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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 8 | THURSDAY JAN. 26, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com
News:
News:
Campus Police lock down Meramec
The Kirkwood Police Department (KWPD) asked the Meramec campus police for help during the lockdown that took place on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 9:50 p.m., campus Police Chief Anthony Russo said in an email. Russo said a home invasion that transpired very close to campus caused the lockdown. The KWPD set up a search area and asked campus police to man locations on the street.
continued on page 3
Art & Life:
Gov. Greitens cuts nearly $12 million in core community college funding
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Sean E. Thomas Staff Writer
On Monday, Jan. 16, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens announced he would be proposing a total of $146 million in cuts to the Missouri budget. Higher education, with an anticipated $82 million in cuts, will be taking the biggest hit. Of the $82 million that will be coming out of spending for higher education, almost $12 million will be coming directly from core funding for Community Colleges. Core funding refers to financial support that covers
basic “core” organizational and administrative costs. This includes salaries for full-time employees, equipment, and facility upkeep. Some other areas of note that may stand to lose funding are the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education Programs at Harris Stowe State University, a historically black college, and the Cyber Security Training Program at Southeast Missouri State University. Four-year institutions will also be facing some of the same core funding cuts that are threatening St. Louis Community College campuses.
Greitens cited projections that would put the state of Missouri $39 million in the red by the end of the fiscal year as a reason for the proposed budget cuts, but promises no increase in taxes to remedy the issue. Greitens pointed to poor economic growth as a reason for the growing deficit but with individual income taxes holding steady for the current fiscal year, it is unclear what is affecting economic growth in Missouri. In fiscal year 2015 Missouri collected $436 million in corporate tax revenues. In 2016, that number fell to $281 million.
continued on page 4
News:
STLCC removes physical education from college graduation requirements Diversi-tea serves unity to students Meramec hosts Diversi-tea event to encourage community throught student body. Posters inspire students to think about how they can break down barriers and accept others while enjoying a hot mug of tea. Students spur each other on to be open minded toward others.
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Stephen Buechter Staff Writer
The College Academic Council’s (CAC) campus representatives voted to remove the physical education credits from STLCC’s graduation requirements. “It is up to the members of CAC at the district level to essentially vote their conscience, and they are not required to vote as the campus voted,” said Margaret Hvatum, Meramec Campus’ CAC representative
and professor of information systems. “So at CAC, there was a motion made, seconded, and approved to have a secret ballot, so we voted by secret ballot.” Hvatum said that while it is still required for most individual degree programs, the programs may decide whether or not to include physical education credits in their requirements when they are revised. However the trend in the state of Missouri is to have 60 credit hour programs so physical edu-
cation is likely to be one of the first credits dropped from program requirements to meet that benchmark.
Story on page 5
Sports:
Archers rally in the second half Men’s Basketball Archers vs Blackburn JV
continued on page 3
Opinions:
Katie Hayes
CNN is not ‘fake news’ During a time when journalists are fighting not to be labeled “dishonest,” Buzzfeed fur ther blurred the lines of ethical journalism.
76-50
Women’s Basketball Archers vs MCC-Penn Valley
68-50
Full stories on page 8
page 7
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The Montage
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How the campus academic governce council voted on the Physical Education requirement.
News | 3
4 26, 2017 Jan.
Physical Education will be a ‘smaller department’ Continued from page 1 Hvatum said she was against the measure to remove physical education from STLCC’s graduation requirements. “I felt that it was important to continue to have [physical education] as part of the graduation requirement,” Hvatum said. “I think that as Americans get more and more unhealthy our life expectancy is going down and that’s not the right thing at all, and part of an education should be learning how to
“...part of an education should be learning how to be fit and be active, find a sport that you’ll be able to do lifelong to maintain that fitness that you need, basically, to live.” Margaret Hvatum be fit and be active, find a sport that you’ll be able to do lifelong to maintain that fitness that you need, basically, to live.” Hvatum brought a marathon completion medal to the interview. “I brought this to show that I’m serious about this,” Hvatum said. Sophomore Shamiah Oliver, a student who has taken physical education at Meramec, shared similar thoughts on the matter. “I knew [about the removal
of physical education from graduation requirements] and I’m kind of upset about that,” Oliver said. “I feel like it’s necessary and it should be required.” Oliver said if the Physical Education Department has less funds and offers fewer classes that future students who want to take physical education won’t have the same resources as she did. “I took an online course last semester and the teacher gave some insight and information on things I never knew, simple tactics to help with certain things that I actually use, and they were very helpful,” Oliver said. “I feel that everyone else should have access to those things too.” Hvatum said that the Physical Education Department will be a “smaller department.” “Physical education will be required for some disciplines, but probably not for most of them,” Hvatum said. “The problem is that if it’s not required for graduation, then PE classes will not be eligible for financial aid, and students who are in financial aid classes can’t take PE even if they want to.” Amir Didovic, a freshman at Meramec, said that he did not support the removal of physical education from graduation requirements. “I guess it depends,” Didovic said. “If it means there’s less money for the campus… I’m not for the removal of PE credits, because I don’t think it’s really a big deal if we’re staying here just a little longer and spending a little more money for more education.”
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Graphic by: Jordan Morris Although none of the four STLCC campuses voted to remove the phsyical education requirement, the College Academic Council representatives were not required to vote the same as their campus and voted to remove the requirement. The physical education requirement has not been removed from individual programs, but may be in the future. This graphic was originally published in the Nov.17, 2016 issue of The Montage.
Photo by: Erik Muschinske
Text and tweet alerts advise students and staff to lockdown Continued from page 1 This area was presumed to be the area where a subject was wanted for the home invasion. As soon as Russo was notified by his personnel, he began the process of notifying other campus officials, he said. Safety on the campus is his direct responsibility, Russo said, and although the campus population at the time was low, he felt it necessary to order a lockdown. The Marketing and Communications Department issued a text/ tweet alert which advised students
and staff to lockdown, Russo said. The Meramec Campus police dispatcher also issued Network Notifier and Internal Phone PA alerts to lockdown. The Lockdown continued for about 40 minutes and when it was over, the campus officers assisted students, faculty and staff to their vehicles. The reason for Emergency Notification messages and actions such as a lockdown are a Federal requirement of the Jeanne Clery Act, Russo said, and the emergency response was a textbook example of what the Jeanne Clery Act intended schools to do in such a crisis.
EDITORS Katie Hayes Marie Schwarz Sean E. Thomas Andrew Ameer DJ McGuire Jordan Morris Erik Muschinske Missy Arneson Ian Schrauth Shannon Philpott
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Graphics Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Faculty Adviser
Lockdown:
“...the emergency response was a textbook example of what the Jeanne Clery Act intended schools to do in such a crisis.” Anthony Russo
STAFF Stephen Beuchter Dalila Kahvedzic Lexie Keller Amanda Harris Ashley Biundo Toby Young Noah Sliney ToQuyen Tonnu
Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Designer Staff Designer
www.meramecmontage.com
A security measure taken during an emergency to prevent people from leaving or entering a building. The purpose of a lockdown is to protect as many personnel inside the building(s) as possible from a potential emergency such as the presence of an armed intruder or other dangerous situations.
THE MONTAGE To place an advertisement, contact the advertising manager for rates, sample issues, etc., 314-984-7955. Editorial views expressed or content contained in this publication are not necessarily the views of St. Louis Community College, the board of trustees or the administration. The Montage is a student publication produced seven times per semester at St. Louis Community College - Meramec, 11333 Big Bend Blvd., Kirkwood, Mo., 63122. 314-984-7655. One copy of The Montage is free
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of charge. Up to 10 additional copies available, $1 each, at the office of The Montage, SC 220. Bulk purchases may be arranged with circulation manager. Editorial policy: All letters should be no longer than 500 words and must include identification as a student or faculty member, phone number and address for verification purposes. Phone numbers and addresses will not be published. All letters are subject to editing for content and length. All letters submitted will be published in print and online.
4 | News
4
Jan. 26, 2017
STLCC renovates campuses Clark Hall and Student Center receive major upgrades
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Ashley Biundo Staff Photographer
Renovations for the STLCC campuses are set to continue until the beginning of the fall 2017 semester. Janet Walsh, dean of science, math, and health has seen big changes to the campus since she started working at Meramec. “Since I started working here, the PTA lab was renovated in 2010,” Walsh said. “The nursing lab was renovated in the early 2000s and that was a major renovation. The Student Center was also renovated since I have been here. That was very dingy and old looking and now it has better color and light.” The staff began to notice changes in the buildings over the years and the ages of the buildings are beginning to show. “The buildings are showing signs of wear and tear and they are certainly showing their age and certainly the heating and cool system needs to be watched closely,” Provost Carol Lupardus said. During the upcoming summer, they will be expanding Lecture Halls and the science building. “There is an aggressive schedule to complete some renovations in our science classes,” Lupardus said. “Organic chemistry, horticulture, and geology labs should be renovated, and hopeful be ready for class in the fall.” With the renovations coming up, there are chances the weather will not cooperate. Chances of postponing the renovations can
make it difficult for students to get to class during the fall semester. The point of the renovations is to make it a better environment for students and teachers. Clark Hall and the Student Center had major changes done and now have a modern look to them. “I think there have been some nice things done to this building [Clark Hall],” Lupardus said. “Many of the doorways are nice, new furnishings around the building. For students, new computers have
“The buildings are showing signs of wear and tear and they are certainly showing their age.” Carol Lupardus been placed in the hallway for their access. Downstairs had some nice things done, especially with the glass doors. So certainly we are taking care and trying to spend our money very wisely to make the buildings look as nice as they are and make a friendly environment for students.” The library was another big place for renovations for a better, quieter environment. “I am new to the campus, so I cannot really speak for renovations since the school began,” Lupardus said. “I do know since I have been here and this past summer, a lot of work has been done in the li-
Photo by: Ashley Biundo The science buildings are set to be renovated this summer. Janet Walsh, dean of science, math, and health, said the organic chemistry, horticulture and geology labs should all be renovated. brary like refiguring with reference librarians and so forth, trying to make it better for student learning and a nice environment.” Budgets have been cut so sometimes it can be difficult for renovations to be completed. “The Meramec campus was
very frugal but careful to spend their money very wisely,” Lupardus said. “As you go through some of the buildings, you might notice some new furnishing for students and hopefully making the areas a little nicer but nothing extravagant.”
STLCC cannot make adjustments until Greitens outlines budget $3.7 million from community college in fiscal ’17, we don’t know what that means for fiscal ’18, although one can assume there will be some sort of reduction,” said
Continued from page 1 The Missouri Budget Project, a nonprofit think tank that analyzes the Missouri budget has said that the primary cause for this are changes that were made to how corporate income taxes are collected. Recent legislation has allowed multi-state corporations that do business inside and outside of the state to reduce their Missouri tax liability. Although Gov. Greitens has mentioned that current tax credits are a problem, he has also mentioned plans to further deregulate big business in Missouri, a move that may only lead to more tax breaks for large, multi-state corporations. The Montage has attempted repeatedly to schedule an interview with someone from Governor Greitens’ office to ask if higher education is losing funding so that multi-state corporations can continue reducing tax liability, but did not receive as of Tuesday, Jan. 24. With Greitens opting out of outlining his budget for fiscal year 2017 during his State of the State Address, a move away from tradition, it is difficult for anyone at St. Louis Community College, faculty and student body alike, to anticipate how exactly these cuts will directly affect students at St. Louis Community College.
The overall impact on particular programs and areas of STLCC is unknown at this time.
Photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic Professor Michael Burke takes notes while STLCC Budget coordinator, Jill Houghton discusses finances with students, faculty and staff on Monday, Jan. 23 in BA 105. Jill Houghton, college budget coordinator for St. Louis Community College, was on campus at Meramec on Jan. 23. Houghton was there to present faculty with an outline for appropriating funds
for their departments in the coming fiscal year. Paul Zinck, vice chancellor of finance and administration, though scheduled to be there, was absent. “The Governor is holding back
Houghton during the presentation, “The Governor is supposed to come out with his budget proposal in February and we will be able to have some kind of adjustment to our forecast at that point.” Meramec Provost Carol Lupardus was unable to be reached for an interview after multiple attempts from The Montage. However, Vicki Kettenacker, manager of campus business services, responded on Lupardus’s behalf Tuesday morning per Lupardus’s request. Kettenacker, said in an email that the overall impact on particular programs and areas of STLCC is unknown at this time, but the colleges’ goal is to impact students as little as possible.
Art & Life | 5
4 26, 2017 Jan.
Humans of Meramec
Photo by: Toby Young Collin Bolles watches livestreams of worship on his phone.
Meet Collin Bolles, a student determined to share his passion for God with others. Whenever he has free time, Collin goes out and finds people that need healing. When asked what his ultimate goal is, he said that he “wants to open the world’s eyes to the power of God and all the miracles He can give to us.” Collin has a YouTube channel where he posts his encounters with others and the numerous miracles that occur.
Celebrate diversity by ‘chai’-ing a new tea Meramec hosts second Diversi-tea event
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Missy Arneson Copy Editor
On Jan. 19, members of the Meramec Campus Life organization hosted the campus’s second ever Diversi-tea event, which focuses on bringing a vast and differing student body together into one community. The event was held in the front of the Student Center, and offered students free mugs, tea and cookies as well as the opportunity to share their ideas on how to achieve unity by writing on posters on the wall. “[The name] is a play on diversity,” student Madoyan Kanneh said. This is Kanneh’s second year working with Campus Life. Kanneh emphasized that the Meramec student body is made up of people from many different walks of life, as shown by Meramec’s multitude of diverse clubs such as the Muslim Student Association and the LGBT club. “It [the event] is about bringing people together,” Kanneh said. Phillip Campbell, a faculty member who works for Campus Life, agreed. “The goal is to promote student voice,” Campbell said. According to Campbell, who has been working for Campus life at Meramec for about a year and a half, Welcome Week has only gotten better and better.
“It’s a matter of not judging people; it’s not your life.” Aia Obeed “We’ve enhanced it,” Campbell said. “[We’ve added] more events.” Several students had ideas on how Meramec could better bring its diverse student body together into one community. “Don’t be so straight [and narrow],” student Jaclyn Parra said. “... be open minded.” Others left their agreement on the posters, with such messages as “listen to people who are different from you.” “It’s a matter of not judging people; it’s not your life,” student Aia Obeed said. “As long as they’re not hurting anyone, it’s none of your business.”
Photos by: Erik Muschinske Students enjoy tea and cookies, while talking with each other about diversity.
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Montage
This issue: Video feature of Archers Women’s basketball game against MCC-Penn Valley from Saturday, Jan. 21.
4
Students with disAbilities
have Access at STLCC.
St. Louis Community College makes every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you have accommodation needs, please contact the Access office at the campus where you are registered. While accommodations may be requested at any time, some accommodations may require many weeks to arrange. Florissant Valley Access Office 3400 Pershall Road St. Louis, MO 63135-1499 E-mail: fvaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-513-4551 Fax: 314-513-4876 Relay Missouri: 711
Forest Park Access Office
Meramec Access Office
5600 Oakland Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110-1393 E-mail: fpaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-644-9039 Fax: 314-951-9439 Relay Missouri: 711
11333 Big Bend Road Kirkwood, MO 63122-5799 E-mail: mcaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-984-7673 Fax: 314-984-7123 Relay Missouri: 711
Wildwood Student Enrollment and Disability Support Services 2645 Generations Drive Wildwood, MO 63040-1168 E-mail: wwaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 636-422-2000 Fax: 636-422-2050 Relay Missouri: 711
St. Louis Community College expands minds and changes lives every day. We create accessible, dynamic learning environments focused on the needs of our diverse communities. Florissant Valley
Forest Park
Meramec
www.stlcc.edu
Wildwood
Opinions | 7
4 26, 2017 Jan.
CNN is not ‘fake news’ The role of reporters is still to remain credible in 2017
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Katie Hayes Editor-in-Chief
President Donald J. Trump, a man who has made multiple factually inaccurate and unverified claims, criticized Buzzfeed News for publishing a 35-page dossier which details allegations that Trump has deep ties to Russia. The dossier contains errors and unverified allegations, but had circulated at the highest levels of the US government before it was published on Tuesday, Jan. 10. CNN reported the existence of the dossier earlier that day and stated its significance, but did not publish the report in its entirety. During Trump’s first press conference since July, he called CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, “fake news” and refused to let Acosta ask a question. In that moment, Trump lumped CNN and Buzzfeed into the same category. This was confusing to Americans because the two outlets handled the dossier in wildly different ways. Buzzfeed’s editor in chief, Ben Smith, sent a memo to his staff after he published the dossier that
said Buzzfeed wants to be transparent in its journalism. “Publishing this document was not an easy or simple call, and people of good will may disagree with our choice,” Smith wrote. “But publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017.” The move from Buzzfeed caused a debate among journalists, who are already unsure of their role in a quickly-changing industry. Some said the transparency was what Americans want and proves that the media isn’t hiding anything. Others said the role of reporters should continue to be reporting on verified facts from credible sources. In a time when journalists are fighting not to be labeled “dishonest” though, Buzzfeed further blurred the lines of ethical journalism. Ideally, journalists serve the American public by clarifying information and letting the public form an opinion based on verified facts instead of information that may or may not be true. At times, Trump seems almost untouchable. No matter how many inaccurate or unverified claims he makes, he doesn’t seem to lose credibility among his followers. Instead, he instilled a deep distrust of “the media” during his campaign. When people accuse the media of being unreliable, they don’t tend to specify exactly who the media is. Is it one of the news organizations Trump blacklisted during his campaign because he thought
Graphic by: ToQuyen Tonnu their reporting was unfair? For the record, unfair and unflattering are not synonymous. When Trump labels journalists and media outlets that oppose him as “dishonest media” and “fake news,” it causes the public to cease to believe in those whose main aim is to maintain a democracy and hold our leaders accountable. Trump’s anger at Buzzfeed was justified; his anger at CNN was not. Although our president is now a man who perpetually spreads fake news, the role of journalists is still to try to create a transpar-
ent democracy. Reporters can only do this if they remain credible. For the next four years, journalists will have to fight the stereotype Trump created of a dishonest media. Buzzfeed lost credibility not only for themselves, but news organizations everywhere when they knowingly published a factually inaccurate and unverified dossier. The role of journalists in our democracy is undoubtedly changing, but it is still to provide clarity — not perpetuate information that may not even be true.
City identity faces major crisis
Public funding plan for soccer stadium in St. Louis hitting major speed bumps
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DJ McGuire Sports Editor
If you are a regular reader of The Montage, you probably know that in the last issue I wrote an article about the potential Major League Soccer stadium plan. I also mentioned that a plan for $80 million in public funding was being created and that it could possibly be voted on in the April ballot. Well that plan was officially pronounced dead by the City Aldermen Board. SC STL, the ownership group that created the stadium plan, has stated that even though the public funding plan for $80 million died they still plan to continue to find ways to move forward without it. SC STL has recently come up with a new proposal that only needs $60 million of public funds instead of the original $80 million. This proposal has yet to make it out of the city Ways and Means Committee, and in order to make the April ballot, it always needs to
make it through the full city Board of Alderman as well. New Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens also has stated several times he is not in support of a public funding deal for this stadium plan. So to recap, the stadium plan is not dead, but this is a huge speed bump. This however is a major shot to our city’s identity as a whole. The city of St. Louis is known as a major baseball town, if not the baseball town in America. Our love for the Cardinals is as deep as any you will find in this country. Our other major sports team is the Blues, and we clearly showed off our love and support of
the team in our hosting of the Winter Classic. The board’s intial rejection, and their feet dragging with the second proposal, is a clear statement saying that sports is not important to our town. This is a clear and utter lie and is a slap in the face to what our city cares for and represents. I understand though that St. Louis does have bigger fish to fry. Our city is always near the top of crime and murder rates across the country. Many roads need improving and the education program, while it is getting better, still needs improvement. All of these things
Graphic by: Noah Sliney
and more should, and are currently, having public money spent on them. Even with all these problems, sports should and always will be a big focus for the city. We have a deep love and passion for our sports and our sports teams. This plan slowing down greatly hurts our city’s chances of getting an MLS team. This is very bitter news when the MLS commissioner basically had a spot reserved for St. Louis to get a team. The other unfortunate news is that several other cities are ready to take St. Louis’s spot for an MLS team. This could mean because of this failure, we may never see the MLS in St. Louis. This city needs a good spark in our sports community. It has already almost been a year since the Rams left for Los Angeles, and this MLS team could be exactly what we needed. Instead though, unwilling city officials may have just doomed these hopes. I do understand the need to spend money in other areas, but in our city where we are trying to prove ourselves as a major sports town, this is a huge step in the wrong direction. I do think it will be interesting to see if this public funding plan does pass and if our city has an MLS team in our future.
8 | Sports
Jan. 26, 2017
Photo by: DJ McGuire
Photo by: Ashley Biundo Erica Waelterman guards a player from MCC-Penn Valley.
Miles Nettles drives to the basket in a victory over Blackburn JV.
Archers win in second-half comeback
Second-half surge propels Archers
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Marie Schwarz Managing Editor
The Archers women’s basketball team won against Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Scouts by one point last season. On Saturday’s game, however, they outplayed Penn Valley by 18 points. A strong second half with a particularly aggressive and motivated third quarter gave the game the drive it needed to bring home this win. “We knew it’s gonna be a battle, so the kids were pretty well prepared and they were motivated,” Coach Kelly Ethridge said after the game. “This was a good win for us.” Alfreda Roberts, number 22 sophomore forward who had a stat line of seven points and 11 rebounds, said that the team performance was excellent on Saturday’s game. “We came together as one, and not just individuals,” Roberts said. “The defense did what they were supposed to do. They stepped up and that helped contribute to our win.” Due to early foul trouble, Chrishana Wilson, number 21 freshman forward who scored 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, had to sit out most of the first half of the game. After half time Wilson said that she pushed herself and her team to do better. “We stopped the petty fouls that we were getting,” Wilson said. Ethridge said it was a total team effort. “Chris [Wilson] gave us a great drive after halftime,” Ethridge said.
“… [but] they all played their role in this win.” The Archers started out with a slight advantage of 12-9 in the first quarter but ultimately fell behind by six points at halftime, making the score 21-27 Scouts. Right after the break the team took control of the game and scored seven points in the first two minutes including a 3-pointer. At the end of the third quarter, the Archers started leading again 47-33. In the final quarter, the Archers increased their lead and won the game with a score of 68-50. According to Ethridge the team has been struggling to close out games with big leads, but on Saturday’s game the team executed very well late in the fourth quarter. “[After halftime] we went fullcourt instead of playing half-court to turn up the defense a little bit, and that seemed to really get them to play more aggressive,” Ethridge said. The ultimate goal is to win the region title as the team did last year, Ethridge said. The team has lost some games this season that they thought they could win. “Sometimes that’s a hard pill to swallow, but it helps us learn from our mistakes,” Ethridge said. Areas of improvement for future games are outside shots and free throws according to Ethridge. “We have a lot of outside shooters, and in practice we look like we could be in the NBA, but come game-time we don’t seem to hit them like we do in practice,” Ethridge said.
Athlete
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Spotlight
I just picked up the ball and developed a passion. Elisha Davis, Point Guard
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Photo by: Ashley Biundo
Elisha Davis dribbles the ball in a victory over MCC-Penn Valley.
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DJ McGuire Sports Editor
The St. Louis Community College Archers defeated the Blackburn College Junior Varsity Beavers 76-50 on Thursday Jan, 12. The game started by introducing the players with some fast-beat music, which appeared to energize the athletes. The Archers wore light blue uniforms while the Beavers wore red. Europe’s “The Final Countdown” played right before the tipoff to build the hype even further. This hype however did not transfer into early game success for either team. Neither team could generate much offense early on as both teams missed many shots in the beginning. Head Coach Terry Collins said he was disappointed in his team’s performance at the start of the game. “We were very lackadaisical in the first half, which was really disappointing,” Collins said. Collins added that this first half performance was especially disappointing after their close loss to Moberly Area Community College, which is the fourth ranked team in the country. “We have to play with the same intensity whether it’s practice or if we are facing an opponent that is not as strong,” Collins said. Freshman guard number 13 Todd Simms, who finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals, said the team started the game a bit too relaxed. “We came out a little sluggish, we usually play harder than that,” Simms said. Sophomore guard number two Sean Rigmaiden, who had a stat line of 15 points, two assists, two rebounds and three steals, provided some spark on offense with a couple of three pointers in the middle of the first half. The lack of execution though on offense killed the Archers chances of establishing a lead in the first half. One highlight of the rather uneventful first half was a steal by sophomore forward number 23 DaVante Harrell followed by an emphatic dunk, which lifted the crowd to their feet. Even with these great plays the Beavers managed to keep the game close, as the first half ended
with the score 27-25 Archers. During halftime the team was given a lecture according to Rigmaiden by their coaches. “Our Assistant Coach [Coach Lewis], he pumped us up. He told us not to look at that team as a JV team, instead come out and play with energy the way we did against Moberly,” Rigmaiden said. In the second half, the team took that advice and ran with it. The Archers started the half with a 22-4 run making the score 49-29, which led to a Blackburn timeout. Soon after the timeout the Beavers began to unravel even more, committing two straight traveling penalties. This success on both ends of the court lasted until the end of the game for the Archers leading to 76-50 victory. While Simms and Rigmaiden led the way in scoring for the Archers, number 22 freshman forward Courtney Barlow added 10 points. Adis Mujakic, number 32 sophomore forward added six points as well on a couple low post moves, that led to great cheers from his teammates and the crowd. Even though the Archers had such a large point differential in the second half — 49-25 — Collins still was not fully pleased with his team. His major concerns were with the team’s inconsistency throughout the year. “We have been up and down all year and that has led to our inconsistency,” Collins said. The players were pleased with the performance in the game, but knew that they still had plenty of room to improve according to Simms. Both Simms and Rigmaiden agreed that as strong as the team’s defense can be, there is always room for improvement. Another weakness of the team is turnovers. “We commit many turnovers even though we have many talented guards,” Rigmaiden said. The team has lofty end goals for their season. According to Collins and Simms the team hopes to make it to the national tournament in the spring. Collins believes his team has the talent to make it, but in order to make it, they will have to play more consistent basketball. “The concern is how we are going to get that consistency, and do we have that mental toughness to overcome and play consistent basketball,” Collins said.