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Meramec’s Fork In The Road

JACOB POLITTE MANAGING EDITOR

OFree speech, antisemitism and potential police misconduct come to the forefront after two long days in mid-April

n Thursday, April 11 and Monday, April 15, a religious protester who came to campus left many students and faculty upset and dissatisfied with the college’s overall response. Adjacent to the situation, a separate incident has left at least one Meramec police officer under investigation and various students on campus calling for their and another officers’ removal.

THE INCIDENTS

April 11

Around 11:30 am, a large crowd gathered in the Student Center Quad, their attention drawn to a man spewing anti-semitic, anti-LGBTQ rethortic. The man, who livestreams his demonstrations on YouTube under an account called “Kingdom Reconcilers” was in the Quad verbally confronting students, which the college says is unfortunately protected by free speech laws.

For two hours, the man had a continuous presence in the Quad, going back and forth with students, including Zainab Ahmad, who wasn’t sure she was even heading into campus that day after Eid Mubarak celebrations the day prior.

“On Wednesday, I was celebrating with my family,” Ahmad said. “And so on Thursday, I was actually not going to come to class, I was very tired. And I hadn’t talked to my professor. But [...] I had a lab assignment due that day.”

Ahmad said she entered campus that day from the parking lot adjacent to the Science buildings when she noticed the commotion.

“And I just heard a lot of noise, which you don’t normally… I feel like you don’t hear that much noise on our

campus to begin with,” she said. “And then I just saw a whole bunch of other Muslim students gathered and then closer to where that guy was standing. I saw just like a ton of all different kinds of students standing.

Ahmad said that during her years on campus, she was used to people in the Quad coming and interacting with students, but this man targeted her specifically after seeing her hijab.

“There are preachers or even political solicitors that come on campus, so [that’s] nothing new,” Ahmad said. “But as I was walking by, I was getting ready to go towards Science East, and he just started pointing and yelling at me, and I heard him say that all Muslims are pedophiles. And that’s just like… that’s not something I take lightly [where] I’m like, ‘Well, I’m just gonna go to class now.’ And so I kind of turned my head and I saw that he was pointing at me and some other girls who had hijabs. So I pulled out my phone, [and] I started recording.”

Ahmad’s video on Tik Tok regarding the incident has amassed over 1,000 views and counting as of press time. In the video, she is shown debating the protester.

“I walked up to him and I very calmly and I asked him, I was like, ‘Can I ask you a question?’ And immediately, I mean, he was already very hostile towards me. And this is the part that I have like fully recorded,” she said. “And I asked him, ‘If you are so devoutly Christian, can you explain the contradictions between the denominations of Christianity?’ To which he started attacking our beloved prophet and Islam. He started saying Muhammad was a pedophile, all Muslims are pedophiles [and said] ‘Why don’t you go talk to your

community because they’re very wicked, and they’re all terrorists.’ And I remained very calm.”

She continued, “I was like, ‘My community’s very lovely.’ And then [...] he was trying to egg me on. And he was like, ‘Oh, why are you such a tyrant? Why are you…’ You know, all these [statements], he was trying to get a reaction out of me. But he didn’t, because I’m not someone that you can make very angry very quickly. And again, I’m one of the older students on campus. So I was very calm. And then a lot of people started watching at that point, and were seeing that I was very calm and my reaction to him. And I think that wasn’t going the way he wanted it to go. I think he wanted a reaction.”

A student, Emily Hall, was recorded on the protester’s livestream charging at the man yelling “Shame!” before being taken away by campus police. That footage has been edited out of the protester’s livestream after the fact, but KMOV did obtain footage of the incident before it was edited out. Hall was not able to be reached for this story as of press time, but she did attend one of the campus forums on April 16 where she spoke about her experience.

April 15

The protester returned to campus again the following Monday, and the response to his presence drew a large crowd and many visceral reactions.

Ahmad was made aware that he was on campus, and chose not to directly interact with him further. She wasn’t surprised that he returned.

“I want to say I was surprised, but honestly, I’m not,” she said. “I think part of the reason he came back is because he got the reaction he wanted.

I think he got the news coverage. [...] He probably felt like there were words left unsaid, so he wanted to come back and insult more people.”

Although Ahmad did not seek out the protester directly, he acknowledged her by name after seeing her on the sidelines.

“I did not personally engage with him, and that was very intentional. And I was already nervous to begin with, because, you know, the first thing that goes through my mind is okay, did he see the news story, he now knows my name. Before he just knew where I went to school, what time etc. So I was worried for my own safety.”

“But I have to walk through that quad to get to my class,” she said. “I could have tried to go through another building and then quickly, but then why am I on my own campus having to like dip and duck to avoid somebody who’s threatening my safety? So I went to my class and I didn’t engage initially.”

Jack Wight, who works in the Academic Success and Tutoring Center as a tutor, said his involvement in the situation came after the fact. He and Ahmad were both publicly doxxed by the protester.

“[...] The proselytizer was at the quad, yelled at my name and social media in front of a crowd of people and called me a homosexual,” Wight said. “Which is true, but imagining a scenario in which I was not out of the closet or or there were more homophobes around, what could that have led to?”

Ahmad was standing near STLCC’s Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion D’Andre Braddix when the protester called her out by name.

continued on pgs. 3, 4-5

NEWS 2

‘STLCC Transformed’ Panel Details More Changes Coming to Meramec

The college recently updated the campus community of its long-term plans, including future building demolitions and tentative renovations

JACOB POLITTE MANAGING EDITOR

The first phase of Meramec’s Transformed projects are set to be complete by the summer of 2025, with renovations and demolition of other buildings to follow beginning in winter of 2025. This information was revealed at an April 9 information session hosted by Skye Lufsey and a panel of guests, including Campus President Feleccia Moore-Davis.

Specifically, it was reiterated that upon completion of the new Financial Services Enrollment Center and the Center for Emerging Technology, moving will begin for those who have offices in the Clark Hall and Social Sciences buildings; following their demolition, there are tentative plans for each of those spaces of land to become green spaces. Moore-Davis said that noticeable changes are coming to the lots near Social Sciences and that people will take notice.

“You’ll be seeing probably in the next year, a lot of changes in that parking area adjacent to Social Science,” she said. “So that green space will extend all the way to Geyer [Road].”

In addition to that space, an earlier “green” addition to the campus will come on the top of the Emerging Technology Center, as a “green roof” is set to be added onto a section of the building.

It was also reiterated that the new campus library will be located on the first floor of the new Center for Emerging Technology and have an accessible entrance in the building’s lobby, while the Academic Success and Tutoring Center will be on the second floor. Moore-Davis was not sure of the exact dimensions of the library as of press time, but said the “book space” was recently reduced to around 10,000 square feet.

“The entire space is going to be sufficient for what we want our library to be,” she said.

Moore-Davis said that most of the departments within Clark Hall, including her own office, will move into the Financial Services Education Building, with the classrooms and faculty offices that are in the Social Sciences building set to move there as well. The only departments in Clark Hall that will be relocated elsewhere are the Access Office and SARC; Moore-Davis said that these departments are set to be moved to the Student Center.

The Student Center itself is tentatively set to undergo some renovations of its own in late 2025 into 2026; the nearby Central Plant is also set to undergo renovations. In addition, the campus’

parking lots will also see renovations. The exact nature of those renovations hasn’t been decided yet, but Moore-Davis still has high hopes for the Student Center space.

“I’d like to see some upgrades to the Student Center,” she said. “So that’s on my list to make it more of a modern space for students to be able to collaborate in and just to hang out in. Will it make the cut? I don’t know. But I’d like to see the space updated for students.”

Another department who’s landing spot is up in the air as of press time? The Campus Police. Their base of operations along Couch Avenue, along with the Continuing Education Center, is set to eventually be demolished as well. While Continuing Education will find a home in the new buildings, the landing spot for the campus police department has yet to be determined.

“I am not certain that we’ve even narrowed the scope yet as far as which building or what needs to be renovated to accommodate the police,” Moore-Davis said. So that really has not been decided at this point. But, we need to find a space that is suitable and welcoming for them as well.”

At the information session itself, extensive discussion regarding the green spaces and safety concerns regarding glass walls in the new buildings largely dominated proceedings. Chrissy Rogers, Architect for Articulus, spoke at the forum and tried to assuage some concerns of those who were concerned about potentially being in the line of sight of an unwelcome intruder.

“Each piece of glass does have an alarm on it,” she said, further explaining that if that glass is broken or damaged, campus police, among others, would be immediately notified. Rogers explained that originally, there was more glass present in the new classrooms; the amount of glass planned was actually reduced.

Dr. Moore-Davis isn’t sure of the exact number of classrooms that will be present across the new buildings, but she believes that the amount of new classrooms will be enough.

“I think it is going to be adequate,” she said. “We did run the data to determine the number of classrooms we need and the number of that we need for growth. So I’m pretty sure that we should be covered unless we have an explosion of growth around here. We will definitely be covered.”

GRAPHICS COURTESY OF STLCC, ARTICULUS AND S.M. WILSON

TOP: A rendering of the new “green roof” set to be constructed on a rooftop of the new Center for Emerging Technology. That space will be able to host gatherings and campus events, among other uses.

MIDDLE: A rendering of the new lobby of the Center for Emerging Technology, including the entrance to the new campus library.

BOTTOM: A tentative timeline for the projects to follow once the Financial Services Enrollment Center and Center for Emerging Technology are completed.

May 2, 2024

Shannon

Philpott-Sanders

Faculty Adviser

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Sturdy Beneath Their Wheels

Baltimore bridge collapse leaves residents questioning safety

liam boswell contributor

With the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the safety of the country’s transportation system is likely in the minds of many. Here in Missouri, one has to wonder – are people safe when they drive over bridges, or do the bridges run the risk of collapse? The answer to that question is one that lives may depend on.

There are about 10,000 bridges in the state’s system, and according to the Missouri Department of Transportation, “About 52% of Missouri’s bridges are older than their intended useful life of 50 years.”

Additionally, although Missouri has “the nation’s 7th largest system of roads and bridges,” it ranks 45th in terms of funding.

Jeff Boyster, a senior member at Concrete Strategies, gives a deeper look into the state of Missouri’s bridges. “As far as bridges are concerned, as they age and are exposed to the harsh environments and de-icing chemicals, there are many improvements that can be done to extend the useful life or adapt them to the increased traffic demands of today as opposed to 50 years ago,” said Boyster. These improvements range from selective concrete repairs, placement of overlays and cleaning and recoating structural steel to widening bridges and improving guardrails.

There comes a point when even with continued repairs, bridges need to be replaced, said Boyster. “But with care and maintenance,” Boyster said, “they can last well over a century. The Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis, for example, was first opened in 1874 and is still in use today, 150 years later.”

So much effort goes into maintaining bridges, but do people truly view

bridge safety as important? “I think it’s very important. Not only from people’s livelihood standpoint, but also militarily,” said Missouri Resident Barb Waltz.

Of course, repairing and replacing bridges requires money, and funding for Missouri bridges is often in short supply. Until a fuel tax increase in 2021 – the first in the state since 1996 – Missouri’s fuel tax rate was the 2nd lowest in the nation. When there isn’t enough funding to repair bridges, conditions deteriorate, leading to more costly repairs or complete replacement of bridges down the line, or even complete closure if there’s still no funding, said Boyster. “No one wants to pay higher taxes, but everyone wants to have a safe, reliable infrastructure to travel on,” Boyster said. “Unfortunately, these two things go hand-in-hand.”

While all of this may be in the public consciousness right now, it might not be there for long. “I think people will

consider the safety of bridges for a time after the catastrophe in Baltimore,” Boyster said when asked about how the Baltimore bridge collapse would affect the way people look at bridge safety. “But as the memory fades, they will likely become more complacent and take the safety of the infrastructure for granted.”

Even with the memory of the Baltimore Bridge collapse fresh in people’s minds, there’s still an optimism about the state of Missouri’s bridges.

When asked, Jane Brda, a Missouri resident, said that she thought “in general our bridges are safe, and that this [the Baltimore bridge collapse] was just a horrible accident.” Keeping bridges in safe condition is a puzzle that engineers will have to constantly work to solve, Boyster said, “The key to engineering is to provide a safe, efficient structure within a reasonable cost for the product.”

Campus Police Under Investigation (cont. from p.1)

“[The protester] kind of turned and when he saw me, he started announcing on the megaphone that ‘Oh, and then we have this Muslim pedophile here who said a lot of lies on the news about me,” Ahmad said. He was specifically targeting me. Dr. Braddix is a very nice person, he just kind of turned to me and he’s just like, ‘Don’t pay attention.’ It’s alarming and startling to be called out like that, in front of my entire campus.”

The protester remained on campus for at least two hours on both days he was present. Some students and faculty attempted to deescalate the situation. At no point during either event did campus police officers make an effort to remove the protester, therefore not infringing on the protester’s free speech rights. However, they too became involved in the controversy that engulfed the campus in a different way.

THE POLICE

Adjacent to the April 11 incident,

another situation developed when a student, Alaa Hamedi, approached a nearby Officer because he was concerned for the safety of his peers as well as himself as a result of the ongoing situation.

Hamedi, who originally did not want to be publicly identified in KMOV’s reporting of the incident out of concern over further threats and harassment but decided to confirm his identity to The Montage, maintains that the officer he approached first was Officer Faulstich.

Hamedi alleges in his account of events, posted to his Instagram account (an image showing that entire post can be found on p. 4), that Faulstich told him “If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.” Hamedi said he was perplexed by that response, and asked Faulstich to repeat himself; Faulstich allegedly said “If you don’t like it, go back to your own country.”

Hamedi said he then approached Officer Ed Uncinski, who told Hamedi that Faulstich could “say whatever the fuck he wants.”

Hamedi reported the incident to the college. He also alleges that he was confronted in the Student Center on Monday, Apr. 15 by Officer Uncinski, and said that there were five witnesses to that confrontation. Wight said he had also heard about the confrontation, but was not a witness to it.

The incident has opened up tensions within the campus community, with rumblings and some discussion of past police misconduct circulating around the student body.

Jack Wight also confronted administrators with some of these allegations during a session of the April 16 forum (for more information regarding the Campus forums, see p. 5). At the time, Braddix had no response to the allegations. Wight, when speaking with The Montage, stood behind his forum comments, and revealed that some students have reached out to him directly with their own stories after seeing his Instagram posts.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

The Eads Bridge from St. Louis, to East St. Louis, Illinois, over the Mississippi River.

NEWS 4

STLCC: Protester’s rhetoric ‘doesn’t reflect who we are’

continued from p. 3

“I have been very active on social media over this incident. My post is very visible. It’s what garnered immediate attention and it kind of went viral,” he said.

“So there are a lot of people who reached out to me directly. Speaking on those previous allegations, I had one individual tell me that they have filed complaints and reports against Officer Uncinski,” he continued. And I had another former student reach out. He did not file an official report but gave me a description that matched Faulstich and said that he walked in on a closed conversation that he was having and started spewing racial hate speech at them unprovoked.”

“This brings up a lot of red flags,” Wight said. “As it is clear to me, not only by these reports, but just by what happened that there is no way that there haven’t been signs that these men are problematic, racist and potential threats to student safety. Without a doubt in my mind, there have been signs. And my question is, how have they gone under the radar? How have they gotten through the process when a report has been filed? And how were they hired in the first place?”

Ahmad said she also believes the officers should be removed.

“[For] a situation like this probationary action is not enough,” she said. “[The] police’s job is to keep students safe, keep the campus safe. And so this action made a lot of students feel unsafe. And if it is found that the way that we are seeing it is what actually happened, then? Absolutely. I don’t think that officer should be able to return to campus, let alone be armed on a campus.”

Ahmad also said that she wasn’t surprised at the alleged rhetoric.

“It concerns me, definitely. It concerns me. I don’t know if I

would say it surprises me,” she said. “Unfortunately, I think like a lot of students, I don’t think my initial gut is always to, oh, just trust a security officer, just trust a police officer without doubt. And that’s not me trying to incite further distrust between campus police and students. But I just know that I myself have never experienced anything like that. I know there are a lot of students that like even, anonymously reached out to me [and] reached out to some of the other students that ‘I’ve had interactions with this officer as well’ or ‘I’ve had something happened to me on campus and an officer, like, did something similar or even worse.’

She continued, “I didn’t realize that even though they’re employed by the college, they’re not. They’re somewhat of a separate entity. I think going forward, there needs to be DEI training or something like that. They need to be more equipped to handle student diversity [and] situations like this, that, while they’re not super often, are common. They do happen. And when things like this happen, it can escalate really quickly. And their job is not to escalate it further. It’s really not.”

STLCC Police Captain Benjamin Talley could not comment on the ongoing specifics of the investigation, and thus would not confirm if Faulstich and Uncinski were the specific officers under investigation. Instead, Talley gave the following written statement to The Montage on the afternoon of April 24:

“The incident on the Meramec campus that occurred on April 11, 2024, is being investigated by the College. The actions of a member of the St. Louis Community College Police Department are being reviewed by the College’s Department of Human Resources. Until these investigations are completed, the STLCC Police Department will be unable to comment

further.”

Braddix says that while the college will announce when the investigation concludes, they will not announce specific actions that those under investigation will be subjected to, including in documents that can be normally found within STLCC’s Board Docs page.

“What I’ve been told is that we can notify the community that the investigation has concluded, but many specific actions would not be noted out of protection of the employee’s right to privacy,” Braddix said. “We would not be able to share any specifics.”

On the same matter, Campus President Feleccia Moore-Davis said, “I think at this point, students would have to trust us that we have taken these allegations very seriously. And they really are being investigated. And if we find that those things, the things that we purport to value here at St. Louis Community College have been violated, then actions will be taken. But there are lines in which we can’t cross, because we have to protect that person’s rights as well. At the same time, we want to let the students know that we are taking it very seriously.”

Moore-Davis said she was also disheartened to learn of the allegations from students against officers that either went unresolved or were not previously reported.

“It is very concerning,” she said. “This is not the environment that we support on this campus. And I want students to know that my door is always open to hear them. And if and when it happens, I want them to come and let me know. And that I will take action as appropriate for the situations that are occurring on the campus. Because I don’t know unless they tell me and I want them to feel free to tell me there won’t be any ramifications for you because that is not the environment we have on this campus. That is not the people we hire. Of course, hiring is not a perfect process. But that is not the person that we hire on this campus. We support students, we believe that students come first and we want you to have a safe and secure environment for learning when you’re on this campus.”

THE RESPONSE

Braddix wants to make it clear that the college understands the frustration and discontent amongst the Meramec community, but that the college can not remove the “Kingdom Reconcilers” protester from campus because of his free speech protections, specifically those defined in a 2015 Missouri law called the Campus Free Expression Act. That law, among other things, designates public institutions as “Free Speech Zones.”

Students, however, say that the college’s response is insufficient. Wight, in particular, had strong and harsh words for the college.

“Nobody has reached out to me,” Wight said. “I have attempted... Actually, my voice has been heard loud and clear by the administration, multiple administrative members. And they, like pretty much anything else I’ve said about this, have politely told me that they’re not going to do anything about it. And that it’s my problem. They have not offered any

sort of... they have not offered me any sort of protection, they have not reached out to be like, ‘how can we keep you safe in this situation?’ They have not proposed any sort of solutions. And they haven’t even asked me like, ‘Oh, are you okay?’ You know, not even that. Simply defensive rebuttals. There was actually administration present when this happened, and they told me that there’s nothing that they can do. And then if I’m having a problem to contact the local police department.”

Wight, when asked, elaborated that he was talking about the St. Louis County Police Department, not the STLCC Police Department.

Regarding the campus administration’s attempts to reach out, Moore-Davis said that she was not present on campus for the April 11 incident, as she was attending a PTK event in Columbia, Missouri.

She also was not initially present on campus for the April 15 incident, having previously scheduled a personal day; she did make the trip to campus once she was informed of the events by Vice President Keith Ware, who also kept her informed of the situation as it unfolded the previous Thursday.

While Wight and Ahmad say that they have not heard directly from Moore-Davis, she said that some students have come to her office to discuss the matter with her, something she welcomes for those that feel they need to.

“There were some students that entered my office and I spoke to them directly,” she said. “And we had some conversations about that. However, I haven’t reached out to particular students, because we gave them various avenues to reach out. And I want them to understand that my door is open. But I didn’t want to reach out to them unless they wanted to have that conversation. So I want to give them the freedom to come and see me and to understand that Dr. Ware and myself are open to hearing what they have to say. But some of the students I know they also saw counseling after that event, after the events, I should say. And there were also other avenues that they also chose to vent their frustrations or to communicate their challenges with the situation.”

Moore-Davis also said that to her knowledge, no student had been disciplined by the college for their conduct with the protester. While Emily Hall was positively identified as the woman who charged at the man on April 11, The Montage was unable to identify the man who threw a water bottle at him on April 15.

Moore-Davis also spoke about some of the tone of the rhetoric that the protester spewed, saying it doesn’t reflect her own Christian values.

“Christianity is about love,” she said. “And when someone comes and the foundation is love, and they come in and spew challenging and difficult to digest [words] and things that do not align with that to other people of other races or of other religions or of other identities is just wrong. And it doesn’t reflect what they purport to come here to do. Because if you are purporting to be a Christian and bringing people to that, you bring people to love and you can never get people to love through hate.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAA HAMEDI

Alaa Hamedi’s account of his interactions with campus police officers; which he posted to his Instagram page. The college says that it’s investigating the claims, but can’t comment on the specifics of the investigation.

May 2, 2024

THE FORUMS

Following these events, Campus Forums were held at Meramec in the Humanities East building to address what happens and how the college is responding. The forums, which were hosted by Dr. Braddix and STLCC’s Title IX coordinator Shannon Nicholson, also were attended by Dr. Moore-Davis and Dr. Ware. In total, 125 people attended the forums across the two days they were held.

Braddix and Nicholson revealed during the forums that they were actually in the process of updating the guidelines for Campus Expression in the months before these incidents, and revealed a list of proposed restrictions they hope to finalize within the coming weeks. They took feedback received during the forums into consideration, and ended up modifying some of the guidelines as a result. However, they reiterated to all forum attendees that while they understand their frustrations, there is not anything they can do to remove him from campus, as his speech is protected under the 2015 law.

“The campuses can put parameters, you know, you can’t be here at midnight, and they wouldn’t want to be, because there is no audience here [at that time]. They usually understand the law, they understand how far they can go. And they come within those spaces the most public and for us, it is our quad, that’s the most public that students transcend all day long.”

Overall, Moore-Davis thought the forums went well, and believes the proposed guidelines are “a good first step” in minimizing the impact this particular kind of protester may have in the future on any STLCC campus.

Nursing Instructor Stacie Harrison attended a session of the forums on the afternoon of April 16, and revealed she actually had a limited interaction with the same protester in October on campus. By the time she alerted campus administration to the situation, he was already packing up to leave campus.

Overall, she said that she left the forum having learned more about the college’s stance on the matter.

“I came in at a pretty heated part of a discussion where a student was feeling very hurt and affected by what happened on campus and was very passionately speaking about it,” Harrison said. “Once I kind of got to see the start of the presentation, I did really appreciate the education standpoint of ‘this is why we as a college couldn’t intervene. Here’s the law that I wasn’t actually aware of.’ But getting that background of ‘okay, here’s the legalities of why we can’t intervene. Here’s what we’re trying to work with.’ I appreciated that they did have that open communication.”

Despite coming away with that information, one aspect of the forums left her underwhelmed.

“I do wish that they could have told us more about the specifics that involved our officer,” Harrison said. “Just because we are a campus that is students first and value diversity, equity inclusion. And I don’t know what exactly was said by that officer, I don’t even know if that was the correct context. Or I’m… I don’t know, I want to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe it was just poor phrasing taken out of context, because I know that all of us have fallen victim to not [having]

the most eloquent speech at times. So I’m hopeful that that’s the case. But I would like more information on that at least more transparency on [the matter]. Like, ‘here’s what the allegation is, here is what we know so far, here is the process of what’s going to come’ because I think if we had even more transparency, I think a few of those students would feel a little less hurt, at least that they’re being heard.”

Not all attendees left the forums with a positive outlook, including Wight.

“I found the forum frustrating,” Wight said. “I could see that Dr. Braddix and Shannon Nicholson were making an attempt at rectifying the situation. But in their own words, they heavily missed the mark. They missed the mark, where this should have been a situation where that was centered in hearing out the students’ issues, reaching out a helping hand, letting us know that we’re heard and were cared for and demonstrating what they’re going to do proactively. There was some of that, but the main plot of those forums was to tell us that this isn’t within their power. And it felt like damage control. And it felt like a PR thing. It didn’t feel like a space where they were there to genuinely express remorse and put a hand out for the students who have been affected by this trauma.”

Wight’s peer Aine Bradley, who was a witness to the April 15 incident and attended the forums, concurred with him.

“I totally agree with Jack on the fact that it is damage control,” Bradley said. “I think the university is well aware of the fact that they are doing too little too late, and are now just trying to clean up the mess that they’ve made, and try to control the damage to students. I think what they don’t understand is that damage is done. And that damage is still happening by letting that man come back on campus. That is just further exposing your students.”

Bradley said that while she understood why STLCC specifically focused on the legality of the protester’s conduct, making it a center point of the presentation was a critical mistake.

“I think what they presented about the legality issues with this was good,” she said. “I think that is a good standpoint to have, because I think that can be really difficult for students to understand, however, it should not have been the main point. The main point of that should be, let’s talk about how that made you feel. Let’s talk about if you feel safe on campus now.”

Bradley said she appreciated the college informing students of resources at their disposal to help deal with their emotions regarding the situation, but she felt like the tone of the presenters took away from the seriousness of the matter.

“They were discussing how, you know, they obviously don’t need to have any sort of a heads up about people coming,” she said. “And they do not tell them that they’re coming. However, it just felt really almost demeaning to hear them talk about this in a very light tone, making jokes in between. I mostly was there in between groups actually. And they were talking about, you know, what they like to cook and stuff like that. It was just a light, not personal conversation. And it felt like as soon as that group session ended, it was like we had not just talked about something that was difficult and hard

for students and traumatizing for students.”

Both Wight and Bradley feel that the college is not taking enough responsibility for the incidents, and instead shifting blame and responsibility onto others, including students and faculty.

“They also said that it’s not the police’s job to deal with this. They are trying to take the blame off of the police officers who were there that day not doing anything. And they said that they wanted faculty and staff members to be more on the forefront of deescalating,” Bradley said. “Why? Teachers are here to teach. Teachers are in class. They said that they want to create a response team of some sort. That I’m okay with, to have an Allocated Response Team. But to put this on to teachers and professors is disrespectful, in my opinion, to all that these teachers are responsible for. That is not their job to deescalate psychopaths that come onto our campus. [It’s] not in their job description.”

“We may not be able to remove men like this when they come to campus,” Wight said. “But it is our school’s responsibility to come up with creative solutions and protocols for when things like this happen, and a proper response to the trauma that our students endure, being proactive in caring for our students and reaching out to them. We want the officers removed. Both of them. [We want] extensive DEI training for police and a better vetting process.”

“I think it’s important to recognize that students come here to take classes, students come here to succeed,” Bradley said. “And students come here to move on from this university. And we all have lives outside of this university. We have jobs, we have families, some of us have kids, some of us have grandparents we take care of and we should not be responsible for creating change on this university campus. I think that we should be a part of it, we should be a helping hand. But we should be the response and not the call. The call should come from the university.”

As a result of the incidents, Meramec students, including Wight, have organized the Student’s AntiDiscrimination Coalition. On their newly created Instagram page, this coalition says it plans to serve the following purposes:

• Advocating for students rights

• Speaking out against hate

• Championing community efforts for a campus in which we can all be supported and encouraged equally Wight said the coalition is “a

desperate attempt to make something out of this.” While Wight and Bradley are planning to move on to different institutions in the coming months, both hope that the coalition will remain in place long after their departure.

With that being said, Wight had strong final words for the administration at large.

“The school needs to make sure that this never happens again,” he said.

THE ADMINISTRATION’S FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the continued discontent, Dr. Moore-Davis and Dr. Braddix both reiterated that they are here for students.

“I want the student body to know that we sincerely care,” Moore-Davis said. “We care about them, we care about the environment that they’re in. And we just care about them personally. And I think in hearing some of the student voices, that they didn’t get a sense of that. That troubles me as well. But I do want them to know that we do care and our doors are open. And that is not simply a statement that I say my door is open to all of our students that are here. If there is something that is happening on the campus, if there is something that they would like to discuss with me at any point, I will make myself available for them.”

Dr. Braddix extended his sincere apologies to anyone affected by these events.

“To any members of our community who have been impacted by this divisive and hateful rhetoric,” he said, “I just want to extend my sincerest apologies and just say that I am so sorry. I understand you were here to seek an education or you were here to work. And to experience that, especially unexpectedly, I can imagine how jarring and unsettling that would be. But I do hope that individuals understand that we as a community, we respect you, we value you, we want you here, we support you. And we have this dual reality that we’re dealing with in the sense that we have this campus community that we’re seeking to create that’s extremely inclusive, welcoming and supportive of one another. But, we also have an obligation under the law to allow expressive activity to occur. And sometimes that’s going to be speech that we don’t agree with or that we find offensive. Just know that person’s words and rhetoric don’t reflect the college, our sentiments, feelings or values.”

A slightly extended version of this article that includes additional graphics, photos and links can be found at meramecmontage.com.

PHOTO BY JACOB POLITTE

Dr. D’Andre Braddix and STLCC’s Title IX Coordinator Shannon Nicholson speak to an audience at an April 16 forum that includes Zainab Ahmad, Professor Denise Brown and Florissant Valley Forum Editor-In-Chief Vienna Austin among others.

How Well Do You Know Meramec Professors?

While many students learn about the subject matter in the classroom, STLCCMeramec’s Student Government Association decided to give students more insight about a few of Meramec’s professors. In the second part of this series, you’ll find spotlights from professors on campus in a variety of academic departments, sharing more about their personal lives and their advice for students.

LISA WILKINSON

Professor of English

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STUDENTS AIMING TO EXCEL IN YOUR FIELD OF STUDY OR PROFESSION?

Look for opportunities to write, read widely and meet people who are from different countries and cultures Be curious

WHAT DO YOU HOPE STUDENTS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR CLASSES BEYOND THE SUBJECT MATTER?

I want students to know that success is possible and every one needs to take advantage of faculty as a resource and all of the other services that are available on our campus such as tutoring and counseling, food resources, visiting colleges for transfer, and campus life activities to help create and improve relationships with the campus community I want students to know that I care about them as people and as students

ELIZABETH GAIL FONTENOT GRANIE

Professor of Biology

WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE O AND WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST

Want to know more about Meramec professors? Stop by during office hours, chat after class or inquire about their favorite activities on campus to see the human side of the one leading your class each day. You can also find more professor profiles online at meramecmontage.com.

Aerospace Physiology as I was in the Air Forc become an Astronaut I also did research in C my PhD leaning heavily into my background o muscle physiology

IM, PH.D

TS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR CT MATTER?

thinkers so that whatever topic they are earned the tools for thinking about the estion questions to the extent and for

T OF TEACHING AT STLCC?

ving done the homework and start class vorite part of teaching at STLCC These or the professor to "lecture" the answer

MARY DUNHAM

Professor of Math

WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE OR RESEARCH INTEREST, AND WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN THIS FIELD?

Mathematics, Music Love Topology Always loved solving problems

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF TEACHING AT STLCC?

The students are great They are looking to improve their lives

TREVIN JONES

Professor of English

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STUDENTS AIMING TO EXCEL IN YOUR FIELD OF STUDY OR PROFESSION?

Students who are interested in pursuing a career as an educator need to prepare themselves to be life-long learners Life is constant change and evolution, as well as the field of education

WHAT DO YOU HOPE STUDENTS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR CLASSES BEYOND THE SUBJECT MATTER?

I hope my students walk away from my cla are members of a global community and e our communities and world better.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE STUDENTS TA CLASSES BEYOND THE SUBJECT MA

Giving our client's the best care possible nurse This comes from being mindful of th

AY FROM YOUR

ed to rush ourselves or S

NG AT STLCC?

And, most especially, mething they've worked what they've learned, but ining the confidence to

DONNA J WERNER, PHD

Professor of Philosophy

WHAT DO YOU HOPE STUDENTS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR CLASSES BEYOND THE SUBJECT MATTER?

My primary goal is for students to leave the course with the ability to understand the nature and process of ethical decision-making;

• appreciate both sides of a position and to tolerate disagreement and ambiguity;

• clarify sources of disagreement to resolve ambiguity and overcome differences of ethical viewpoint and theory as much as possible

Do you have any unique or interesting hobbies, talents, or passions outside of teaching and research?

My passion is country music / live performances I love to travel across the country to go to see my favorite artists Eric Church is my very favorite (I ve seen him 86 times since 2019) I also really love Cody Jinks and Ward Davis If you like country music, check them out!

ART & LIFE 8

Meramec Hosts First Ever Alumni Choir Concert

RYAN WINZEN NEWS EDITOR

On Sunday, April 28, 2024, the Meramec Music Department hosted their first ever alumni choral concert. The idea came from the minds of music professor and choir director Dr. Jerry Myers, along with some Meramec alumni.

“I was thinking about how to honor an alumni who died a couple of years ago. While I was talking to other alumni of our choirs, the idea of having alumni come back to sing was quickly born,” said Myers.

The concert is in honor of Lauren Carroll, a former Meramec student and choir member. The Meramec Choir Scholarship will be renamed The Lauren Carroll Memorial Scholarship in her honor.

As the planning began, the event became larger. “It just became a big effort to celebrate choral music here,” said Myers.“I put word out last summer with a save the date, and the word spread really quickly. I emailed and posted online a sign up form and then we found rehearsal dates that worked for most people.”

The performance was a collaboration between the jazz combo, concert choir, alumni choir and other special guests.

“We have nearly 40 [people] in the concert choir, 60 alumni, the jazz combo and a few guest artists. Close to 100 on the stage,” said Myers.

The guests that accompanied the concert were professional musicians Gloria June West and Malena Smith.

Gloria June West is a piano and vocal performer. She has formerly worked at Walt Disney World as a performer and

composer. She has also worked as a vocal coach, associate conductor, and staff accompanist at Rollins College in Orlando, Florida, and at STLCCe West accompanied the songs on the piano.

Malena Smith is a professional singer with a background in various genres, including Americana, classical and jazz. The St. Louis-born artist has a career filled with a multitude of achievements. Performing at concerts across the country, sharing the stage with artists like Michael Bublé and Brain Owens, doing an international show in Japan, and released two singles (Betray Myself and 18) in 2023, and is working on her debut album.

This concert was the premiere of “Welcome Home,” a piece composed by Michael Engelhardt and sung by the alumni choir. Smith sang “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone and her

The Music Program at Meramec offers courses and ensembles for all students. Classes are available for general education credit and the Associate in Arts degree with a concentration in Music to prepare for transfer into a Bachelor of Music program.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

COURSES

MUS 101,102,201,202 Music Theory I,II,III,IV

MUS 103 Basic Music

MUS 113 History of Jazz

MUS 114 Music Appreciation

MUS 115,116 Class Voice I,II

MUS 121,122,221,222 Class Piano I,II,III,IV

MUS 128 History of Rock Music

MUS 130 Beginning Guitar

MUS 138,139,216 Jazz Improvisation I,II,III

MUS 141,142,241,242 Applied Music (Lessons) I,II,III,IV

MUS 150 Fundamentals of Music Technology

MUS 152 Audio Engineering

MUS 154 Music Recording with ProTools I

MUS 211 212 Music History I II

Interested in performing in an ensemble? All Meramec students may participate. No audition is required! MUS131, 132 and 134 are CORE42 performance courses!

ENSEMBLES

– Concert Choir

Orchestra

Symphonic Band

Jazz Improvisation

own song, “Betray Myself” with the accompaniment of the jazz combo.

“We commissioned a new piece that was written by Michael Engelhardt, who was a former professor here,” said Myers.

According to his own website, “Michael Engelhardt is a singer, songwriter, composer, vocal coach, producer, and director.”

The Concert and Alumni Choirs put together a joint performance of “He Never Failed Me Yet” by Robert Ray, which included Carly Handyside, Sydney Jean, and Miranda Devers as soloists.

While this was planned as a one time event, it seems that there is an interest for another alumni concert. “This is the first one, although during a rehearsal, they asked if we would do this every year,” said Myers.

Meetings every Tuesday at 2 PM via Zoom or in Student Center, Room 220A

PHOTO COURTESY OF JERRY MYERS

ART & LIFE 9

May 2, 2024

Dr. David Taylor’s Sense of Community

henry kieffer contributor

On the windowsill of office 108, located in Communications North at the Meramec St. Louis Community College Campus, sits a collection of figures from Voltron and Guardians of the Galaxy. The items on this windowsill belong to Dr. David Taylor. Taylor is an English professor at St. Louis Community College, a poet, and a self-described “dork.”

“You had robots, and they were vehicles, and they had weapons, so I fell in love with them, like, right away,” Taylor said in his office while recalling his favorite toys and shows from his childhood, nearly leaning off his chair.

Anything from Transformers to GoBots. The ‘80s childhood interest, which followed him into adulthood, had developed into a hobby of collecting.

“Now I actually have grown-up money that I can spend on things and not feel guilty,” he said.

Taylor collects more toys from his days of growing up, while dipping into newer things, as long as they’re relevant to him. This includes toys from a Voltron reboot series or even happy meal toys. Taylor’s use of grown up money has led him to meet people with similar hobbies as himself as well.

“I’ve commissioned artists to do commissions of Optimus Prime and Voltron together,” said Taylor. Through his hobbies, Taylor said he has met artists and friends of artists all around the world. “Anywhere from New York, to Taiwan, to Canada,” he said.

While most of Taylor’s community is online, he has also found community within St. Louis. He said it all started in the pandemic, when he came across a neighbor struggling with her mailbox. It turns out she was an artist who had

also been friends with his group. “I started buying some of her stuff, which led me to other people, and it sort of spiraled from there.”

Taylor has also embraced his passion for poetry. “I’m a poet; that’s my background,” he said as he sat back in his office chair, struggling to recall his own academic achievements. He received his masters in English, with an emphasis in composition, and a concentration in poetry and went on to earn his doctorate degree from St. Louis University.

Taylor teaches Poetry Writing at STLCC-Meramec and writes and publishes his own poems. Despite publishing many works, he said he still finds himself nervous when it comes time to submit to a publisher.

As a seasoned member of the industry, Taylor is friends with many editors, some of which he submits to. “If I send them my work, I want to make sure that it’s really the best work possible,” Taylor explained intently. He elaborated that he doesn’t want them to feel guilty for rejecting him or accepting his work out of obligation. He then expanded upon his relationship with the culture of poetry as the publisher of Black Coffee Review.

“I used to be more so in the St. Louis scene,” said Taylor. “Now, because my publication is online, I’m getting to know people from different countries, different states, and such,” he said.

While he’s published for himself, published for others, given speeches, and more, Taylor swiftly established that he still wouldn’t consider himself an accomplished person. “I mean, I think I’ve done some good stuff; some good work,” he said. Taylor compares himself to his friends in the community, who have published anthologies, selected works and received awards. Though Taylor does acknowledge that

unlike him, poetry is their main job, there is still more that he wants to do. Although he doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do next, he said he knows he wants to get more collections published.

Taylor also said his passions allow him to differentiate between assuming the title of a dork vs. nerd. “Although I think nerds are cooler, I consider

myself a dork,” Taylor said. While there was hesitance in his voice, he still chose to hear himself out. He said he sees a difference between being a nerd and a dork. “A nerd would be able to compare the show to the comic,” Taylor said. “I’m a dork, so I would read an article about someone doing an analysis between the two.”

‘Embedded Tutoring’ Gets Positive Feedback From Students

LILLIAN THUM Staff Writer

A new initiative called “Embedded Tutoring” has proven to be a success for those enrolled in science courses at Meramec.

Sally Kloppe is the Coordinator of Peer Tutoring and Embedded Tutoring on the Meramec campus. She says that the tutoring is designed to take place within the scheduled lab times themselves.

“Embedded tutoring meets students where they’re at, literally,” Kloppe said. “The student tutors go into the lab section of those classes and offer help to those students.”

The embedded tutoring is designed “to help those who need help the most” with the first implementation in “classes with high rates of Ds, Fs, and withdrawals.” Specifically, there is a focus on Anatomy and Physiology 1,

Chemistry 1, and Intro Biology courses, which “usually have D, F, and W rates between 30-40%.”

There is no need to sign up, as Kloppe said “the tutor is walking to every table and every student” which she said benefits all students in the courses as the tutors know their stuff.

“A lot of the tutors we have are students who went to tutoring, even A students, high GPA students,” Kloppe said.

The students are not the only ones who like the embedded tutoring. Kloppe states that the program has “100% buy-in for all the sections and faculty” and that the feedback she has gotten “has been overwhelmingly positive from both students and instructors.”

Kloppe describes that “the instructors benefit too because the tutors help take the load off by going around answering questions and making sure the students are doing the labs and experiments correctly.”

If someone wants to become a tutor, Kloppe describes the process.

“Getting an instructor recommendation or tutor recommendation [would be a good starting point],” she said. “Then

email us at the end of the semester.” When looking for new tutors, she also added, It’s not just about getting an A or B, it’s about the demeanor. [It’s about] the confidence, empathy, and patience.”

Rae Iseman is a tutor in the program, they tutor for Anatomy and Physiology 1 and Biology 111. These classes are aimed “at students going towards healthcare professions, like dental hygiene or nursing.” They describe their job as “helping pick out the subject matter to be successful in their future endeavors,” and to “help them with study skills.”

Iseman said, “These programs are really hard. You have to be a good student and spend a lot of time and do a lot of studying to do well. You don’t want to be taking these hard classes and figuring out how to study.”

Iseman addressed the issue of stigma in tutoring.

“There is this idea that if you go to tutoring you’re an off student, and that’s just, like, not true,” they said. “Tutoring is for everybody, and Embedded Tutoring helps them see that. Tutoring doesn’t make you a bad student, it makes you a good student.”

PHOTO BY JACOB POLITTE

Dr. David Taylor works in his office with his collection of figures from Voltron and Guardians of the Galaxy on display.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SALLY KLOPPE

ART & LIFE 10

The Knitters of Crochet Club

A Q&A with officers of the newest club on campus

MACY GILLICK CONTRIBUTOR

The Crochet Club is a brand new club at Meramec this semester. According to Vice President Alexis Brutcher, the club “is really fun, we built a really great community environment. We are all really supportive.” Overall according to President Jessica Wynn, “Our club is pretty casual. The vibe is supposed to be fun and we crochet.”

What’s your club like? What do you do?

Brutcher: Our club is really fun, we built a really great community environment. We are all really supportive. Right now, [as of Press Time] we’ve been working on prizes for SpringFest but before we were working on brainstorming ideas (on what) to make. We got Wooble Kits for the beginners in the club. They’re really great, also there’s videos online to teach people how to crochet like step by step tutorials. Some people bring in their own personal projects. It’s really just common crochet, it’s whatever you would like to crochet.

Wynn: Our club is pretty casual. The vibe is supposed to be fun and we crochet. Right now we are doing stuff for SpringFest and that’s been lots of fun. We’re making keychains and pouches. [Our club] is a great way for students to come and learn something new if they never crochet or meet other people that do crochet and have similar interests to them. Before I started the club I didn’t know many young people

May 5th is “Revenge of the 5th.” It is a Star Wars holiday for fans and it celebrates the dark side of the force. Here are 3 ideas on how to celebrate “Revenge of the 5th”: Watch a “Star Wars” film, read a “Star Wars” book, and dress up as your favorite character.

that liked to crochet, so it’s been fun to talk to people my own age who like to crochet.

Why do you want people aware of your club?

Brutcher: I think it’s a really fun hobby. For most of us in the club it’s a great stress reliever and school can become very stressful so it’s a great club to join while also taking classes.

Wynn: I think if more people were more aware of crochet more people would want to learn how to crochet. I think it’s appealing to a lot of people, they just don’t know how to do it. We are here and we love helping people learn how to crochet and it’s a lot of fun and very casual. I think that it would be a good space for beginners or for experienced crocheters. I’m experienced and we have a few other experienced crocheters but we also have a good handful of crocheters who have only been crocheting for a little bit now.

Why did you join the club?

Brutcher: Jessica and I created it (because) we both wanted to do the

May 13th is “Top Gun Day.” This is a holiday for anyone who is a Top Gun fan. Here are some ideas for celebrating: watch a Top Gun movie, or cosplay a character.

club. One day, I came in and Jessica was crocheting and I was like “Oh my god you’re crocheting, I love to crochet too.” We both bonded over that then one day, Kelly, [who is] Jessica’s boss, was like you guys can start a crochet club, I’ll be your advisor and we just needed to find 3 more members. We really started it because we like the hobby and it’s really fun.

Wynn: I actually never had a big intention of starting the club. I never came into school thinking I’m going to start a crochet club. I started teaching my friend how to crochet and we were doing it in the club room because she expressed interest, and she caught on really quickly and I realized maybe I’m actually a good teacher for crochet and

then Alexis got excited when she saw us crocheting and then my boss Kelly she said she would advise our club if we got 5 people to be apart of it. Most of those 5 people never showed up but we have plenty of other people who did show up and have been really enjoying it. I was like ‘maybe yeah that would be fun’ and it seemed to happen so quickly. I’m really happy it did, because it’s been something I’ve been really enjoying since we started it up. I really like the other members of the group and I’ve made lots of friends. I love seeing everything that everybody makes. And hearing about the different styles that they use and talking to them. If your interested in joining the club please contact the advisor: kmoroney3@stlcc.edu

BY

May 11th is “Dog Mom Day.” This is a day for any puploving woman to celebrate this special kind of motherhood. Here are ways to celebrate if you are a dog mom: go for a walk or treat yourself and your dog. If you know a dog mom, here are some ideas for gifts to get her: a dog mom mug, dog mom apparel, or jewelry.

May 18th is “National River Cleanup Day.” This is a national day to clean up garbage and debris from our rivers and watersheds. Since 1991, American Rivers has enlisted the help of over 1.3 million volunteers who have participated in thousands of cleanups around the country.

May 20th is “National Rescue Dog Day.” Each year, millions of animals, specifically dogs, are abandoned by their owners and end up on the streets. Many of these animals are used to a sheltered life, and this, in turn, makes it difficult for them to fend for themselves out in the world. Rescue dogs can prove to be great friends, teachers, and helpers especially as service dogs. They also provide emotional support to those suffering from mental issues relating to many things, such as depression, PTSD and anxiety. Here are ways to celebrate this holiday: adopt/foster a dog, volunteer at a shelter, and spread awareness.

PHOTO

MACY GILLICK

Meramec’s Crochet Club poses for a photo in the student center. L-R: Alexis Brutcher, Vida Carroll, Jessica Wynn, Morgan Sprowl and Kelly Moroney

OPINIONS 11

May 2, 2024

STLCC Refuses To Take Accountability For Student Safety

College leadership heavily misses the mark

LILLIAN THUM STAFF WRITER

Recently on the Meramec campus, there were two major events that unfolded that challenged how our understanding of freedom of speech should be balanced with our expectations for a safe campus. The preacher, live-streaming on YouTube was only one faucet of discontent, with his rhetoric and hate speech against Muslims and transgender people, disgusted many of us at Meramec.

In my humble opinion, I agree with the students who spoke with The Montage for this issue: the campus’ response to these events was lackluster, with an open forum for us to discuss the events with little action being taken, but many excuses made. (See related story on pgs. 1, 3, 4-5).

However, that’s only one issue of a multifaceted incident. Campus police also found themselves embroiled in scandal, with their verbal conduct toward students being called into question. Allegedly, one of the police officers in question has had many reports made about him for similar behavior but nothing has come from

Discussing

it. This is completely unacceptable behavior, especially when the officers in question have firearms and are charged with protecting students. Who is to say the officer in question

are the staff not putting pressure on the bureaucracy? Challenge it! Organize! Work together with students to make a point that this is unacceptable! Saying “not all cops” is only an excuse.

“STLCC is a conservative college with a progressive coat of paint.”

wouldn’t fire at a student when given the chance? The response is always about protection, but most shooters are white supremacists and many officers are aligned with that.

What else has happened that went unreported, as students have suggested? Did the other officers protect them? The response is always “we will look into it” and “we are updating our rules” but arguably, it’s too late. Why were the rules not changed before this event occurred? Why is the bureaucracy so thick? Why

The saying of “all cops are bastards” specifically includes “all cops” for a reason.

The preacher outside of the Student Center was spewing incredibly hateful things. He was saying that many people are going to hell for simply existing as Muslim, for being gay or identifying as transgender.

The man was not only using a bullhorn but was doxxing (revealing personal information including names and social media handles) queer and Muslim students. Students had to

buddy up to feel safe.

The response to this was the Campus Forums held in Humanities East. I understand there are legal challenges as well as the ethics of free speech, but he was actively disrupting campus and threatening safety and the school barely did anything. Music that was played loudly to drown him out was turned off. Why were the rules not changed earlier? What actions are being taken to make it so students on this wonderfully diverse campus feel safe?

“It’s out of our hands” or “bureaucracy” is an excuse. You have freedom of speech too! Use it! Not only was he live-streaming, likely with ads, but the doxxing of students is simply inexcusable, and should not be allowed back onto the campus for that reason alone.

In what world is that not a risk? How can students and staff feel safe if there are few steps taken to protect us?

STLCC is a conservative college with a progressive coat of paint.

Staff Writer Jack Jursnich also wrote a piece discussing his reactions to the events surrounding the religious protester. Read that piece on meramecmontage.com.

Age: Another Form of Division

the dangers of ageism

JACK JURSNICH STAFF WRITER

Ever since being a kid going into high school, I have observed prejudice between age groups growing larger over time. I can’t say this division was once nonexistent before my time but it has grown significantly through my life, especially in the past decade, where terms like “baby boomer” and “millennial” are thrown around loosely as insults or identities.

Categorization of age is somewhat necessary for identifying a person, but these age groups have been generalized and judged to feel either proud or ashamed. Some parents will recognize themselves as superior because their child is younger. Most children will see their parent’s age as an unfair form of authority and control. The trend I am used to seeing is Young vs. Old, Boomers vs. Millennials, but now current trends have focused on Millennials vs. Gen Z.

The divisions have multiplied, the gaps between ages have widened further and further, and I find it utterly ridiculous.

Normally, when it comes to something as ridiculous as this, I wouldn’t take it seriously. But the acceptance of such a form of prejudice has become so widespread. Typical forms of prejudice like racism and sexism are met with incredible pushback – anyone posting a racist

or sexist post could receive hate comments or be reported – but when I see a self-proclaimed Millennial posting how they hate Gen-Z or Boomers, the comments will often soar in acceptance and agreement. Vice versa: Gen-Z hating on Millennial or Boomer hating on Gen-Z, there may or may not be some agreement, but this type of prejudice is acceptable and normalized. Just as anyone would say judging someone based on their skin or gender is overly childish, again, I find it ridiculous that the same is not said for judging based on age. If I can’t say generalized statements about a specific race or gender, what makes it acceptable for me to say something like “Gen-Z is lazy” or “Boomers killed the American Dream” or anything of that sort?

Age has become a political tool used to cut down a person’s credibility, like when the age of Congress and the Senate are used to correlate with incompetence. Too often do I see people online wanting new government officials because the current ones are “too old.”

Arguably, someone could show me Mitch McConnell freezing up during a press conference and say “he froze because he’s super old,” and I would counter with “was it because he’s old or because his mental state is declining?”

Age tends to correlate with a person’s health and capability, but age is not the cause. There are plenty of 60-70 year

old men and women who are capable of doing physical and mental challenges, and there are some who are not; their abilities are not defined by their age but by how well they care for their health. I want to cut this piece short by discussing the dangers of ageism. Considering this prejudice roots itself in judging and generalizing features a person was born with and cannot alter, I think it is fair to say the dangers of age

discrimination are potentially equal to that of racism or sexism.

The difference with ageism here is that it has become normalized and lacks the same criticism that racism and sexism get.

Under the same logic, all three should be unacceptable, but age discrimination seems to go about uncriticized too often.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell “freezes” during a press conference in 2023.

Archers Athletics 2023-2024 Season Recap

SOFTBALL

Overall: 37-9

Matches: 46

Home Runs: 47

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Overall: 22-10

Matches: 32

Points Per Game: 72.1

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Overall: 10-6-2

Matches: 18

Shots Per Game: 4.4

BASEBALL

Overall: 16-29

Matches: 45

Home Runs: 27

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Overall: 6-32

Matches: 38

Kills Per Set: 8.05

MEN’S SOCCER

Overall: 13-5-3

Matches: 21

Shots Per Game: 7.0

NOTE: The Women’s Basketball season was cancelled due to low recruitment. All stats are as of April 30, 2024.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

JACOB POLITTE MANAGING EDITOR

As The Montage approaches its 60th anniversary later in 2024, it’s notable that archived digital copies that can be viewed by readers on The Montage’s “Issuu” page only date back to 2010. The rest are not lost to time, however. Print copies, both loose and binded, still exist. They date all the way back to the very first issue in 1964 and can be accessed in the Library. As we approach the next volume of issues, The Montage would like to take you back in time to some of those issues throughout the coming school year. This month, we’re taking a look back at the campus’ historic wrestling team, one of the last to be known as the Meramec Magic.

From the 1968-1969 school year until the 20102011 one, the Meramec campus hosted a wrestling team. Called the “Meramec Magic” the stand-out wrestling team was coached by Ron Miriksntani for most of its run. Miriksntani was removed from coaching the team in the fall 2009, as the Webster-Kirkwood Times reported that Meramec administrators had found three violations of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) policy over the previous year. He remained a member of the Meramec Faculty for several years after, but was replaced as Coach by Mike Vogt.

Around the same time, the college made the decison to axe the program after one final season, citing budget cuts as the reason. It was not a popular move at the time. At the time, the program remained a success, even placing second in the NJCAA champion finals the previous year.

For it’s final season, the team placed fifth overall in the same national competition. STLCC’s sports teams were consolidated and spread across the entire college district the following year.

Plaques celebrating the team and it’s lenghty list of accomplishments still hang in the lobby of the Gymnasium building to this day.