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Serving the St. Louis Community College - Meramec community since 1964

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ACP Award Recipient

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 13 | THURSDAY APRIL 20, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

News:

Art & Life:

Meramec choir serenades Carnegie Hall

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STLCC disregards Missouri’s Sunshine Law

Dalila Kahvedzic Art & Life Editor

Performing at Carnegie Hall was a life changing event, St. Louis Community CollegeMeramec professor of music and music program coordinator Jerry Myers said.

Myers has been teaching full time at Meramec for 8 years and had always wanted to teach, he said.

He came to this realization during his time at Washington University, where he taught for 10 years before he came to teach at Meramec.

“I realized there I enjoyed teaching the freshman/ sophomore level,” Myers said.

“An added benefit [of teaching at Meramec] that I didn’t realize before coming here, is so many community members are involved and non-traditional students that especially can make up for a great choir.”

A total of 55 students went on the trip March 23-27, 35 of whom were singers, Myers said. Three of the 35 students were alumni.This opportunity was possible because of the great relationships Myers maintained while teaching, he said, as he often tries to organize performances with other colleges and high schools.

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Katie Hayes Editor-in-Chief

St. Louis Community College disobeyed the Missouri Sunshine Law, sometimes known as the Missouri Open Records Act, by failing to cite why requested public records should be closed by the threeday deadline offered by Missouri law.

Chancellor Jeff Pittman

announced to all STLCC employees by email that Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management Mark Potratz, Meramec and Wildwood Campus Police Chief Anthony Russo and Forest Park and Florissant Valley Campus Police Chief Richard Banahan would all “pursue other professional opportunities” effective immediately on Thursday, March 30.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the three

officials were placed on paid administrative leave. Human Resources said Potratz, Russo and Banahan are on administrative leave and that the personnel files of the three officials are sealed. This also means that termination or resignation letters — which would cite a reason that each left — do not exist.

The Montage submitted a records request by email on April 5 for copies of a number

Continued on page 5

Sports:

Continued on page 3

Maple Woods Monarchs

outswing Archers Archers play a doubleheader against Monarchs, win first game 8-3 and lose second game 10-2.

Story on page 8 Photos by: Amanda Harris

Opinions:

Brad Riaze Piece of the puzzle of Identify Pride in one’s country is a big part of identity, but if home is thousands of miles away identity can get muddled

2 | News

April 20, 2017

Brown Bag Café offers food for thought The Brown Bag Café turns four and is hungry for more

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Sean E. Thomas News Editor

One in five students on St. Louis Community College-Meramec’s campus report going through their school day hungry, a statistic that came up more than once at the Brown Bag Café’s birthday celebration held on Thursday, April 6 in the Business Administration building room 105.

The Brown Bag Café is one of the many avenues of support provided by the Student Assistance Program (SAP). The celebration came complete with food, refreshments, entertainment and a cake.

The purpose of the Brown Bag Café is to help make sure every student at Meramec can worry about their education, and not when they’ll find their next meal, according to Claire Martin, manager and student assistance specialist for SAP. In the four years since the Brown Bag Café began providing nourishment to the student body, they have faced some challenges, but have been able to overcome most, Martin said.

“We are working really hard at removing the stigma of using campus resources,” Martin said. “Another challenge would be other resources we are not able to provide

Brown Bag Cafe celebrates four years.

Photo by: Sean E. Thomas

easily for students. When I see hunger, when I see food insecurity, to me that’s just one indicator of many other issues that may be happening in a student’s life.”

Sarah Lewis is the agency relations manager for the St. Louis Area Foodbank and attended the BBC’s birthday not only to celebrate but also to share her experience and perspective as a contributor to the panel discussion on food insecurity.

“We all know that poverty is cyclical and we always talk about breaking the cycle of p o v e r t y, ” Lewis said.

“A great way to do that is e d u c a t i o n.

H o w e v e r, there’s also hierarchy of • needs and How the campus academic governce council voted if you can’t

feed yourself, school’s going to come second.”

The Brown Bag Café is in the SAP office, Clark Hall, Administration Building room 130. The Brown Bag Café is there for any student, anytime, any day they may find themselves in need of assistance in the form of food. Sky-Lar Tate, peer supervisor at SAP and a team lead for the program worries that some students who could use the help, don’t believe the program is there for them.

“I think that a lot of students don’t come because they’re like, ‘Oh, well it’s a pantry and I have ten dollars. I can just use this ten dollars.’ But it’s nice to know that ten dollars can go to gas, like, ‘Go get the gas, we got the food,’” Tate said.

In a community like Kirkwood, or West County where Circle of Concern, another food assistance program is located, it is hard for some to believe that food assistance is needed.

“There’s a perception of who

ntage Montage

unity College - Meramec community since 1964

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ACP Award Recipient

Serving the St. Louis Community College - Meramec community since 1964

ACP Award Recipient

on the Physical Education requirement.

HURSDAY Oct. 27, 2016 | www.meramecmontage.com

ING ON MARS

Archers win regional final

St. Louis Community College campuses voted on elimination of Physical Education requirement

The 8

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Montage Mens soccer team triumphs 3-1 against Crowder College Roughriders. Region XVI Final showed continued dominance of the team.

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Art & Life:

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Backstage of ‘Violet’

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and experiment’

“The real problem I see is, aside from technological, part of the issues will be social; getting people together on a two-year trip,” Menendez said. “To get there is about a one-year trip one way, and about a year to get back. So the two-year trip will be a problem.”

Menendez said the colonists will have to be in very close quarters for those trips, which often results in interper-

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sonal conflict.

“The closest analogy we have is people who work on submarines,” Menendez said.

“We’ve got these big submarines that carry missiles. These guys are underwater in a very tight, controlled environment for about three months at a time, so we can actually glean a lot from those people.”

Continued on page 6

Florissant Valley

Forest Park

Meramec

Wildwood

Although three out of four STLCC campuses tied on the vote to eliminate the Physical Education requirement from board policy, the motion did not pass because a simple majority was needed. Eliminating the requirement from board policy does not immediately eliminate the requirement from specific programs.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how much affect the lighting and the set and everything has on the rest of the show.”

Story on page 3

Story on page 9

Adjunct professor has made Jazz his passion

Opinion:

Spotlight:

Andrew Ameer

A democracy starts with the primaries

Opinion:

Save your tears for later...not for finals!

Andrew Ameer

Questioning

“I’ve played more saxophone than literally how much TV people watch.”

Christopher Braig

A 28.5 percent voter turnout in the primaries is not the recipe for a strong democracy.

Story on page 9

Page 5

Designing

Students deserve respect, too

“A sense of empathy is a must when dealing with people. The same is true when it comes to teaching students.”

Surviving finals is a struggle all students face, but Meramec faculty and staff are there to help students develop healthy study habits, sleep schedules and diets as well as offer counseling to help students’ emotional wellbeing.

Page 4

Story on pages 6 & 7

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The

Serving the St. Louis Community College - Meramec community since 1964

HURSDAY MARCH. 9, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

se votes to pass bill geared toward community colleges

munity colleges ore than assod transferrable ouri House of oted to pass a llow communit baccalaureate

ff Pittman was g HB 758, which Representative he House voted March 1. ry exciting,” Pitri would not be I think we have grams and we ome programs specific.” ureate degree lied bachelor’s

degree, which places more emphasis on technical components of programs.

Pittman said two of the programs STLCC would consider proposing for applied bachelor degree programs are its physical therapy assistant program and its deaf communications program. “[The deaf communications program] takes such a high number of credit hours to be at the certification they [students] need to begin with,” Pittman said.

Pittman said he believes the coordinating board for higher education would accept up to two proposals from the community college sector as soon as this coming fiscal year, which is July 1.

The bill would only allow community colleges to offer specific baccalaureate programs if those programs did not “unnecessarily duplicate an existing program”

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ACP Award Recipient

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 10 | THURSDAY FEB. 23, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

may offer baccalaureate degrees

ayes n-Chief

Campus Briefs

Story on page12

hat Benefits does Mars have that Earth doesn’t?

aid most of the ving a Martian hnological, but l not be.

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Arneson Editor

ing to pay for food or medication?

Am I going to pay for food or childcare?’”

According to Colleen Phillips, coordinator of alumni relations at STLCC, the Brown Bag Café is another tool SAP provides to help students succeed.

“We’re here for our students.

We want to see them succeed,” Phillips said. “They can’t succeed if they don’t have the right tools.

Whether that’s text books or having food in their stomachs, we’re here to support them.”

News:

been to the moon.

made noise reding a Martian h Mars One and nendez, an adence professor ec and serious mer, said he t this was pos-

“A lot of times [people] just run out of money before they run out of month.”

Sarah Lewis

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 6 | THURSDAY NOV. 17, 2016 | www.meramecmontage.com

Sports:

hat would a ian Colony look like?

needs a pantry, and it isn’t widely understood that we are all a certain distance from needing one,” said Juliet Holden, senior director of resource development at Circle of Concern.

Lewis and the staff of SAP urged students who may need some assistance to realize and understand that they are not alone.

“In the St. Louis area one in six people struggle with food insecurity, so you are far from alone, you are far from a stereotype, you are far from an outlier,” Lewis said.

“A lot of people need help. The majority of the people that utilize our food pantries, they have a job, that’s not the problem. A lot of times they just run out of money before they run out of month.”

Lewis said that lack of money can lead to some strenuous decisions.

“They’re making the hard trade-offs,” Lewis said. “‘Am I go-

‘Keep back 500 feet’

Investigating Baccalaureate Programs at Missouri community colleges

Community college students fight back when MO cuts higher education funding

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Sean E. Thomas News editor

Watching

It is a bit cloudy in Missouri, but the weather is fair. With the temperature hovering around 70 degrees and the wind at a mild breeze, it is shaping up to be a beautiful day.

Students and faculty of St. Louis Community College, representing both the St. Louis Community College—Meramec and St. Louis Community College—Florissant Valley campuses, are on their way to Jefferson City to pay a visit to the governor’s mansion. Who invited them?

No one. However, they do have some things to get off their chests.

On the heels of budget cuts to higher education in the state of Missouri that some reports have put at around $168 million dollars, it seems appropriate that students who are currently enrolled in state-funded community colleges, and who intend to transfer to statefunded universities, might be concerned.

“To hear that a man whose children will not be affected by this legislation… he doesn’t

Join the team Continued on page 2

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Bri Heaney Staff Writer

The byproduct of processed Uranium from the Manhattan Project remains in St. Louis.

Just Moms, an organization dedicated to removing the waste and based in Bridgeton, Missouri, came to the sociology course Social Problems to explain their cause.

On Thursday, Feb. 9, Just Moms held a meeting at St. Louis Community College— Meramec about ongoing issues with a radioactive landfill in their community.

Bridgeton is a town in St. Louis County that has two land-

Photo by: Bri Heaney

Continued on page 2

Cancer Awareness Game raises $3,700 for St. Louis Children’s Hospital

The 42nd annual Special Olympics St. Louis Metro Area Spring Games will be held Saturday, April 29 at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. The Opening Ceremony will begin at 9 a.m., followed by jumping, swimming, throwing and running events until 3 p.m. Athletes will be offered “Healthy Athletes” screenings to help promote wellness and fitness.

Nearly 400 registered Special Olympics athletes will use this event to prepare for the State Summer Games in Springfield, Missouri.

News | 3

4 20, 2017 April

Reasons for three former police chiefs’ departure remains unknown Continued from page 1 of documents including the compensation and benefit packages of Potratz, Russo and Banahan as well as their expenses and receipts. However, Human Resources denied the request by email less than two hours later.

“Please accept this email as notification that this office will not be providing the information that you have requested below,” read the email from Human Resources.

The Montage replied 24 hours later asking for citations of why each document was exempt, in accordance with the Sunshine Law. The Sunshine Law allows a public body three business days to either produce copies of the requested records, determine if the record should be closed and cite why it should be closed or inform the requester that more time is needed to find the records.

“There are three proper responses any time a request is made under the Sunshine Law,” said Jean Maneke, a lawyer who represents the Missouri Press Association. “For them [STLCC] to not have even responded is breaking the Sunshine Law.” Maneke said the presumption

Retired Lt. Col. Alfred Adkins will serve as interim director of public safety and emergency management. is that public records are open, but it is the public body’s responsibility to respond if they are closed.

“If [the public body] has been sued, it has to rely as a defense on whatever reason it gave,” Maneke said. “It can’t give reason number one [to the requester] and then tell the court it’s reason number two.

It has to decide what the reason is to keep the record closed. So by not responding to a request with a reason is in essence citing that it doesn’t have a reason to keep a record closed.”

Pittman did not respond to request for comment as to why STLCC would not produce the records or cite specific laws which allowed STLCC to withhold them.

“I don’t know [why STLCC was refusing to release the records], but that’s not the public’s job,” Maneke said. “It is the job of the public body who receives the request — specifically when it is

Records The Montage requested via email on April 5:

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All emails sent or received by Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, Richard Banahan, and Jeff Pittman from February 15, 2017 until (April 5)

Copies of Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, and Richard Banahan’s expenses and receipts from November 1 until they were placed on administrative leave

All text messages from the work cell phones of Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, and Richard Banahan from February 15, 2017 until (April 5)

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Copies of all complaints made against Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, and Richard Banahan since they were hired at STLCC

Copies of the compensation and benefit packages of Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, and Richard Banahan Graphic by: Katie Hayes

asked to advise the requester of what that reason is.”

Student Press Law Center Executive Director Frank LoMonte said this case is a bit more blatant than cases he usually deals with.

“Typically the student receives written justification,” LoMonte said.

“It’s very unusual to just blow off the request completely. This shows either a misunderstanding or defiance of the law. I think they [STLCC] recognize [The Montage] does have some legal entitlement to at least part of that request.”

Russo and Banahan did not respond to request for comment.

Potratz could not be reached. At press time, on April 18, 13 days after the original request, The Montage did receive an email from General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer Mary Nelson.

Nelson requested all future open record requests be forwarded to STLCC’s custodian of records, Rebecca Garrison.

In response to The Montage’s request for emails sent or received

by Potratz, Russo, Banahan and Pittman between February 15, 2017 and April 5, Nelson wrote, “Please clarify whether you are seeking emails between the named individuals, or all emails generated by each of them during the specified time period.”

The Montage also request-

EDITORS Katie Hayes Marie Schwarz Sean E. Thomas Dalila Kahvedzic DJ McGuire Erik Muschinske Missy Arneson Jordan Morris Ian Schrauth Shannon Philpott

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Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Art & Life Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Graphics Editor Online Editor Faculty Adviser

ed text messages from the work cell phones of Potratz, Russo and Banahan between February 15, 2017 and April 5. Nelson wrote that “the College does not issue ‘work cell phones’ to employees, nor does it require its employees to utilize personal cell phones for work purposes.” Public officials’ text messages are only public record if they are on phones issued by a public body.

In response to the request for all complaints against Potratz, Russo and Banahan, Nelson asked for clarification. Nelson wrote, “records of allegations of civil rights violations (e.g., Title VII, ADA, etc.) or other alleged statutory violations for which the College has a duty to investigate and take appropriate remedial or disciplinary action” are subject to Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Nelson said STLCC will conduct a search for public records of complaints against the three officials.

STLCC did not provide receipts and expenses for Potratz, Russo and Banahan from Nov. 1 until they were placed on paid administrative leave, but said they will produce them in one business day.

Nelson also said the request for the compensation and benefit packages for the three officials needed clarification. Nelson wrote,

STAFF Andrew Ameer Stephen Buechter Caroline Frank Bri Heaney Melissa Wilkinson Brad Riaze Amanda Harris Ashley Biundo Noah Sliney Lexie Keller

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“your request for ‘copies of the compensation and benefit packages’ of these employees is unclear.

While the College does not provide ‘compensation and benefit packages,’ it maintains records of wages paid, and benefits provided (e.g., group insurance programs).”

The Montage’s request regarding the compensation and benefit packages was listed in bullet point form as one of the requested items and said, “Copies of the compensation and benefit packages of Mark Potratz, Anthony Russo, and Richard Banahan.”

The Montage will continue to pursue these records to keep the campus community informed.

Retired Lt. Col. Alfred Adkins will serve as interim director of public safety and emergency management. Adkins is a 35-year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

When announcing the department of the three, Pittman’s email to the faculty and staff on March 31 said, “Our campuses are safe and secure, thanks to the efforts of our College Police. However, we need to re-focus those efforts to adopt best practices, increase safety awareness and finally, align our policing function with other departments to demonstrate a district culture of care for our students, employees, and visitors.”

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.

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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.

April 20, 2017 4 | Art & Life ‘Being a humanitarian isn’t local:’ from California to St.Louis 4

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Caroline Frank Staff Writer

Amadi Crawford is the treasurer of the Constitution Committee, a branch of the Student Social Action Committee (SSAC) at St. Louis Community College-Meramec.

“We’re interested in things like activism [and] things happening around the world,” Crawford said. “[The Constitution Committee] is a select assembly where we’re drafting the constitution, which is a lot of work.”

Crawford said members of SSAC go to protests and try to pair with other groups to do campus activities.

“We’re really into solidarity,” Crawford said.

Crawford said that since it’s a committee as opposed to a club, it requires more structure.

“We have to come up with not only our mission statement — what we stand for [and] what solidarity is to us and to others — but also etiquette,” Crawford said.

She said that since the SSAC is involved in the community, they must be conscientious of how they are acting while at a protest or conducting a Socratic circle.

“For any great movement, you need rules to make sure things don’t get out of hand, and to make sure your original purpose doesn’t get lost,” Crawford said. “We’re making sure that the values we hold don’t get lost.”

Crawford was also treasurer of the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at one of her previous schools

and said it’s important to form gay-straight alliances to “override the misconceptions between communities” and “try to find unity.”

Crawford said she enjoys anything that incorporates group collaboration.

“I’m always big into communitybased activities,” Crawford said.

Crawford said time management is the hardest part about being a college student. She said it is hard to balance school with everything else: extracurricular activities, work, social relationships, selfexploration, household obligations and life experiences all at the same time.

“That’s the real struggle,” Crawford said.

Crawford moved from California to St. Louis in October 2016 to live with her mom. She said another struggle is that she misses the attitude in California because the dominant ideology in California is more in alignment with her political beliefs. “[California is] a lot more easy-going,” Crawford said. “The thing about California is all of our markets are more connected; people are more focused on helping everyone else out because they know that in the long run it’s going to affect them. It also helps that we have a lot of minorities — our economy requires everyone to work together.”

Crawford said the goal after Meramec is to travel.

“I do a lot of traveling,” Crawford said. “I like to meet new people.”

Crawford plans to transfer to the University of California-Santa Cruz after leaving Meramec and is thinking about going to school for forestry.

Crawford said forestry relates to being a humanitarian in that helping the environment in turn helps the people living in it.

“It’s like a chain reaction,” Crawford said.

Crawford said plants play one of the biggest roles in the earth as a whole.

“I think, ‘What more can we get from plants than [what] they’re already giving us?’” Crawford said.

Crawford said there is a safe medium between overexerting what they have for us and underusing it, and she is trying to figure out what that line is between the two.

“How can plants help us before we’re hurting them?” Crawford asked.

Crawford said she hopes one day she can help find balance between the people and their trees. However, if forestry does not work out, her other option is doing Mortician’s College in California.

“We have full universities for being a mortician,” Crawford said.

“People are always dying, so I’ll never not have a job.”

Crawford said being a mortician relates to social justice in that a large part of it is laying people to rest.

“It allows people to let go of loved ones and feel complete,” Crawford said. “Like they’ve taken care of them.”

Photo by: Caroline Frank Crawford said it also involves respecting people’s traditions.

“Every funeral is different depending on what culture it is,” Crawford said.

Crawford said that when people can trust you to take care of someone they love, you’re helping them.

Crawford said her heart is set on California, and she plans to move back there after she leaves Meramec. From there, she wants to explore her passion for people, social justice, nature, travel, new experiences and ideas.

“I always do everything, all at once,” Crawford said.

Going forward, Crawford said she plans to pursue social justice in one way or another because it affects everyone and everything, everywhere.

“Being a humanitarian isn’t local,” Crawford said.

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Art & Life | 5

April 4 20, 2017

Local vocalists and choir members serenade New York Continued from page 1 “Dr. Carter, who’s the Department Chair at Webster [University] contacted me and some of the other directors around St. Louis and he had the idea of putting together a large St. Louis collegiate choir to perform at Carnegie and it quickly was put together from there,” Myers said.

“It ended up that it was Webster University, us [Meramec] and 15 singers from UMSL, so the entire choir that performed at New York had six schools — including students from Iowa, California and Tennessee — 260 singers total.”

The orchestra at Carnegie Hall was The New York Chamber Orchestra, Myers said. They are from the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Film Harmonic, and have played together for 18 years.

“Pretty much the world’s best musicians,” Myers said.

The piece that the choir performed, Franz Schubert’s “Mass in A flat”, was the first time that Manhattan Concert Productions had produced it in Carnegie Hall, Myers said, and was one of the more challenging ones that they ever did. Singers rehearsed for 10 hours with Dr. Rayl, the guest conductor, over three days and had a 1-hour sound-check to rehearse for the 50-minute piece.

“I overheard one of our students, just as we get on the stage, very softly he said to the gentlemen by him, ‘it’s been an honor to sing with you,’ and I thought — that’s nice. Because for him, it was also that experience of singing with others from other schools that you never sung with and probably will never see again,” Myers said.

It was enjoyable to watch the students succeed, Myers said.

“I’ve never been in a group that’s worked that hard,” Myers said.

“It’s one of the most challenging choral works to perform — I’ve never been in a performance that was that polished,” Myers said.

“To understand the work that’s 50 minutes long with such depth that you’re not even looking down at your music much in the performance because you know it that well.”

Myers said he thinks the experience for students to work with Dr. Rayl was a good opportunity, as well as performing in such a historic place.

Submitted Photo Professor Jerry Myers (far right) poses with students outside of Carnegie Hall in New York.

“To perform in such a legendary hall is pretty life changing — I mean forever these students will have had the opportunity of singing in that space and for most of them that I’ve talked to, it wasn’t lost on them that the best musicians in the world for well over 100 years have performed in that space,” Myers said.

Collaboration improves performance and listening skills which is important for musicians, Myers said. “I think it just teaches them [students] in general how to collaborate, something that’s an important life skill — that you need to work with others, you need to adjust your way of doing something to fit into a group context and that’s a lot of what music is about — it’s about collaboration,” Myers said.

Myers said he likes to take students outside of the Meramec campus.

“I’d like to do something like this again, a major concert hall, Carnegie or others, certainly, as long as they have experiences for

Comic Con Video

the students and are very different from what we can get here — learning needs to go beyond our rehearsal room and our theatre — it needs to be bigger,” Myers said.

Minds cannot be expanded when students are just in the rehearsal room, Myers said. He likes to introduce students to what they might be doing at a four-year school.

“If they would be a freshman or sophomore at a four-year school, what would they do?” Myers asked.

“We need to do the same things, or more, here. That’s how we build.

You can’t do the same concerts over and over again. You have to do something different, you have to do something bigger.”

Myers had been to Carnegie Hall before, but as an audience member.

“Oh — it’s really wonderful from both views,” Myers said. “But as a musician, to be on the stage, to hear your sound in the house in that quality of hall — you can hear your sound as clearly as you can on stage — it’s life changing.”

Talent Show Video

This issue: On the Scene at Comic Con and Meramec Students Show Off Talents

Humans of Meramec

Photo by: Erik Muschinske Gwen Farris, student Gwen Farris, a student of St. Louis Community College-Meramec, is an active advocate for teen sexual health. Being a part of the group Teens Advocate Sexual Health and working with Planned Parenthood, she has visited legislators multiple times to talk about bills regarding Planned Parenthood and sexual health. “I always feel very motivated because I’m surrounded by such passionate people,” Farris said about TASH.

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Opinions | 7

4 20, 2017 April

Whitewashing is insulting to all of us Yagami to Turner

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Melissa Wilkinson Staff Writer

If you’re even remotely familiar with Japanese animation, you’ve probably heard of “Death Note.” The popular series, originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, is essentially a supernatural murder mystery centered around a college student named Light Yagami.

“Death Note” first aired as an animated show in October, 2006.

About a year later, Adult Swim picked up the English version of the series, earning it fans outside of Japan. It’s since been dubbed in many different languages and is widely considered one of the most successful animes of all time.

Although hype for the series died out circa 2009, Netflix recently announced a new live-action movie adaptation of “Death Note” which is scheduled for release in August.

I was initially excited when I heard the news. “Death Note” was one of the first animes I ever watched, and it still occupies a special place in my heart. Any initial excitement,

however, was replaced with anger when I saw the cast list. For a series written by Japanese people, featuring Japanese characters and set in Japan, I noticed a distinct lack of a Japanese cast.

Sadly, this sort of treatment of Asian media is unsurprising nowadays. Ghost in the Shell, a movie of Japanese origins, recently came under fire for casting Scarlett Johanssen as the lead. Whitewashing is standard behavior for Holly-

wood. Their argument seems to be that Americans won’t watch anything with a non-white lead role, going so far as to change the protagonist’s last name from Yagami to Turner.

While that might have been true when many of today’s directors were growing up, it’s time they face the facts — American media shouldn’t be exclusively white anymore. While white people still make up about 70 percent

Graphic by: Melissa Wilkinson

American media shouldn’t be exclusively white anymore. of the population, it’s downright insulting to assume that those consuming today’s media can’t handle an Asian protagonist. I’m not proposing a language change, either. By all means, produce it in English. But there are plenty of Asian-American actors, and there’s literally no excuse for selecting an entirely white cast.

The producers of the movie have stated that the story of “Death Note” knows no racial boundaries, but if that’s the case, why not stick to the source material? With diversity growing as a concern in this country, more and more minorities are demanding greater representation in media. Does changing the original setting of “Death Note” to suit a white audience actually take less effort than just hiring Asian actors? And is the percentage of viewers who wouldn’t watch an Asian protagonist actually worth catering to in the first place?

While I still feel burned by this selfish appeal to the masses, I love “Death Note” too much to boycott the film in August. So, Netflix, I’m begging you. There are tons of other great animes that deserve live action adaptations. Next time, get it right.

Identity is tied to pride in your home

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Brad Riaze Staff Writer

Seventeen years ago I moved to the U.S. — a nation that I’ve now grown accustomed to. In June, however, I can finally say that I’m returning to my home country: Seychelles. I’m ready to return even if my home no longer recognizes me.

The little boy that left the island nearly two decades ago is completely different than the almost twenty-something student at Meramec that I am now. Despite the fact that I’ve lived here for most of my life, I’ve struggled with who I am.

It’s hard explaining the weird middle ground that is my identity because most people I know don’t really have that problem. That’s not their experience. So, what exactly is an identity? Why is it a struggle for me to find mine and why am I so excited to go back?

In my experience, where you’re born is who you are. Really, it’s as simple as that. You

are born in a country that you most likely hold pride for and are thus surrounded by people who share that characteristic with you.

It becomes part of your character — your disposition.

There’s a commonality between you and the people of your nation and that commonality can be a very strong thing. I have never really experienced that feeling.

Not because I dislike this country, but because my pride is tied to a place thousands of miles away.

Seychelles is a small, tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean that most people have never heard of. An all granite paradise full of half-French, half-African speaking individuals. That’s Seychelles. That’s where all my family members are at, but also where my experiences should have been — my first time riding a bike, my first kiss, my first time getting grounded.

It’s bittersweet because as much as I’d like Seychelles to claim all of these memories, it just can’t.

Because of family issues, these experiences didn’t happen there, they happened here. The question is, if I can’t identify myself as American and I can’t really identify myself as Seychellois, then who am I? To say that I’ve struggled with this question would be an understatement. All of us do because we’re all trying to figure out who

Graphic by: Noah Sliney we are. That’s life and really at the end of the day we’re all just kind of winging it.

What I’ve come to realize as my first year of college comes to a close, is that I’m still young and should embrace life. I should cherish the fact that the country I came to is one of the greatest on earth.

I should embrace the fact that after 17 years I finally have my U.S. residency and can legally go back to the country I was born in. Some

people never get that opportunity.

I should take pride in the fact that my life is so confusing and just treat it as an interesting quality of myself.

For the longest time I let the phrase “Who am I?” weigh me down. I was drowning in questions that had no answers when really these are all aspects of what make me, me. Going back to Seychelles in June is just another piece that I can add to the puzzle.

April 20, 2017

Play ball after the cast

Sports | 8

Athletic Trainer Michele Rava talks coming back from injuries

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Missy Arneson Copy Editor

Injuries are unavoidable in sports, according to St. Louis Community College Athletic Trainer Michele Rava. Rava said she has worked with all of the campus sports teams since December and that the athletic trainers’ main focus is the health of the athletes.

“You always want to think as an athletic trainer about the athletes’ well-being,” Rava said.

She believes wholeheartedly in the RICE treatment for minor injuries.

“Rest, ice, compression and elevation,” Rava said. “When you get something like an ankle injury, you roll your ankle, you want to make sure that you’re resting and not going to go run some more on it.”

For more major injuries, Rava said to listen very closely to the doctor’s instructions.

“When it comes to things that keep an athlete out for a long pe-

riod of time or they have to see a doctor for, maybe they’re in a cast for a broken bone or something like that, we ... have to listen to what the doctor says,” Rava said. “Let’s use the example of a broken ankle. Once the cast is off and they’re allowed to move it around a little bit, we focus on decreasing pain and swelling, and then once we get the okay from [the doctor] ... then [we] go on to rehab … if they see a doctor, we always have to wait for the doctor to say they’re clear to go back.”

But exactly how often do athletes get injured?

“Oh goodness, a lot,” Rava said. She said there is a scale of injuries ranging from minor to major, and minor ones are much more common. “[An injury] could be something minor that happens a couple time a day,” Rava said. “Or [it could be] something major, which we hope doesn’t happen at all, but every now and then there are some major injuries that do happen.

I would say during a game that somebody gets an injury [usually minor] about once a game.”

These minor injuries like sprained ankles and jammed fingers are unfortunate, but preferable to major injuries.

“I got surgery last November,” Meramec student and athlete Hunter McDonald said. “I’ve done physical therapy and I’m doing my throwing stuff, but it’s starting to hurt again so I have to go in and maybe get surgery again.”

Rava said that athletes have to be seriously injured for her to recommend they not come back to sports.

“It’s tough, because our job is to try to get them back to sports,” Rava said. “‘If’ they’ve had … a big number of concussions in their life, we start to think, ‘how is that going to impact their future?’ … if somebody is prone to certain injuries, or they have an injury that keeps happening and keeps happening … maybe this is not time to get back to this sport anymore, maybe it’s

Photo by: Ashley Biundo Michele Rava discusses how to treat and handle sports injuries. time to think about something else you want to do. Because we also want to think about their future after sports.”

Maple Woods Outswings Archers Archers lose second game of the doubleheader

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DJ McGuire Sports Editor

The St. Louis Community College Archers Baseball team played a doubleheader against the Metropolitan Community College Maple Woods Monarchs on Sunday April 4th. The Archers won the first game of the doubleheader 8-3. Head Coach Scott Goodrich thought highly of his team’s performance in game one.

“We had good pitching, timely hitting and defense and played good all around,” Goodrich said.

In the second game the outcome fell in favor of the Monarchs 10-2. While this may have seemed like a blowout loss from the final score, Goodrich believed this was not the case. “I tell our guys I don’t think we played necessarily terrible, it just didn’t go our way there in the middle innings,” Goodrich said.

The starting pitcher for the game was No. 14, freshman Connor Cline. The game began and Cline started out shaky as he gave up a walk in the first ending which led to a Monarchs double, putting them on the board first 1-0.

Kolton Schilly, No. 3 freshman outfielder who had two hits and scored a run, led off for the Archers and laid down a bunt, and outran the throw to make it safely.

“Shoot, I’ve been doing that for awhile, I’ve always been fast so I always try for that bunt, for a hit,” Schilly said.

After Schilly got on base he proceeded to steal a base and advanced to third on a error by the Monarchs third baseman, which also put a runner at first base. After a walk by the Monarchs pitcher

Tynin Zeller, the bases were loaded. The next batter for the Archers was sophomore infielder, No. 26 Neil Fischer who ended up striking out. However the next batter sophomore outfielder No 24. Cole Dupont hit a sacrifice fly to bring in one run, tying the game at one.

In the second inning there was a controversial play in which Sophomore catcher No. 23, Mitch Morris got hit by a pitch on his elbow. Initially the umpires called it a foul ball but after some talk between Morris and the ump he was given the base. After more deliberation the umpires finally decided that since he swung, it was not a hit by pitch but instead just a foul ball.

“I thought he didn’t go, I think he [the umpire] may have saw (sic) a swing, from over here it looked — it hit him plain as day,” Schilly said.

Goodrich also believed it clearly hit his player but was unhappy with the confusion of the call.

“They said he had swung at the pitch, that was never part of the conversation to begin with,” Goodrich said.

However the call didn’t matter as Morris ended up getting a hit anyway. The game continued and the pitching mistakes started to pile up for Cline, who gave up two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings putting the Monarchs up 5-1. Cline eventually finished with a stat line five innings pitched, giving up five hits, five runs, six walks and four strikeouts.

“I was hitting spots randomly, like sometimes it would just get away from me,” Cline said. “I just wasn’t getting the call sometimes that I wanted and it backfired.”

The game did not get any

better for the Archers as the Monarchs scored five runs in the sixth inning.

“The game just really got away from us in the middle innings,” Goodrich said.

The end result of the game was a 10-2 loss for the Archers. With the season in full swing the Archers already know what their key strengths and weaknesses are.

“We need to work on finishing the weekend,” Schilly said. “We win the first couple games usually. If we can come back the second day and win games and sweep the series.”

Goodrich also admits the pitching has kept them in games, but Photo by: Amanda Harris the offense needs to be more consis- Sophmore Pitcher/ Infielder Ben Stephens pitches in the first game of the double header against MCC tent.

“Our starting Maple Woods. pitching has really carried us,” Goodrich said. “We had some real down they would love to win the regional times offensively and we were tournament.

Goodrich understands that winning some low scoring games. in order to do so his team still However we would like to see a litneeds to get better. tle more consistency [on offense] “We just want to continue to so we are not relying on our startimprove and play better so that ing pitching so much every day.” when we get to the playoff time The Archers also have very we are playing our best,” Goodrich high goals for the end of the seasaid. son. Both Goodrich and Cline said