan regularly cross the border and face no resistance setting up new areas of influence. Osama bin Laden was hiding just a few miles from PMA Kakul — one of Pakistan’s largest military academies — and yet local officials claimed to be caught completely off guard when an American raid killed the al-Qaeda leader in 2011.

The Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s chief intelligence agency, is

routinely linked to groups such as the Afghan Taliban, an extremely serious charge that directly sabotages the West’s anti-terror operation. That’s to say nothing of the nation’s rogue nuclear program, which is said to provide crucial information to pariah states like Iran and North Korea whose intentions can’t possibly be good.

That was made abundantly plain in 2017, when both Tehran and Pyongyang conducted arguably successful ICBM tests.

So yes, while this administration’s foreign policy thus far has been far from perfect, when it comes to Pakistan, it has the right idea. For too long, the regime has been a burden on American security interests, and our country would undoubtedly benefit from severing ties.

SPORTS

Online this week: Karissa Schweizer smashes Tigers’ program record in the mile run, wrestling remains undefeated and more at themaneater.com.

12

TENNIS

Missouri tennis rides perfect weekend to 5-0 January record

Bea Machado Santos and Cassidy Spearman shake hands with Sonia Chen and Marta Sramkova of Louisiana Tech on Feb. 25, 2017. Santos and Spearman beat their doubles opponents 6-4.

MANEATER FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks and freshman Ellie Wright are undefeated on the season for the Tigers.

JOE NOSER

Sports Editor

The Missouri tennis team has gotten off to a blistering-hot start

to the 2018 season, posting a 5-0 record over five matches since the team restarted play on Jan. 20 after an almost three-month hiatus. The Tigers had last competed on Oct. 22 at the ITA Central Regional in Lawrence, Kansas.

Missouri’s return to competition started on Jan. 20 when the team posted 5-0 and 6-1 victories over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks and the Central Arkansas Bears, respectively, at the Mizzou Tennis

Complex.

Against the Redhawks, senior Amina Ismail, sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks and freshman Ellie Wright all went 2-0 to pace the Tigers. Ismail and freshman Taylor Gruber teamed up for a 6-2 victory in their doubles match, while the partnership of Middlebrooks and Wright combined for a 6-1 victory. The wins gave Missouri the doubles point in the match. Middlebrooks, Wright and Ismail all won convincingly in

their singles matches, as none of the women lost more than three games against their Redbirds opponents.

Ismail, Middlebrooks and Wright were the stars against the Bears as well. All three won both their doubles and singles matches.

Missouri carried its success from Jan. 20 into the team’s road trip to Ithaca, New York, from Jan. 26-28.

The team once again picked up the

WINS | Page 13

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Men’s basketball player Terrence Phillips investigated by Office for Civil Rights & Title IX The junior guard was suspended indefinitely from the Mizzou men’s basketball team on Friday.

BENNETT DURANDO

Assistant Sports Editor Missouri

basketball

was

dealt

another personnel blow Friday when it was announced that junior guard Terrence Phillips was suspended from the team indefinitely.

Things took another turn Sunday when it was reported that Phillips is under investigation by MU’s Office for Civil Rights & Title IX, as first reported by the St. Louis PostDispatch’s Ashley Jost.

Multiple people have spoken out on social media in the last two days about alleged mistreatment and even potential physical abuse of women

by Phillips. The Missouri Students Association encouraged Phillips to step down from his role on the Missouri Unions Committee as the investigation proceeds.

Phillips will remain on scholarship

for now but is prohibited from participating in games or practices, head coach Cuonzo Martin said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

“It was a surprise, but I really don’t know much about it — just about as much as everyone else,” junior guard Cullen VanLeer said at

IX | Page 13

13

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WINS Continued from page 12

doubles point against the Cornell Big Red on Jan. 26, winning two of the team’s three doubles matches. While Missouri had more trouble in the singles matches against

the Big Red than against the Redhawks or the Bears, wins from Wright, Middlebrooks and Gruber were enough to put Missouri over the top and clinch a 4-2 match victory.

Missouri’s most complete day of the season to date came Jan. 28, when the team capped off a perfect road trip with 4-0 wins over Army and

Binghamton. Middlebrooks and Wright picked up wins in the Army match and had their matches against Binghamton suspended to remain undefeated on the season. On the weekend, Missouri went 24-3 overall in matches against Cornell, Army and Binghamton.

Head coach Colt Gaston

said the effort his team put in on the road trip was encouraging.

“We have been trying to get off to better starts, and I thought we did a good job of that today,” Gaston said in a press release. “Overall, it was a great weekend for us, and we look forward to continuing to build next

week."

Next up for the team is a trip to Blacksburg, Virginia, on Feb. 3 to take on Virginia Tech at 11 a.m. and Radford at 4 p.m.

Edited by Will Skipworth wskipworth@themaneater.com

IX

Continued from page 12 a press conference.

VanLeer will be in the spotlight now, as he becomes Mizzou’s most relevant guard off the bench. The diminishing Tiger backcourt will mean increased minutes for him as well as a heavier load for the already-worked Kassius Robertson and Jordan Geist.

Phillips has averaged 10.6 minutes per game with 2.5 points and 1.1 turnovers per game. He is an 81 percent free throw shooter.

Phillips has been an SEC Men’s Basketball Leadership Council chairman and was a member of the 2017 SEC Community Service Team.

Though the precedent for Title IX investigations on student-athletes is completion by the end of the semester in which the investigation is opened, Saint Louis University carried a similar investigation of four men’s basketball players that started last September and carried into the spring semester.

Edited by Joe Noser jnoser@themaneater.com

Terrence Phillips pushes past an Arkansas State defender during a home game on Dec. 1, 2015.

MANEATER FILE PHOTO

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

No. 11 Mizzou loses to No. 9 South Carolina 64-54 on the road Foul trouble early and often led to Mizzou’s demise.

ADAM COLE

Staff Writer

Su nd ay nig ht’s Southeastern Conference matchup between No. 11 Mizzou and No. 9 South Carolina was intense before the ball was even tipped. Both teams came into the night sitting at 17-3 with two conference losses, meaning the loser would be pushed even further out of contention for the top spot in the SEC. A night of scrappy basketball that included two Tigers being ejected during a scrum in the second quarter of play ultimately caught up to Mizzou, which fell 64-54 at South Carolina. It was the Tigers’ second consecutive loss, pushing them to 5-3 in the SEC. Although Mizzou only held the lead for 6:49 of the game, the team tied with Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks seven times

and found itself within striking distance multiple times late.

South Carolina’s Tyasha Harris led all scorers with 19 points, while A’ja Wilson had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Gamecocks. As a team, South Carolina outrebounded the Tigers 39 to 33 and had 14 offensive rebounds to Mizzou’s seven.

The Gamecocks also made their mark by beating Mizzou in every way in the turnover department.

The Gamecocks not only forced more turnovers — 13 to 8 — than the Tigers, but they also created 21 points off of turnovers, whereas Mizzou had just six.

The Tigers were also in foul trouble early and often, totaling 20 team fouls and creating several opportunities for South Carolina to head to the line. The Gamecocks finished the night 17 of 24 from the free-throw line, while Mizzou went just 3 for 6 from the stripe.

Edited by Bennett Durando bdurando@themaneater.com

Members of the 2016-17 women’s basketball team pose for a picture before a game. MANEATER FILE PHOTO

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15

FENCING

Club fencing offers students independence in team environment The team is entirely student-run, and teammates sometimes compete against one another.

AUSTIN WEBER

Staff Writer

Football and basketball traditionally garner a lot of attention from MU students, but those who find interest in an obscure sport also have a special place on campus.

Club sports like fencing give their members a different experience than if they were on a more traditional sports team.

“Fencing is something for people who enjoy playing quirky sports,” club Vice President Lorenzo Mortelli said. “Instead of really being a team, we’re more like a group of enthusiasts.”

Though senior Jordan Freeman joined the club because he was interested in the sport, he “stayed because [he] had fun doing it; it’s a different and enjoyable experience.”

MU’s club fencing team is a completely studentrun organization. It sets up its own competitions and attends any others that it chooses to.

“We’re a loosely run organization,” Mortelli said.

“We don’t have a coach, so we have to do everything ourselves.”

Not having a coach means the responsibilty of teaching new members falls on the players themselves.

“The more experienced people have to do the coaching,” Freeman said.

“Even at the competitions, you’ll rarely see a coach. It’s a very individual sport.”

Because fencing is a less popular sport than

many others in America, few members have much prior experience. Usually, newcomers to the team have never played the sport at all.

Mortelli, a junior, is one of the few who was introduced to the sport when he was younger.

“The team will take anyone who wants to sign up,” Mortelli said. “There’s a stereotype that it’s more of a wealthy-person sport, but really it’s for everybody.”

Though there is an $80 fee to join for the entire competitive year, members aren’t required to have their own gear. The team can provide it to anyone who needs it, but members can bring their own equipment if they choose to.

Without a strict competition schedule, it is up to the members to choose what competitions to go to and whether or not they wish to participate.

“We try to get to three or four competitions a year,” Mortelli said. “Each member decides if they want to go, and then we all drive there together. Sometimes we even host them here at Mizzou.”

Members compete as individuals rather than as a team at competitions.

Sometimes, teammates face off against one another, Freeman said.

“By competing individually, we are able to get everyone involved,” junior Andrew Frein said.

“Teams are only limited to a certain amount. By participating individually, everyone gets to compete.”

The club fencing team practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10 p.m. on the South Basketball Courts at MizzouRec. Edited by Bennett Durando bdurando@themaneater.com

Anthony Jones has been fencing with the University of Missouri club for eight years. He began as a freshman and has continued to participate in the sport as a hobby. He is pictured here wearing a grey suit called a lamé that keeps him protected. PHOTOS BY LIA WALDRUM | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Veteran fencer Robert Gauper oversees a practice bout between two younger club members.