Bts17 fullissue by The Montage

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back to school guide

Legends of st. louis

The Montage Melissa Wilkinson Katie Hayes Jordan Morris Marie Schwarz Sean E. Thomas Brad Riaze Dalila Kahvedzic DJ McGuire Missy Arneson Noah Sliney Amanda Harris Erik Muschinske Ian Schrauth Caroline Frank Stephen Buechter Madison Bouse Andrew Ameer Ashley Biundo Jason Waters Shannon Sanders

Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Production Manager Managing Editor Emeritus News Editor Emeritus Opinions Editor Art & Life Editor Emeritus Sports Editor Emeritus Copy Editor Emeritus Graphics Editor Photo Editor Multimedia Editor Online Editor Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Photographer Staff Illustrator Faculty Adviser

Editorial Views Expressed or content contained in this publication are not necessarily the views of St. Louis Community college, the board of trustees or the administration. The Montage is a student publication produced seven times per semester at St. Louis Community College - Meramec, 11333 Big Bend Blvd., Kirkwood, Mo., 63122 (314) 984-7655. One copy of The Montage is free of charge. Up to 10 additional copies available, $1 each, in the office of The Montage, SC 220A. Bulk purchases may be arranged with the circulation manager. To place an advertisement, contact the advertising manager for rates, sample issues, etc., Call (314) 984-7955

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Table of

Contents Letter From the Editor Page 5

Rollin’ into Meramec 6 - Advice for incoming students 7 - Rollin’ down to campus services 8 - Campus map 11 - Financial aid: it takes time to save money 12 - Ratemyprofessor.com’s top rated 13 - Registration is easy online 14 - Best places to study on campus

Ride wit’ me 16 - Go global - Study abroad with STLCC 18 - Hidden gems of the class schedule 19 - What is your favorite class? 20 - Featured clubs 21 - An outlet to explore music 23 - Best places to nap on campus 24 - The American history professor with a German accent 25 - Theater schedule 2017/2018 26 - Best places to eat around Meramec

Toot your own horn

28 - How to write a cover letter 29 - Resume template 30 - When an associate degree is enough 31 - Earning a bachelor’s with planning and persistence 32 - Where to find an internship after Meramec 34 - Archers can shoot for the stars 35 - Basic transfer information for local and top-tier universities 36 - Steps to starting your own business

Looking back

41 - Student activity highlights from last year 42 - ‘Around and around’ St. Louis politics & looking ‘Back in the USA’ 44 - Social disarray in last year’s plays 45 - Archers sports: last season in review 46 - Meramec hosts its first Special Olympics 47 - Humans of Meramec 48 - STLCC grad receives full scholarship to Webster 49 - Top 4 changes at Meramec last year 50 - Lady Archers set high mark for basketball program

Rollin’ into Meramec Welcome to Meramec where the “big wheels keep on turnin’.” If you don’t want to end up “working for the man,” check out our top 10 pieces of advice and know your way around campus. “You don’t have to worry if you got no money left” because Meramec’s Financial Aid office has you covered. Meramec’s best study areas will give you “a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams.” Get help at the tutoring center and maybe one day you will “live out by the sea.”

Graphic by: Noah Sliney

A T

M E R A M E C

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 an emphasis in Music to prepare for transfer into a Bachelor of Music program. ** SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE **

COURSES

MUS 101,102,201,202 MUS 103 MUS 113 MUS 114 MUS 115,116 MUS 121,122,221,222 MUS 128 MUS 130 MUS 138,139,216 MUS 141,142,241,242 MUS 150 MUS 211,212

Music Theory I,II,III,IV Basic Music The History of Jazz The Enjoyment of Music Class Voice I,II Class Piano I,II,III,IV Survey of Rock Music Beginning Guitar Jazz Improvisation I,II,III Applied Music (Lessons) I,II,III,IV Fundamentals of Music Technology Music History I,II

Interested in performing in an ensemble? All Meramec students may participate. No audition is required!

ENSEMBLES

Music 132 – Orchestra Music 133 – Jazz Lab Band Music 134 – Symphonic Band Music 135 – Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Voices of Magic jazz choir All ensembles hold a seat/part assignment hearing during the first rehearsal. Members of the Concert Choir may audition for the Chamber Singers and/or the Voices of Magic jazz choir.

For more information, contact the Meramec Music Department Gary Gackstatter, Director of Instrumental Music, ggackstatter@stlcc.edu, (314) 984-7636 Dr. Jerry Myers, Director of Choral Activities & Music Theory, gmyers34@stlcc.edu, (314) 984-7638

Letter from the Editor Melissa Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief Welcome to the back to school guide, the annual summer magazine written and produced by The Montage student newspaper. The purpose of this guide is to inform and assist you as you begin—or continue—your Meramec career. In Tina Turner’s section, we will begin by exploring the resources available to you. Meramec is an intimate, charming campus with many opportunities, and these hints will help you navigate, plan your schedule and get excited for things to come. The next section, featuring Nelly, gives an overview of student activities, in which you will find suggestions for classes, study spots and even lunch! Miles Davis’s penultimate section is filled with tips for your life after you graduate, including where to find a job and how to get one.

Finally, the last section, Chuck Berry, reflects back on this past year of campus life. Read recaps of plays, sports and politics and get a taste of what Meramec is all about. I came into the role of Editor-in-Chief at the end of my second semester at Meramec. Although I’m only set to carry the title until the end of 2017, I plan to make my mark on the legacy of The Montage student newspaper. The Montage has always been about freedom: freedom of information, freedom of expression and freedom of speech. I want this campus to be a safe place for people of all backgrounds. Just as I have found a home here, I want each and every student to have the same opportunity. This year’s theme is all about musicians of St. Louis. We hope these local legends inspire you to rock out, use your voice and aim high during your time at Meramec.

From the Montage team to you, good luck! w

The 2016-17 Montage Staff

ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC 05

Advice for incoming students DJ McGuire, Sports Editor Emeritus Hello incoming freshman and returning students! Welcome to St. Louis Community College Meramec. For many of you this will be your first college experience and that may be a bit intimidating at first. Know you are not alone. We all were at one point just like you, excited and nervous at the same time

for college. STLCC Meramec provides a variety of resources to help you get over your initial anxiety and stress. These resources include things like the advising office, the library, the Writing Center and the Academic Support Center. Other students and fellow classmates can also help with your college transition.

“Dont slack off on your work; keep working hard.” —Tim Donermeyer, third year

“Stay on top of the assignments...if you get behind with the assignments you are going to stay behind with the assignments.” —Ayden Kolnik, first year

“Don’t skip classes, it’ll help you in the long run.” —Zachary Palamateer, third year

“If you find a club you like, do it. [It] really can help you destress, especially around finals.” —Tim Donermeyer, third year

“Dont lose sight of what you wanna do, always do your best.” —Tim Donermeyer, third year

“Take full advantage of the Writing Center.” —Fields, second year

“Use the Academic Support Center.” —Katherine Kuehnr, third year

“Use the library as often as possible.” —Ayden Kolnik, first year

“Use your planner.” —Rachel Koch, second year

“If they are interested in the military, they are welcome to Veterans Club. It’s open to anyone.” —John Lawrence, second year

06 ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC

Here are some helpful tips from fellow STLCC Meramec students to make your college experience as smooth, fun and rewarding as possible. Each of these tips is vital and extremely helpful in making your time at STLCC Meramec all the more enjoyable for you. Take heed and have a blast!

Rollinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; down to campus services Brad Riaze, Opinions Editor Writing Center

Tutoring photos by: Brad Riaze

Library 2nd Floor, Room IR 217 Monday - Thursday: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. 314-984-7570 Get help writing papers. Trained staff members are available for critiques, grammar and research assistance.

Library 2nd Floor, Room 218 Monday - Thursday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. 314-984-7877 If you need extra help outside the classroom, there may be someone who can help. Tutors may be a staff member or peer depending on subject and situation.

Study Skills

Computer Labs

Meramec Copy Services

Library 2nd Floor, Room 218 Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. 314-984-7390 Receive assistance with note taking, textbook reading, computer skills, ESL skills and many other subjects to help you as a student.

Business Administration Building, Room 201 Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sunday: Noon - 4 p.m. Students can utilize the computer lab to complete class assignments and use programs. In addition to the general computer lab, most buildings also have their own computers with subject-specific programs.

Physical Plant Building, Room PP/103 (Near parking lot F) 314-984-7709 or 314-984-7738 mccopycenter@stlcc.edu Monday - Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Provides black and white or color copying, printing or finishing services. Request a job through submitting a job request form or emailing your project directly.

ROLLINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; INTO MERAMEC 07

AC - Assessment Center AD - Administration AS - Applied Science BA - Business Administration CN - Communication North CS - Communication South HE - Humanities East HW - Humanities West LH - Lecture Halls L - Library PE - Physical Education SC - Student Center SO - Social Science SS - Science South SW - Science West TH - Theatre

PE HE

TH HW

Meramec

SO AD CN

W L

Students with disAbilities

have Access at STLCC.

St. Louis Community College makes every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you have accommodation needs, please contact the Access office at the campus where you are registered. While accommodations may be requested at any time, some accommodations may require many weeks to arrange. Florissant Valley Access Office 3400 Pershall Road St. Louis, MO 63135-1499 E-mail: fvaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-513-4551 Fax: 314-513-4876 Relay Missouri: 711

Forest Park Access Office

Meramec Access Office

5600 Oakland Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110-1393 E-mail: fpaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-644-9039 Fax: 314-951-9439 Relay Missouri: 711

11333 Big Bend Road Kirkwood, MO 63122-5799 E-mail: mcaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 314-984-7673 Fax: 314-984-7123 Relay Missouri: 711

Wildwood Student Enrollment and Disability Support Services 2645 Generations Drive Wildwood, MO 63040-1168 E-mail: wwaccess@stlcc.edu Phone: 636-422-2000 Fax: 636-422-2050 Relay Missouri: 711

St. Louis Community College expands minds and changes lives every day. We create accessible, dynamic learning environments focused on the needs of our diverse communities. Florissant Valley

Forest Park

Meramec

www.stlcc.edu

Wildwood

Financial Aid: it takes time to save money Although the process is notoriously complicated at larger universities, applying for financial aid at Meramec is a fairly simple process that can save you a significant sum of money. You can start the financial aid process by enrolling in a degree or certificate-seeking program. After you are enrolled, go to fafsa.ed.gov, and submit a Federal Application for Student Aid. “The very first thing a student should do is send in a FAFSA,” said Arika Biney, one of Meramec’s financial aid counselors. “Any point after that, the financial aid office will have all the information they need to assist you.” Upon completion of the FAFSA, your information will be sent to St. Louis Community College. You should check your Banner Self Service account within three to five days after completion for verification that the college has received your information. You might also want to visit the Financial Aid Office on campus to double check. If applicable, you must send in transcripts from all post-secondary institutions. After completion of all previous steps, be sure to submit for a Financial Aid Course Audit, then review your financial aid rewards on Banner to ensure the process was completed correctly. All aid requests must be sent in before the summer. “The biggest mistake students make with financial aid is to procrastinate,” Biney Said. “They think that a few weeks is enough to get their financial aid completed so they come in here in August.” According to Biney, for a few lucky students that may work, but for most, far more time is needed due to the wide variety of issues that could come up during the process. Biney also stated that one of the things that new students are often unaware of is how different financial aid can be from person to person, and that aid which others have access to often has limitations such as income bracket. People often do not realize these restrictions, and attempt to get the same financial aid family and friends received despite their ineligibility. Biney compared financial aid to a fingerprint, nothing that the experience may be vastly different

photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

Stephen Buechter, Staff Writer

for each student. Things which may prevent you from receiving aid include poor attendance and grades, lack of progress being made towards a degree and a class completion rate of less than 67 percent. A few general tips include ensuring turning in applications early, checking on the status of your financial aid frequently and researching all options available to you, including programs such as work study. For options available in summer, check in with the Financial Aid Office.

1. Enroll in a degree-seeking program 2. Apply for and send in FAFSA 3. Check Banner self service account within 3-5 days. 4. If applicable, send in all transcripts from all secondary institutions. 5. Submit course audit. 6. Review financial aid rewards on banner self service.

ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC 11

Ratemyprofessor.com’s top rated Dalila Kahvedzic, Art & Life Editor Emeritus As if picking classes wasn’t difficult enough, finding a professor that makes class enjoyable is even harder to come by. Students use websites such as Ratemyprofessor.com and Ratemyteachers.com to aid in the process and ensure they are signing up for a semester

of not only knowledge but also fun. Here are several of the highest rated professors on Meramec’s campus to give students an idea of some classes they will definitely—be they general education courses or courses required for their degree.

With subjects ranging from english to science and everything in between, the professors below have had some of the best reviews and comments according to students on Ratemyprofessor.com.

Professor Nancy Molik Mathematics Rating: 4.7

Professor Rebecca Burns English Rating: 5.0

Professor Markus Ahrens Accounting Rating: 4.9

Professor Gerald Myers Music Rating: 5.0

Professor Mark Tulley Business Rating: 4.8

Professor Rebecca Helbling Information Science Rating: 5.0

Professor Joe Schneider Science Rating: 4.9

Professor Aletta Speegle Mathematics Rating: 4.5

Professor Stacie Kane Communications Rating: 5.0

Professor Kelly Ballard Mathematics Rating: 4.8

12 ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC

Professor Emily Neal Political Science Rating: 4.8

Professor Albert Kuo Art Rating: 5.0

Registration is easy online DJ McGuire, Sports Editor Emeritus and Marie Schwarz, Managing Editor Emeritus Classes are already filling up for the fall here at St. Louis Community College Meramec, but spaces are still available. An easy way to find your classes and sign up for them is signing up online. Here is a step-by-step process that will help you in signing up for classes: 1. Go to www.stlcc.edu. Under the “Enroll Now” tab, click “Register for Classes”. 2. Click the “Register Online” link below the first set of bullet points and then click the green box that says “Login to Banner”. An easy way to bypass this is to search for STLCC Banner, which will take you directly to Banner. 3. In order to login to Banner you must know your MySTLCC ID and password.

Look up classes with the interactive class schedule. 9. The next screen will display all the different meeting times for the courses you chose, as well as the instructors, how many credit hours they are worth, start and end dates and how many spots are still available.

12. To actually add your classes to your schedule, go back to the same menu you accessed in Step 5, but this time click the “Registration” button. 13. This will lead you to the Add or Drop Classes page. At the bottom of this page you will add the CRNs, which is a five digit code displayed next to your class on the interactive class schedule. 14. Once you enter the CRNs you will be web registered for classes. Remember that you will be dropped from these classes if you do not pay for them by August 5th.

All you need for online registration is the CRN. 4. Click “Student Services & Financial Aid”. 5. Click the “Registration” button. 6. Click “Select Classes”. This will take you to the interactive class schedule where you can see class descriptions, times, and any prerequisites needed before you sign up.

10. In order to add the class to your schedule, check the box on the left side of the listing. 11. Once you have selected your classes you can check your interactive schedule at the top of the page when viewing classes.

Copy the CRN code. 15. If for any reason you need to drop a class before it starts, you can drop it from the menu on this page as well.

7. Select the term for the classes you want, the campus where you will be taking them, the general subject and the class titles. 8. Once all of your selections have been made click the “Display Classes” button.

Paste the CRN in these fields.

ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC 13

Best places to study on campus Brad Riaze, Staff Writer

Science West, Top Floor

14 ROLLIN’ INTO MERAMEC

photos by Brad Riaze

Need a place to study and the library just isn’t cutting it? Here’s a list of a few places to get some real work done. The Social Science building holds a small but quiet place to concentrate. There are a few chairs and even a vending machine nearby. Not many people visit this place, so it’s a great spot for reading a book too. The top floor of the Science West building is a great place for group study sessions if you can’t grab a study room in the library. It’s very spacious and has a lot of chairs, so if you have some math or science homework to do, this is an ideal place. It’s also a great place to bring your laptop because of the many outlets. One last option is the Open Computer Lab on the top floor of the Business Administration building. Up the stairs and to the left is one of the best places to study on campus. Despite being designated specifically for studying, very few people know about it because it is hidden. There are plenty of computers and space to do any kind of work. Similar to the library, it’s also a quiet zone. This place is also monitored by college staff, so you can expect no disturbances. Overall, it is an optimal place to get some work done.

Open Computer Lab, Business Administration Building

Social Science Building

Ride wit’ me You’re in the saddle now. Fix your “Country Grammar” but keep your charm. This place is your place, this place is “My Place.” Go on an adventure and find the hidden gems of classes, clubs, and professors. Don’t forget to sneak in a nap or two; however, not everything is “Just a Dream.” And when using your brain cells, always remember to grab a bite to eat. Go, and see a play or—hey—do something crazy: audition for one. You have talents you don’t even know yet! Use your time wisely to avoid “Dilemma” and keep cool when it’s getting “Hot in Herre.”

Graphic by: Noah Sliney

Go global — study abroad with STLCC Madison Bouse, Staff Writer photo provided by Pamela Garvey

For St. Louis Community College student Emilia Triola, nine days in Denmark alongside STLCC Professor Pamela Garvey and 14 other students was the perfect way to round out her Creative Writing minor this summer. She believes that the schedule developed for those nine days was the perfect blend of learning, food and fun. If she had vacationed there on her own time, she would never have had the chance to visit the museums or lectures that deeply enriched her experience of the country. Studying abroad offers unparalleled opportunities for students to broaden their personal, academic and professional

“I wasn’t just meeting people from Denmark. I was meeting people from Ireland and Poland and Sweden and all over.” -Jeri Wright, STLCC student

horizons. With a variety of options available through both STLCC and external programs, there really is something for everyone. In 2017 alone, STLCC’s Study Abroad department has organized trips to Italy, Denmark, Canada, England, France and Russia. But students interested in studying elsewhere can also apply for programs such as the Council on International Educational Exchange, International Studies Abroad and the State Department-funded Critical Language Scholarship. “I wasn’t just meeting people from Denmark,” said Jeri Wright, an STLCC student and stay-at-home mom. “I was meeting people from Ireland and Poland and Sweden and all over… and what you take from each of those encounters are little bits from each one that you carry with you. It’s going to help me widen my view on several things, and I think that, in turn, is going to make me a better, more well-

RIDE WIT’ ME

Denmark trip 2017. Students with Prof. Pamela Garvey at the Hans Christian Anderson statue in Copenhagen. read, more educated human being.” Wright was on board from the moment she heard about the Denmark trip, but as a stayat-home mom whose husband works fulltime, she initially doubted that it would be a possibility for her. Amongst college debt, car payments, gas money, medical bills and more, studying abroad may seem like an impractical or even impossible goal. But Garvey said that while the price of studying abroad is an obstacle for many, students like Wright shouldn’t give up hope. Professors leading each program are happy to direct students to available financial options, including scholarships offered through the Global Studies program. Will Schenck, who plans to major in English after transferring from STLCC, believes that

where there’s a will, there’s a way. “Everybody has [their priorities],” he said, “and you have to make sure that you can sustain yourself and pay your bills and everything, but if you decide to make traveling a priority… it’ll happen…. Financially, it’s a big undertaking, but... you’re definitely not going to regret it.” He considers his time in Denmark an ideal first step into the rest of the world. “Everybody there did speak English… but still, all the signage and everything is in Danish. So you definitely are immediately confronted with the fact that you are immersed in a different culture,” Schenck said. “...the streets in Copenhagen are really quiet. There’s not really a lot of small-talk or chit-chat going on.” For Schenck, a highlight of his experience

photo provided by Sabrina Hassan

Sabrina Hassan and her Kishwahili Professor Nicholas Masanja stand atop the shifting sands during the program’s excursion to Ngorongoro National Park in Tanzania. in Denmark was working closely with Garvey and her colleague Andrew Miller of the University of Copenhagen to cultivate his skills as a writer. He recalls evenings spent in local cafes alongside the professors and his fellow students, exchanging constructive feedback on the work they’d developed over the week. Garvey believes that this type of environment is most conducive to creativity and openness, and it encourages students to support each other throughout the writing process. “It was wonderful for me to witness the ways in which students left behind their worries and immersed themselves in the world of Copenhagen,” Professor Garvey said. “It sparked a lot of them to write pieces I think they really need to write. That passion then carries over into their lives when they return home.” Sabrina Hassan took a different route in her study abroad journey. After transferring in

2015 from STLCC to Boston University as an International Relations and African Studies major, she spent two months last summer studying in Tanzania through the Critical Language Scholarship program. There she lived with a host family and brushed up on her Swahili before extending her stay for one more month to live with her father’s relatives in Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania. While it was a deeply personal experience for her, looking back she recognizes the many professional advantages she also gained from studying abroad. “Before I went abroad, I didn’t know how valuable it was,” Hassan said. “I was like, ‘Great, I’m going on this free trip to east Africa; I’m so excited!’ And then I got back, and I was attending this conference… They were talking about how much employers and schools value study abroad…. Study abroad is great; it’s fun, but there’s a professional aspect to it as well.”

Today, Hassan is utilizing the networks and skills developed through her study abroad experience in order to reach her professional goals. “I’m interning with an NGO [in Tanzania], and in my application I mentioned CLS a lot,” she said. “…I’ll be working with a team, and

“...it’s not just about the time you spend in the classroom. It’s about what you do outside as well.” -Sabrina Hassan, former STLCC student so I [can say that] I survived in Tanzania for two months with twenty-plus Americans from diverse backgrounds. So it’s not just about the time you spend in the classroom. It’s about what you do outside as well.” CLS is a great choice for students focused on developing language skills. The program is unique in that it fully immerses students within the cultural context of the language, and it is paid for entirely by the U.S. Department of State. Many CLS programs, such as those focused on Turkish, Korean, and Swahili, don’t require applicants to have any prior knowledge of the language. Hassan, as an official CLS Alumni Ambassador, points out that the program is currently looking to recruit more community college students, and encourages anyone interested in applying to contact her at shassan8@bu.edu. Students interested in joining Garvey and Miller for their Literature and Creative Writing study abroad adventure, set to take place next year in Barcelona, are welcome to reach out to Garvey at pgarvey@stlcc.edu. “And if the finances seem daunting,” she said, “[students] should still contact me to discuss options for mitigating that burden.” Triola, along with Wright and Schenck, has already set her sights on Barcelona, but encourages first-time study abroad students to consider Denmark, too. “It’s definitely an experience I would never tell anyone to pass up,” she said. “Especially Denmark… Just don’t get in a bicycle’s way.”

RIDE WIT’ ME

Hidden gems of the class schedule Missy Arneson, Copy Editor Emeritus

“I want somebody to come out of class saying, ‘I had a good time, and I want to do it again.’” -Colin Maag, PE Professor Maag said the class was not focused on boring lectures or intense tests — the class consists entirely of an orientation and a camping trip. “I want somebody to come out of class saying, ‘I had a good time, and I want to do it again. I learned something, and I know how to do it and I know how to do it safely,’” Maag said. Maag said that the two different sections of the class — introduction to canoeing and introduction to kayaking — allow for students to decide which they prefer. He said that both are good for beginners, but kayaking may be easier since students don’t need to collaborate to steer. “It also fits a nontraditional student— someone who works or has trouble committing to lots of evening classes— because you’re able to do it in two evenings and one weekend,” Maag said. Other students may be more interested in learning about history. History Professor Kay Blalock is listed to teach HUM 208: Liberal Art Seminar: Themes in the Liberal Arts, which will focus on the history of vikings and pirates. Blalock said the class will focus heavily on the culture of these people groups. “What did these people really do?” Blalock

RIDE WIT’ ME

said. “Were they [pirates] on-the-sea Robin Hoods, if you will? Or was there more to it than that? Grace O’Mally [famous female Irish pirate] for example, was protecting her own family … I like to go deeper than [perceptions of culture].” Blalock said that the Celts were originally an “oral” culture, meaning they passed history and traditions down through stories and by

the relevancy in the material.” Other students might prefer working with their hands. Meramec Theater Manager Rick Willmore recommends anyone take THT 102: Stagecraft. “More than anything, it’s a how-to class,” Willmore said. “A lot of the time, surprisingly enough, people can’t use a tape measure … It’s definitely a class for beginners.”

graphic by: Ian Schrauth

St. Louis Community College Meramec offers a plethora of classes on a wide variety of subjects every semester, from Introduction to Psychology to Sculpture to Public Speaking to Java Programming. There are some classes, however, that are somewhat lessknown among students: for example, PE 118: Camping and Floating, taught by adjunct Professor Colin Maag. “It is an introduction to [the] outdoors, and outdoor skills,” Maag said. “Of course, it stresses safety, teaching skill sets, and outdoor and environmental awareness.”

word of mouth, never writing things down. This has caused more and more of their history to be lost the further back people look, according to Blalock, but they are still interesting to study. Since this class is less well known, sometimes it doesn’t have enough students to go through, Blalock said. She said she hopes the class will go through in the fall, because it focuses on how these people affect our time. “Are the characteristics that were necessary for a good leader at this time [in history] still applicable for a good leader today?” Blalock said. “Often when we think, ‘forget U.S. history, that’s ancient stuff. Is that relevant?’ … [I like] to introduce things and let students try to find

While the class is not design-oriented, according to Willmore, it does have a fun project focused on design: a picnic consisting of food made from building materials. “I had a guy one time, he made an ant,” Willmore said. “If you’re having a picnic, there’s ants, and he made one that was about five-foot tall.” Willmore said the class was good for anyone who wants to work as a stage technician. “We teach just about everything you need to mount a theatre production,” Willmore said. “If you’re a performer, you should learn this; you should know at least this much.”

What was your favorite class? Caroline Frank, Staff Writer cells really intrigues me,” Plume said. Plume said she also liked Figure Drawing I with Professor John Porter because he began assigning projects right away, and she learned a great deal about drawing because she had to. Another student who took the same course, Davion Henry, said that it was his favorite as well. “I liked the freedom to express myself,” Henry said. Student Molly Coibion said the best class she took was Intro to Design with Professor Patricia Sheppard. “I feel like I was able to express my own style while learning the fundamentals of design,” Coibion said. Student Michael Thomas said he enjoyed taking Foreign Policy with Professor Robert Lee. “Lee comes off as very unbiased,” Thomas

“The ability to bounce ideas off other people — it’s an experience,” Smith said. Meramec student Andrew Allen said his favorite class was also Creative Writing with Garvey. “I like the instructor because she doesn’t censor anything; there’s no judgement on your subject matter,” Allen said. “As long as you adhere to a certain level of quality she’ll accept anything because the subject matter is irrelevant.” Allen said another favorite class of his was Science and Value of Happiness with Professor Donna Werner. “One big part of it was the instructor,” Allen said. “It was an absolute pleasure to be around her at all times, and she was always willing to help the students whenever they needed it.” Meramec student Allison Plume said one of her favorite classes was Intro to Biology with Professor Sarah Fike. “I feel like biology is just really interesting subject matter; everything happening inside of

said. “He sticks mainly to the facts, and I appreciate that.” Thomas said that each time he leaves the classroom, he feels like he learned something new. “It makes me feel like the semester’s work was worth it,” he said. Thomas said he also had a great instructor for his College Algebra course, which Professor Kelly Ballard taught. “I’m not a fan of math, but she made the class more bearable to be there,” Thomas said. “She explained things well.” Marguerite Justin said her favorite class was U.S. History to 1865 with Professor Bob Ubriaco. “He gave great detail and was essentially straightforward,” Justin said. “He wants everyone to pass as long as they give the effort.” Student David Lam said he enjoyed trigonometry with Professor Sarah Henry. “It was really the teacher and the fact that I had really interactive classmates,” Lam said.

Graphic by: Caroline Frank

St. Louis Community College Meramec offers a variety of classes with a wide range of subjects and professors to choose from. There is no course description on Banner Self-Service saying, “This material matches your learning style,” or “You will love this teacher,” or “This class is the most fitting for you.” However, Meramec students provide some feedback on what the best classes are at Meramec. Student Barbara Smith said her favorite class was Creative Writing with Professor Pam Garvey. “It was a really open class,” Smith said. “You can’t really go wrong if you do the work.” Smith said that since it’s a workshop class, you learn from the people around you and become a better writer because of your peers’ feedback.

“People really make the class, especially if it’s a difficult subject. They can help ease up the tension a bit.” Meramec student Peter McCoy said her favorite course was Earth Science with Professor Carl Campbell.

“I liked the freedom to express myself.” -Davion Henry, Meramec student

“I love learning about it,” McCoy said. “I think it’s extremely relevant to what’s going on, especially with global warming.” McCoy said Campbell explains the material well. “He explains it without yelling at you and [explains] why climate change is real,” she said. “I really like Carl; I think he knows his stuff.” Meramec graduate Jake Pederson said he really enjoyed Movement Culture of the 1960’s with Professor Lisa Martino-Taylor. “I love history, and it satisfied my interdisciplinary requirement,” Pederson said. “It covered all of the social injustice riots and movements of the 1960’s. It was interesting because my father was born in the 1960’s, and I was able to look through the eyes of someone who lived through and experienced the things happening then.” Pederson also said that Martino-Taylor got great reviews on ratemyprofessor.com. “Professor Martino-Taylor was awesome,” Pederson said. “She was very knowledgeable, polite, passionate about what she taught, and someone you could genuinely talk to about anything.” Another class Pederson said he enjoyed was Walking for Fitness with Professor Melanie Marcy. He said it was relaxing to see all the cool parks, and he met a lot of new friends. Pederson is originally from Las Vegas, and he said he had a better experience at Meramec than at the College of Southern Nevada. “I loved the school,” Pederson said. “I love the setting—the location. The professors are phenomenal; St. Louis Community College has a very respectable education level. I would take more classes there if I could.”

RIDE WIT’ ME

Beekeeping

Beekeeping Club teaches students how to buy, take care of, and collect honey from the hives. The club provides extra bee suits for newcomers. Meetings are Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

photo by: Erik Muschinske

Featured clubs

Jim Frost explains how to remove the bees to student Andrew Covey. photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

Ultimate Frisbee

Everyone is invited to come out and play ultimate frisbee no matter skill level and/or physical ability. Games are played as well as learning all the tips and tricks of the game. Practices are at 2 p.m. on Fridays at Bohrer park.

Players take part in a scrimmage against each other during practice. photo submitted by Erik Muschinske

Theater Club

“Theater club is one of the most active clubs on Meramec campus. We hold biweekly meetings to discuss upcoming service events [and] shows at the college or surrounding areas. Theater mirrors life, and Theater Club mirrors a great experience with a lot to offer to the dedicated individual.” Kalen Riley- Club President

Theater Club with adviser Michelle Rebollo attends Jersey Boys at the Fox.

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An outlet to explore music Caroline Frank, Staff Writer Students of Music Club, which was originally called Musician’s Club, changed the name because they didn’t want it to be a club just for musicians. They wanted it to be a club for anyone interested in music. “[My favorite things about Music Club] is that it is an outlet to explore music,” Program Coordinator and Professor of Music Dr. Jerry Myers said. Myers is the faculty adviser of Music Club whose main function is to help the club president take ideas and carry them out. “The goal for Music Club is to allow students to express themselves musically … and commingle with others who are interested,” Club President Chris Reyes said.

club is that the student is interested in music, according to Myers. “You don’t have to play an instrument; you don’t have to sing. You don’t have to like a certain style of music. You can like anything,” Myers said. Reyes said no musical background is required to join. “Any student at any time can join. All they have to do is sign up at Campus Expo Day or contact the club president or faculty adviser,” Reyes said. Myers said that every semester, there are students who show up who are outstanding players. photo by: Marie Schwarz

Christian Reyes (left), and Andrew Haselhorst (right) playing at the 2017 Talent Show in the cafeteria. Music Club is a student-run organization overseen by a faculty adviser at St. Louis Community College-Meramec that meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 4:00 in HE102. The club hosts an open mic event in the fall and a talent show in the spring. Reyes said Music Club performs sometimes for Meramec family members, students, and professors. “The cafeteria is pretty much always open,” Reyes said. “We spread the word through posters and word of mouth.” Myers said Music Club has been around since before he began teaching at Meramec. “I’ve been here for eight years and it already existed when I got here,” Myers said. The only requirement for joining the

“Some of them are music majors. [We have] some great pianists, guitar players, [and] great singers,” Myers said. “And then [we have] some who have never played anything or sung before, and [they] just like some styles of music and want to be a part of a club.” What the club does every semester varies greatly, Myers said. “It really depends on who’s in the club, what interests they have, and what they want to get out of the club,” Myers said. Reyes said there are anywhere from six to eight students who show up weekly and 12 to 15 who show up monthly to the meetings. “A lot of students tend to take it as an extracurricular activity so they just show up when they want to,” Reyes said. The biggest challenge in the club is

reeling people back in after getting off topic, according to Reyes. “I try to redirect the topic by getting them to channel their feelings into music,” Reyes said.

“The goal for Music Club is to allow students to express themselves musically ... and commingle with others who are interested.” -Chris Reyes, Club President

Reyes said his favorite moment with Music Club was the second annual talent show in spring 2016. “They sang this heartfelt song and you could really feel the emotion being put into the music,” Reyes said. “It touched people more than just telling a story about what happened.” Myers said each semester in Music Club has been different. “There have been some groups where it’s been a lot of instrumentalists,” Myers said. “Years ago, they would have Friday afternoon drum circles. If it was a rainy Friday they would do that in our rehearsal room [and] if not, they would go out in the library quad and play. Anyone could join in.” The first drum circle is Myers’ favorite memory with Music Club. “They were excited for the idea ... They just had people swarming over to play and listen. It was a big crowd,” Myers said. “Just to see that enthusiasm to do something fun – something different – was enjoyable.” Each semester, the focus slightly changes. For example, there was one year that was heavy with singers, Myers said. “They had a small a capella group,” Myers said. This year’s group has been very subtle, according to Myers. “They sort of just listened and chatted more about music in their meetings,” Myers said. “We’ve had a very big variety. I think it may be a very different group again next year.”

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Best places to nap on campus It’s no secret that Meramec students work hard. Many students belong to clubs on campus, work multiple jobs or have children. Thankfully, there are a few places on campus to catch some z’s between classes. Here are The Montage’s top five places to nap on campus as demonstrated by student Brent Kang.

photos by: Katie Hayes

Katie Hayes, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Social Science Building Secluded, and a little off to the side, there is an area in the Social Science Building that is largely unnoticed by students. It has two vending machines and a couple couches. It remains quiet for the most part and is a great place to nap if you wish to avoid contact with other students. Silent Study Area, Upstairs in the Library Students in the silent study area of the library typically respect this rule. There is limited couch space in this area, but if you’re one of the lucky ones who can grab a seat, you won’t be disturbed.

4. 3.

Communications South The couches in Communications South may not be as spacious as the ones in Communications North, but this building doesn’t get much sunlight during the day. It’s generally quieter than Communications North.

Second floor of the Science West Building This is where the Supplemental Instruction Leaders hold their study sessions, so this floor is typically filled with students. However, the Supplemental Instruction Leaders don’t let the masses become too loud. This spot is prime napping territory, but usually occupied.

In a tree This is not necessarily the most comfortable place to nap on campus, but it gets some points for creativity.

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The American history professor with a German accent Marie Schwarz, Managing Editor Emeritus

“In the beginning [students] think it’s hilarious that a German is teaching them their own history.” -D. Karl Voss, Professor of History at Meramec

“In the beginning [students] think it’s hilarious that a German is teaching them their own history,” Voss said. “In the end, they always come to me and say ‘It’s really interesting because you have a little bit [of a] different perspective on things. You see it from an outsider perspective.’” Voss said he is not emotionally involved, but loves the topic. “I’m not getting upset; I don’t argue about [political developments throughout history], I just want to know why,” he said. Voss has taught in several countries like England, China and Vietnam. He spent his last year in Germany at the Humboldt University in Berlin to study African History and Asian History.

RIDE WIT’ ME

photo provided by: D. Karl Voss

His students always rolled their eyes in American History when he asked: “Do you notice something funny about me — the way I talk?” Students nodded their heads. “I’m not from St. Louis. I’m from Oklahoma,” he said. And his students yelled, “Whaaaat?!” He continued: “Nah, I’m really from Germany.” Professor D. Karl Voss wrote his dissertation on American History at the University of Oklahoma because his cousin said to him: “Do it in America. It makes no sense to be in Germany for that.” That was in 1993. Over 20 years later, he’s still in the United States. He has taught several classes at Meramec since 2002. One of them is American History. “I am a teacher of American History with a German accent,” he said. But it’s not only his accent that makes this class special.

Voss takes selfie during a lecture in Germany. SABBATH YEAR IN GERMANY

While in Germany, Voss also gives lectures. His best visited are the ones about Trump. “I’m giving all the times lectures about Trump,” Voss said. “People ask me [about Trump] since he was elected.” Trump was elected at 6 a.m. German time. A radio station called Voss and asked: “Dr. Voss, what do you think about the election?” And ever since, Trump made his life in Germany, Voss said. “I’m invited to radio stations and newspaper interviews, and so I’m giving a lot of lectures about Trump; who he is, where he comes from, and of course what should Germans think of all of this.” Despite his little fame as a Trump expert in Germany, most of the time he is studying. “I have a blast here being a student again,” he said. “It’s Sunday afternoon, the sun is shining, blue skies, and I’m sitting down and do my readings for my African History class. I love it, and it’s a privilege.” Voss will be back in St. Louis for the fall semester. And in spring 2018, he will start teaching an African History class.

RIDING A BICYCLE

Once Voss is back at Meramec, he will spend approximately three hours on his bicycle on a school day. He lives in Central West End and rides his bicycle to work. “It’s not as intense as if you go on a country road,” he said. “It’s slow, and a lot of stop and

“When people ask me why I studied American History — it’s not boring. That’s the great thing. It’s not like Swiss history, which is boring as hell.” -D. Karl Voss, Professor of History at Meramec go ... It’s also mental preparation because you can think about what you’re doing in class. And when you come back you think about what you want to do in the evening. … It’s a great way to get body and soul together.” And if it is too hot, he will still ride his bicycle but will take a break at a coffee shop.

INTEREST IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Young Voss had American friends and an American professor in Germany that inspired him to study American History. “When people ask me why I studied American History — It’s not boring,” Voss said. “That’s the great thing. It’s not like Swiss history, which is boring as hell.” American History is exciting with a lot of beauty but also a lot of ugliness, Voss said. It is like a movie. “Don’t count on the happy ending — it can be all kinds of things,” he said.

Theater schedule 2017/2018 Stephen Buechter, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTE’S WEB Every summer, a play takes place at campus. The play “Charlotte’s Web” is based on the E. B. White medal-winning classic novel. The play was written by Joseph Robinette, and was directed at Meramec by Theater Professor Michelle Rebollo.

graphic by: Marie Schwarz

The St. Louis Community College Meramec theater has a lineup of five free plays scheduled over the next year. The plays include “Charlotte’s Web,” “Fifth of July,” “Middletown,” the world premier of a new play, and “Avenue Q.”

“[Charlotte’s Web] has many of the familiar characters, and I wanted young audiences to be introduced to it in a theatrical way.” -Michelle Rebollo, Theater Professor “I picked Charlotte’s Web as I loved the story as a youth and also there was a good adaptation of it for the stage,” Rebollo said. “It has many of the familiar characters and I wanted young audiences to be introduced to it in a theatrical way.” Rebollo’s favorite part when reading the book was when Charlotte would spell out different names to describe Wilbur the pig in her web. The play showed between June 19 and 21. FIFTH OF JULY The second play of the new school year, “Fifth of July,” will play in the fall, from October 4 to October 8. Auditions will take place on August 23 and 24 at 7 p.m. The play was written by Lanford Wilson and will be directed by theater Professor Keith Oliver. An article by Frank Rich with the New York Times stated that the play’s plot is a comedy of a man attempting “to sell his family homestead to a pair of visiting friends from his old college days at Berkeley.” The play also features elements exploring the relationships of characters in-depth, although not to a degree that erases its comedy aspect.

MIDDLETOWN The third play, “Middletown,” was written by Will Eno. It will be directed by Production Assistant Tricia Duffin of Meramec, and will show in the winter, running from November 15 to November 19. The play, according to a review by Charles Isherwood with the New York Times, is based on everyday lives of the titular town’s citizens, with bits and pieces of philosophy discussed between them. PLAY BY PAM GARVEY The fourth is a world premier of a new play written by Pam Garvey, and will also be directed by Keith Oliver, being shown between February 14 and February 18. Garvey is a professor at Meramec, and has directed and premiered other plays which debuted in the theater on campus, such as “Leda and the Officers.”

AVENUE Q The last play of the year will be the comedy musical “Avenue Q,” which will be directed by Michelle Rebollo with musical direction from Dr. Jerry Myers. The play features a small cast, with many of the parts being played by puppets. However, despite the use of puppets, the play contains far more mature themes than an episode of something like Sesame Street. “Avenue Q” was originally written by Jeff Whitty with music and lyrics provided by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez. The plays this year provide variety in storylines and types of play, with two comedies and two plays which are not comedies, and a new play in the mixture to look forwards to for curious viewers. The plays will show throughout the year, with two per semester plus the summer play. The lineup is likely to have something for everyone, and admission is free for both students and non-students.

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Best places to eat around Meramec Melissa Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief photos by: Amanda Harris

Grab and go Just have a small timeframe in between classes? Here are some fast food options! Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market 1018 N Kirkwood Rd.

Organic salad bar, prepackaged entrees and snacks. Try the fresh squeezed juices!

Sonic Drive-In

1002 S Kirkwood Rd

Nathaniel Reid Bakery 11243 Manchester Rd.

Home of the best croissants in St. Louis. Pastries, sandwiches, and quiche.

Chipotle Mexican Grill 1255 S Kirkwood Rd

Chick-Fil-A

10706 Sunset Hills Plaza

Stay a while Got a minute? Stop for lunch at one of these places! Dewey’s Pizza

124 N Kirkwood Rd.

An iconic midwest brand. Often touted as the best pizza in St. Louis.

Cafe Provencal

427 S Kirkwood Rd.

Chili’s Grill and Bar 1130 S Kirkwood Rd.

5 Star Burgers

312 S Kirkwood Rd.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries 1500 S Kirkwood Rd.

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Toot your own horn So you’ve graduated. Now what? The world outside Meramec might seem scary, but this section contains helpful tips, tricks and templates to help you get started on your journey. Whether it’s writing your first resume, finding a full-time job or just transferring to a four-year university, put aside some time to prepare for your big debut. Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t be afraid to acknowledge your own accomplishments. You’ve come a long way so congratulate yourself, take a deep breath and start planning your tour on the road of life.

Graphic by: Noah Sliney

How to write a cover letter Andrew Ameer, Staff Writer

June 13th, 2017 Mr. Ray Scott Regional General Manager, Super Good Foods, Inc. 1234 XYZ Blvd, Suite 308 Saint Louis, MO 63143 Dear Mr. Scott, I am writing to express interest in the District Manager position your company has open in the St. Louis area. I have been working as a manager in the retail industry for several years, and have recently completed my studies in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management.

After gaining invaluable experience at several of the regions prominent retailers over the past few years, I am now looking to join a company which I consider a good fit for me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve watched your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth over the years as it expands westward across the United States, and with my strong and diverse background in grocery/retail operations I believe I will be an invaluable asset to your team. It would be a privilege to be considered for the open position on your team. Please find a resume detailing my education and work history attached to this letter. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Andrew Ameer 4321 ZYX Rd. Saint Louis, MO 63126

1 2

Address the letter to the individual by name. Include their full title, the organization to which they belong, and their full address. Open with a message of intent. Include why you are writing and a summary of your qualifications.

Explain why you are interested in joining the company and why the company would benefit from hiring you.

Close with a thank you and include your name and contact information.

28 TOOT YOUR OWN HORN

MEGAN MONTAGE writer, editor, journalist

EDUCATION

St. Louis Community College Meramec Campus General Transfer Studies Fall 2016 - present

SKILLS

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Premiere Adobe Audition DSLR Cameras Google Sites Microsoft Office Suite Windows 10

PROFICIENCIES

AP Style Editorial Writing Feature Writing Multimedia News Writing Photography Research/Fact Checking

REFERENCES

Shannon Philpott-Sanders Montage Adviser (314) 555-1233 sphilpott@stlcc.edu Harold Louis Hourly Herald Editor (314) 555-2345 hlouis@herald.com Margaret Rita Manager, Fill-Her-Up (314) 555-3456 mrita@fillherup.com

linkedin.com/in/meganmontage mmontage@my.stlcc.edu 314-555-1234

EXPERIENCE Megan’s Blog

Updated Weekly, Feb 2014 - present An opinion editorial that covers historical events and news. It also includes a great deal of my college experience. Topics range from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the Woodstock Music festival. As of now, the blog has 98 followers.

The Montage Student Newspaper

Editor-in-Chief, Aug 2015 - present I am the highest-ranking member of the newspaper staff and also the chief manager, responsible for seeing each issue through from planning to delivery, making sure issues appear on schedule, and for supervising the operations of the rest of the staff.

The Hourly Herald of St. Louis

News Writing Intern, Summer 2015 I was responsible for generating, assigning and editing content for assigned pages. I also assisted in the training of staff members working within the opinions section.

The Fill-Her-Up Bar and Grill

Waitress, Summer 2014 My part-time job required good management skills, working with others and excellent service and communication with customers. My reputation among the customers grew as I was complimented on my hospitality and service, which proved to be tough for me at the beginning.

Happy Face Elementary School

Assistant Handwriting Tutor, Summer 2014 I assisted in the development of elementary students’ handwriting and writing skills. I also assisted in the students’ learning and development of cursive, along with writing short stories.

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN 29

When an associate degree is enough Stephen Buechter, Staff Writer

Dental Hygienist

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $72,910 This job is very similar to a dentist’s, including tasks such as cleaning teeth and examining patients for oral diseases.

Broadcast Technician

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $38,550 Requires on the job training, but no prior experience. This job consists of maintenance and operation of broadcasting equipment for a radio or television broadcast.

graphic by: Jason Waters & Noah Sliney

For some students, continuing education after receiving their associate degree is an unrealistic goal. Whether that difficulty is due to financial restrictions, time constraints or otherwise, an advanced degree isn’t for everyone. The decision to enter the workforce with a two-year degree isn’t as limiting as society might have you believe. Possible career paths range a wide variety of fields, from broadcasting to dental hygiene. The information used in this article was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Preschool Teacher

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $28,790 Requires no training aside from any required professional development stated by school districts. Preschool teachers assist students in learning basic skills such as number and letter recognition. Other tasks include scheduling activities, lessons, and time for rest and play.

Medical Equipment Repair

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $48,070 Requires moderate-term on the job training to ensure that technical knowledge of medical equipment and treatment is up to date, but no prior experience.

Paralegal

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $49,500 Requires no training or prior work experience. Tasks include the organization of relevant files, performing research to prepare cases, and assisting in the writing of legal documents.

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Web Developer

Median Annual Salary in 2016 : $66,130 Requires no on the job training prior to accepting a position. The position consists of designing and ensuring the smooth operation of web pages created for clients or used within companies.

Earning a bachelor’s with planning and persistence Missy Arneson , Copy Editor Emeritus for work depended on the student’s field of choice. With fields like psychology, a bachelor’s degree is “pretty much a necessity,” since most jobs in the field need even more education than that. “[A bachelor’s] continues to increase opportunities,” Ritts said. She also said that more education makes students more marketable. Sometimes less education is a better choice, depending on the student’s field of choice, according to Clincy. “Sometimes students will have an associate’s degree, but in having the associate’s degree, they’ve gained so much knowledge and certifications that they’ve put them at the same level as somebody who maybe has a bachelor’s degree,” Clincy said. “So pursuing that bachelor’s degree at that time may not be as prevalent.” Some jobs may require only an associate

require more education than others. Clincy’s advice to students is to research their field and how much education they’ll need as well as speaking with an academic advisor to plan their educational path. “I would say it depends on the area, and what certificate they’re pursuing,” Clincy said. “I think that one of the things that students need to really be concerned with is some type of degree completion.” Meramec psychology professor Dr. Vicki Ritts said that the level of education required

degree or a certificate. Clincy recommended speaking with an advisor to figure out goals and career paths. “It really depends on what the student wants to do and where their interests lie,” Clincy said. “We can go from everything, from being an electrician to being an electrical engineer. We can look at all of those avenues and have that discussion, because sometimes, especially for first-time, new-to-college students, they may not know exactly where they fall in

graphic by: Jordan Morris

The average cost of college at a public university for in-state students is about $24,000 per year, according to collegedata.com. Depending on how long students stay at St. Louis Community College before transferring, a bachelor’s degree could cost between $48,000 and $96,000. A bachelor’s degree isn’t just expensive; it takes lots of time and hard work. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 45 percent of part-time college students between the ages of 16 and 24 worked at least 35 hours per week as of 2005. This extra burden cuts down on the time students have to study and complete assignments. Knowing this, is a bachelor’s degree worth all of the time, effort, and money students put into earning one? “Yes,” academic adviser Mysha Clincy said. Some fields, such as law or science, may

that whole realm.” Clincy said the biggest indicators of success in earning degrees are planning and persistence.

“Having that persistence, that grit, to say, ‘regardless of what it looks like,’ and changing that mindset to say, ‘okay, I can do this.’”

-Mysha Clincy, academic adviser

“I think those two things are important because with a plan, regardless of what obstacles or barriers come, even if I have to stop for a minute, I can always look back at what I’ve accomplished, and then look at where I need to go,” Clincy said. “That plan is key.” The other thing Clincy said students need is persistence. “A lot of times, students see barriers as setbacks,” Clincy said. “The ability to persist, in spite of what the barriers are, the situation looks like … being able to say, ‘okay, this is what I need to do to get to the next point.’ Having that persistence, that grit, to say, ‘regardless of what it looks like,’ and changing that mindset to say, ‘okay, I can do this.’” The most successful students Ritts met were motivated and determined to keep at it. Sometimes, learning is good just for learning’s sake. “For me, it’s everything,” Clincy said. “I tell students, ‘if you get engaged in the process,’ because a lot of times students are so immediate. ‘I just want to come and I want to take classes and I want to leave…’ Once students get engaged in the learning process, and understand that it’s more than just sitting in class … it’s about being engaged in the community, the college community, the Kirkwood community, the St. Louis Community; it’s about engagement, then learning becomes fun.”

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Where to find an internship after Meramec Katie Hayes, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

LinkedIn.com is for students too LinkedIn is necessary for most professionals because it is essentially an online resume. It's relatively easy to set up a profile. Users can — and should — add a profile picture, headline, summary of their experience, previous positions they held and their skills. LinkedIn is useful for connecting with other students and previous bosses. It also lets users see who their connections know. Something to remember when browsing LinkedIn is that it tells other users who have viewed their profile, unless the person searching switches to private mode. Once the profile is set up, LinkedIn also lets users set job preferences — such as location, size of the company, type of industry — and recommends jobs based on previous searches and users' skills and interests. Users can also Screenshot taken from LinkedIn.com save these jobs and return to them later.

Internships.com lists internships and entry-level jobs Internships.com allows students to search for jobs in specific areas by their major. Some majors return more results than others, so it's alright for users to try searching majors that are closely related to their own. Users can search for internships, entry-level jobs, student jobs or all three. In addition, the site also allows users to search for paid or unpaid positions as well as part-time or full-time positions. Most of the listings have a brief description of the position, responsibilities within the position and the requirements to apply. Users can set up a profile on Internships.com for free and apply through the site. Similarly to LinkedIn, users may save positions and return to them later.

Careeronestop.org has job listings galore Careeronestop is a great resource for students to explore career possibilities and look at state as well as national trends for each career. When visitors click the "Explore Careers" option, they can type in any career they may be considering and the state they want to work in. The next page shows the projected employment for that career in the selected state and in the nation. It also shows the education level and salary range of the people who work in that field. Most importantly for people who want to explore careers, this page also shows the skills and abilities people in that career need to do well. When it comes to finding places for students to apply, careeronestop has job listings under the "Job Search" tab. Visitors can type their Screenshot taken from careeronestop.com career and the state they wish to work in.

32 TOOT YOUR OWN HORN

Screenshot taken from internships.com

Start out right @ your library  Get research help.  Find a book.  Study alone or with a group.  Check out a movie.  Use a computer. Questions? Stop in, call, email or text the Meramec Library https://www.stlcc.edu/libraries Research Help: 314-984-7613 Text: 314-888-5ASK (314-888-5275) Email: mcreference@stlcc.edu

Upgrade your research skills with a library credit course! LIB 101 - Introduction to Library and Online Research In this one-credit course, you’ll learn how to find, evaluate, and cite information from a variety of resources, including the Internet, online databases, and the library catalog.

Archers can shoot for the stars Sean E. Thomas, News Editor Emeritus

“If you want to use this as your stepping stone you have to make it that for yourself. You have to say, ‘this institution is going to be my stepping stone and I’m going to manipulate my environment such that I end up where I want to be.” -Joe Gorman, Former student

“Go to the advising office…and ask them about ‘everything this campus can do for me,’ and beyond that you better be willing to go home and do something for yourself,” Gorman said. “If you want to use this as your stepping stone you have to make it that for yourself. You have to say, ‘this institution is going to be my stepping stone and I’m going to manipulate my environment such that I end up where I want to be.’” Thomas Foxworthy is a recent graduate of STLCC’s honors program, a member of PTK, and received a two year scholarship to WashU. Foxworthy was also accepted to the School of General Studies at Columbia University before deciding to attend WashU in the fall. “One of my personal mantras that’s become fairly important is realists rarely realize dreams,” Foxworthy said. “A lot of times, realism and pragmatism are our own insecurities or self-doubt. You have to be

34 TOOT YOUR OWN HORN

willing to believe in yourself before you’re going to convince anyone else. My philosophy was I was going to make them tell me no. There are a lot of people who just don’t take those chances. If I would have told somebody three years ago the universities that [I applied to] this year, they would have laughed me out of the room, but you have to be a little unrealistic about it.” A New Century Scholar, former President of Student Government Council at STLCC and a member of PTK, Kyle Luzynski stressed the importance of selecting a demanding course schedule as well as involvement in extracurricular activities while at STLCC to

while here. “Protect your GPA and take challenging classes but really work hard and take it seriously,” Foxworthy said. “It doesn’t hurt to look up your professors beforehand, though most professors, especially at [STLCC] are pretty awesome.” Foxworthy is also a first-generation college student and had some advice specific to others like him. “Engage with your professors after class and in between,” Foxworthy said. “That is something I had no idea about. I really only found out about it at the end of my first year, how important it was, but you’ll really

photo by: Sean E. Thomas

For many students, attending St. Louis Community College is just the first in a few steps towards receiving their bachelor’s degree. While contemplating where one might like to transfer after their time at STLCC, Archers should know that they can aim high for some of the most prestigious schools in the country while making that decision. Joe Gorman, former vice president of leadership for Phi Theta Kappa, recent honors graduate and recipient of the Danforth Scholarship to Washington University, offered some advice for students who aspire to transfer to a more challenging university after leaving STLCC.

Joe Gorman, winner of the Danforth Scholarship to WashU. make yourself more desirable to universities come transfer time. “The same advice that you heard in high school applies to college. You must push yourself to take the most rigorous classes possible, and do well in them, to truly stand out when applying to four-year universities,” Luzynski said. “If you wish to go to a top tier university you can’t get there on grades alone … you need to distinguish yourself in other ways. You need to be an excellent student not only in the classroom but also outside the classroom.” Foxworthy also mentioned the importance of a challenging course load and recommended that students at STLCC take advantage of some of the exceptional professors students have at their disposal

need those connections for your letters of recommendation. These professors have more than just their instrumental value in that they can provide amazing mentorship and guidance on the places that you’re applying to.” Gorman said that although STLCC was not designed with the intention of sending students to Ivy League level universities, it can fulfill that role for those students who aspire to transfer to a school of that caliber. “At the end of the day when I realized that what I wanted to do was possible but that that wasn’t the point of being here (STLCC), it just becomes how can you engineer it so that it is,” Gorman said. “There are absolutely fantastic people here that can help, you just have to find them. You have to be a ‘seeker.’”

Basic transfer information for local and top-tier universities Many students who enroll at Meramec do so with the intention of transferring to a four-year university. To cater to these students, STLCC offers four tracks of study so that students can receive their associate degree while planning to transfer. Each track is unique and specially designed to prepare students for transfer depending on the type of bachelor’s degree they’re aiming for or the institution they hope to attend. This information, as well as additional details involving the transfer process, can be found on the STLCC website.

Associate in Arts

Designed for students who plan to transfer to another college and work toward a bachelor’s degree.

Associate in Science

Designed for students to transfer to a particular institution in a specialized area.

Associate in Fine Arts

Designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college art program and earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Associate of Arts in Teaching

For students who are interested in teaching as a career, and for those who want to acquire a strong foundation of educational concepts and skills before transferring to a four-year college program.

graphic by: Jordan Morris

Sean E. Thomas, News Editor Emeritus • $80 application fee or waiver • The Academic Report, College Report, and MidTerm Report • Official copies of college and high school transcripts • The CSS PROFILE, the FAFSA, and any additional required documentation for financial aid • College-specific admissions requirements • It was taken at an accredited college or university. • It is an academic class consistent with the General Studies curriculum. • A grade of “C” or higher and is documented by an official transcript. • It is not a “mini” or intersession course • The course was not taken after the student matriculated at the School of General Studies.

• Have at least one year’s worth of transferable postsecondary work upon entrance to Yale College. • Transfer students may enroll at sophomore or junior standing. • Yale will not accept 2 years of transferable credit • Does not accept transfer applicants who already hold a bachelor’s degree.

• Application Fee of $75 or a Fee Waiver • Common Application Transfer Application • Questions including our essays, are found in the Common Application section labeled “Questions” • Official copy of your current college transcript – including grades from your fall 2016 semester work and a list of your current course enrollments. • Mid Term Reports

For students currently enrolled at STLCC, transfer guides can be found on the college’s website for universities in the area. These transfer guides outline which courses can be taken at STLCC that will fulfill transfer credit requirements for those universities. Some of the universities featured on the site offer lists showing what STLCC courses are considered

to be equivalent to some of their own courses in that same discipline. To find this information visit the STLCC website at STLCC.edu, go to the “Enroll Now” tab and click on “Develop an Academic Plan.” Once there, click on the link “Transfer Information.” There you will find “Transfer Guides” and a “Transfer Planning Workbook.”

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN 35

Steps to starting your own business Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, but as with most things, it can be tackled one step at a time. Here are a few things to know before starting. Step One: Do your Research Figure out everything about your business. This should include general information such as what products or services you will be offering, as well as detailed information such as business model and pricing.

graphics by: Ian Schrauth

Ian Schrauth, Online Editor

Step Two: Make a Business Plan A business plan is a blueprint of what you want your business to become. It should incorporate a mission statement, or general goal for your business, how you will achieve that goal and what you will require to achieve it. It may also include background information on your business team or your unique qualifications for running a business. It helps to analyze your customer base here; who are your customers, why do they want to buy your product and where/how will you find them?

loans and select the one that seems right for your business. This is also where your business plan comes in; most agencies will only give you a loan if your plan is sound.

Step Three: Figure out Financing Unless you’re independently wealthy or have received investment money from someone who is, chances are you’ll need to finance your business yourself. There are many options for financing including government loans, bank loans, and even crowdfunding. Research different kinds of

Step Four: Location, Location, Location Hopefully by now you’ve thought about the sort of location that would suit your business. This can range from a workshop in your living room to a physical location in a local shopping mall, or perhaps even a factory. No matter the scale, you’ll need somewhere to operate, store supplies

and interact with customers. Once you’ve decided what you need, start looking around for options. Remember to factor rent into your expenses, and don’t pick somewhere that will bleed you dry. Similarly, don’t select a bad location just because it’s cheap. Choose something with an acceptable price in a place that will attract your customer base. Step Five: Paperwork You need to register your business with the government. This includes licenses, selling permits and copyrighting your name. You’ll also need to register for state, local and federal taxes and various forms of insurance. Make sure you do plenty of research before attempting this, as all those forms can get confusing. The process is different for each business and state, and information for registering your particular business is available on your state’s website. Step Six: Networking Start thinking about people. Determine the profile of your perfect employee and write up an employment contract. Start conducting interviews and hire a staff you can trust. Now is also the time to figure out where you are going to get your supplies. Most suppliers offer discounts for bulk orders, and if you become a frequent and reliable customer you can form a lasting business relationship that will benefit you in the long run.

36 TOOT YOUR OWN HORN

Step Seven: Promote your Business Once you have everything in place, the final step is to bring customers to you. This step should begin before the business opens to create hype for your business. Consider radio stations, television commercials, flyers, posters, social media and word of mouth. Also make sure to print up plenty of business cards and promotional materials. Spread word of your new business wherever you go, and make sure people know about it.

I’m starting a business!

Start thinking about people. Determine the profile of your perfect employee and write up an employment contract. Start conducting interviews and hire a staff you can trust.

As with all good things, creating a business takes time. Don’t rush the process. Spend the necessary time to fulfill all steps completely, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Visit the Small Business Administration website (sba.gov) for more detailed information about how to start your business. Good luck!

Here are some additional resources: business.usa.gov irs.gov sos.mo.gov businessnewsdaily.com inc.com/guides fitsmallbusiness.com

Tips 1.

Before you begin, do a proper analysis of your environment. If there’s no demand for your product or service in the area you serve, your business won’t be stable. Consider catering to a specific need in your area.

Don’t skimp on design. Professional graphic designers aren’t cheap, but you want your packaging and advertising to look good. People are more likely to buy things with snappy designs, so if you can’t design it yourself, consider hiring a professional.

Most businesses aren’t profitable immediately. Many take months or even years to turn profits. Don’t be discouraged if it’s taking a while. So long as you have positive cash flow coming in, you’re well on your way to making money.

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN 37

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The Montage

We know words. We have the best words.

Looking back As this school year ends and another begins, we look back at the past year at Meramec. This year was an election year so politics were a hot topic on campus. Several fantastic plays were performed that addressed racism and bullying. Sports teams also had a lot of success in the regular and postseason. Most notably the women’s basketball team got its kicks in its highest finish ever at the national tournament. Overall Meramec had a pretty “goode” year.

Graphic by: Noah Sliney

Now Hiring! Hiring pros: Source Sans Pros. Hiring someone new: Courier New. Hiring someone bold: Century Gothic Bold. If you know how to write right (and you know what was wrong with that statement), come edit for us.

m We can picture you working for us as a photographer. We are very font of the idea of you designing for us.

If you laughed at this ad, you should probably already be working for us.

The Montage

If interested in a position with The Montage, please contact Shannon Philpott-Sanders at sphilpott@stlcc.edu.

Student activity highlights from last year Amanda Harris, Photo Editor

photo by: Sean E. Thomas

At the end of April 2017, for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, The Clothesline Project supplied shirts on campus for women to write their story on. A bell would be rung throughout the day to signify a woman being attacked somewhere in the world.

photo by: Amanda Harris

Opening day of the Veteran Resource Center took place on Jan. 31, 2017 in SC 196. The community composed a list of “thank yous” to military personal on a giant poster.

Students and local children “thriller” to the DJ’s tunes at Trunk-or-Treat on Oct. 25, 2016. Clubs came together to hand out candy and play games with the kids.

photos by: Ian Schrauth

Aman Ali, a Muslim comedian and storyteller, visited Meramec on Nov. 29, 2016. He discussed that he would rather do something about the media instead of whining about it.

LOOKING BACK 41

‘Around and Around’ St. Louis politics

& looking ‘Back in the USA’

Sean E. Thomas, News Editor Emeritus & Katie Hayes, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Eric Greitens became Gov. in Mo. Eric Greitens was elected Governor of Missouri on Nov. 8, 2016 and took office on Jan. 9 of this year. Greitens’ win gave the Republican Party control of the governor’s mansion and both the state House and Senate. Campaigning on a platform of ethics reform, Greitens’ first executive order as governor of Missouri banned state employees in his administration from accepting gifts from lobbyists and prohibiting members of his staff from working as a lobbyist until after Greitens leaves office. Soon after

taking office, Greitens cut $146 million dollars from the Missouri budget, $82 million of which came from higher education. Greitens has also passed bills in Missouri making it more difficult for workers to sue employers for discrimination, raising the standards for vetting witnesses and limiting the amount of money given to cover medical costs in injury lawsuits and, most recently, a right to work law banning mandatory union fees.

Lyda Krewson was elected Mayor of St. Louis Lyda Krewson won the St. Louis mayoral election on April 4, 2017 making her the first woman to ever hold the office. She replaced Francis Slay who, after four consecutive terms as Mayor of St. Louis decided to not pursue a fifth term in 2017. Krewson won her first election to public office when she was elected to the Board of Aldermen shortly after witnessing the shooting of her husband during a carjacking in the Central West End where Krewson and her family lived at the time. Krewson and her two children were in the backseat when her husband was fatally shot. While alderwoman she was instrumental in

42 LOOKING BACK

the dramatic increase in development that’s taken place in the Central West End and took lead in the passing of the city’s smoking ban. She recently worked with St. Louis County to begin a joint prescription drug monitoring program to help combat the growing opioid problem. Krewson campaigned on a platform of public safety, a topic that is becoming increasingly important in the city of St. Louis following two years with 188 homicides apiece. Krewson hopes to add 200 additional officers to the police force in the city and to implement a pay raise for those officers currently serving.

MLS Stadium defeated On April 4, 2017 the City of St. Louis voted against Proposition 2 which would have made $60 million dollars in St. Louis tax revenue available for the building of a Major League Soccer stadium in St. Louis. The Proposition failed with 53 percent voting against. Proposition 1, however, did pass. Without the passing of Proposition 1, which raised the cities sales tax and triggered the use tax, money from which would have been designated for the building of the stadium, Proposition 2 would not have been able to be implemented even if successful. With Proposition 1 passing the sales tax in the city of St. Louis will still increase by a half percent and the use tax has still been triggered but now that money will go directly to the city with much of it going towards the building of a North-South MetroLink expansion. Both the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested that if St. Louis City could have collaborated with St. Louis County and Illinois, city residents would have been more interested in paying a higher tax to support the funding for an MLS stadium.

Nearly every media outlet mispredicted the presidential election results Almost all of the pollsters and analysts predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election, and struggled to explain their mistake after the polls closed. Politico said the miscalculation may have been that many surveys did not sample enough non-college-educated whites and that there was too much emphasis on an increasingly diverse voting demographic in the U.S.

Trump fired the F.B.I. Director President Trump fired F.B.I. Director James Comey, who was investigating Russia’s tampering with the U.S. election and its ties to the Trump administration. Days before he was fired, Comey requested more resources for his investigation. Trump threatened Comey on Twitter if he leaked anything about the president.

Protests broke out across the nation (and world) There were several major protests that took place after Trump’s inauguration. The Women’s March, which was the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States, took place on Saturday, Jan. 21—the day following the inauguration. The Washington Post counted 653 marches in the U.S. and at least 261 marches that took place abroad. It is estimated that

5 million people marched worldwide. Twenty thousand marched in St. Louis. The airport protests took place a week later when Trump issued Executive Order 13769—commonly referred to as the travel ban—which barred refugees for 120 days and citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

photo by: Katie Hayes

LOOKING BACK 43

photos by: Amanda Harris

Kalen Riley (portraying Monty) and Carrie Priesmeyer (portraying Violet) commute to North Carolina to visit a televised church in “Violet.”

Emma Potts (portraying wife), David Bryan (portraying son), and Scarlett O’Shaughnessy (portraying daughter) rage at Dennis Allen (portraying husband) in the first act, at the Director’s Showcase.

Social disarray in last year’s plays DJ McGuire, Sports Editor Emeritus & Amanda Harris, Photo Editor At St Louis Community College Meramec, the Theatre department put on many productions this year. The first was a play called “Noises Off”. “Noises Off” is a slapstick comedy that focused on love affairs, fights and sardines. The play was written by Michael Frayn and was directed by Theatre Professor Keith Oliver. The second production was a musical by the name of “Violet”. “Violet” was based on a woman that was in search of having her scar healed and headed to a church that she saw on TV. When she arrived the church could not heal her and that the church was a big TV scam. “Violet was originally written by Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori. The play was directed by Michelle Rebollo, who is a director and is part of the theatre faculty. The third production was a play called “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.” The play was originally written by Bert V. Royal and was directed again by Oliver. “Dog sees God” focuses on an alternate version Charlie Brown and his friends when they are older and in high school. It contains

44 LOOKING BACK

‘Noises Off’ is a slapstick comedy that focused on love affairs, fights and sardines.

themes of homosexualtiy, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse and bullying. The fourth production was a play called “Spinning into Butter”. This play was originally written by Rebecca Gilman, and was also directed by Rebollo. “Spinning into Butter” featured themes of racial inequality and the internal battle people have with racism. The last production was the director’s showcase. It featured seven student directors, who are also students at STLCC Meramec. The plays ranged in types from comedy to controversial drama.

Brigit Carmody (portraying CB’s sister) makes a move on Stephen Henley (portraying Beethoven) while performing in “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.”

Donna Werner (portraying Dean Kenney) and Madeline Finn (portraying Dean Daniels) quarrel about resolutions to racial inequality at Belmont College during the play “Spinning Into Butter.”

photo by: Amanda Harris photo by: Ashley Biundo

The Archers Men’s Soccer ranked seventh in the nation for NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer. They finished with a 18-1-2 record, and won the Region XVI Final. They ended up losing to Parkland College, the number four team in the nation, in the District Championship 3-1. Freshman Forward No. 10 Chidera Ude led the team in goals with 12. The Archers Men’s Basketball had a great season and finished with 21-14 record and won both their regional and district championships. This allowed them to advance to the National Tournament in Arkansas where they lost both of their games. The team was led largely by Sophomore guard No. 2 Sean Rigmaiden who had season averages of 17.0 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 2.6 assists per game. The Archers Baseball finished with a 22-20 record and won their Region 16 Sub regional against North Central College. The team then lost its next two games in the postseason tournament. The Lady Archers Softball team finished with 38-10 record but lost their Region 16 Championship against Cottey College. The team was ranked 15th in the nation for NJCAA Division II Softball. Sophomore outfielder No. 11 Madison Sundling led the offense and had a batting average of .486, hit nine home-runs and had 61 Runs batted in.

photo by: Ashley Biundo

Archers Men’s Soccer ranked seventh in the nation.

photo by: Ashley Biundo

Sports teams this year at Meramec had largely successful seasons. Several Archer and Lady Archers teams went to the postseason and had deep runs in their tournaments. The Lady Archers volleyball team finished with a 5-23 record under new head Geoff Davis. They lost in the regionals 3-0 to Wentworth Military Academy. The Lady Archers Women’s Soccer team had a record of 6-8-3. The team was largely powered by sophomore, goalkeeper No. 1 Amanda Hughes who had five shutouts. The Lady Archers won their play-in playoff game, but lost in Region XVI Semi Final 4-0 against MCC Blue River.

photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

DJ McGuire, Sports Editor Emeritus

photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

Archers sports: last season in review

Top left: Jack Kane, Left middle: Michael Maldonado, Bottom left: Alyssa Reiker, Top right: Miles Nettles, Right middle: Kyla Blankenship, Bottom Right: Maura Raybun

LOOKING BACK 45

Meramec hosts its first Special Olympics Saturday, April 29th 2017 was a historic day for St. Louis Community College, as the Special Olympics of Missouri was held on the Meramec Campus. Despite rainy weather, athletes converged from all over the St. Louis metro area, including Jefferson and Franklin counties. Also attending the event were friends, relatives and hundreds of volunteers, none of which let the rain dampen their mood. The opening ceremonies featured a performance in the gymnasium by the Special Olympics Dance Team. Joseph Niemeyer followed with a rendition of the national anthem, which he said felt “really good” to sing in front of a large audience. Also present during the national anthem were members of the Knights of Columbus. Although many planned events were cancelled due to rain, several were moved into the gym, including wheelchair races, assisted walks, relay races and sprints. Campus Provost Carol Lupardus particularly enjoyed the joy present on the faces of athletes during the event. “I think it’s fantastic,” she said. “We are very lucky to be hosting the Special Olympics today.” Lisa, a volunteer who has been working with the Special Olympics for over 15 years, praised the variety of events. “That’s the thing about the Special Olympics – there’s something for everyone,” Lisa said. In addition to civilian volunteers, dozens of police representatives were at

46 LOOKING BACK

photos by: Amanda Harris

Melissa Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief

Left: Athlete Ray sits on Staff Writer Andrew Ameer’s lap during an interview about the Special Olympics. Right: Athlete Michael Paul receives a medal.

“Overall, I think our mission was accomplished. We had a great event and built the self-confidence and courage [of] our athletes.” —Amber Young, Special Olympics Organizer

the event to award medals to athletes. Sgt. Mark Koeller with the St. Louis County police department coordinated police activity at the event.

“It’s great for the officers,” said Koeller, who has been involved in the Special Olympics for 17 years. “It gets them some volunteering time, and the athletes love them.” Even lunch was a festive event, as athletes and volunteers were treated to a live band performance. Free health screenings were also offered. Generally about 400 athletes and 700 volunteers participate in the event each year, according to Amber Young, who plans and organizes Special Olympic events. “Overall, I think our mission was accomplished. We had a great event and built the self-confidence and courage [of] our athletes,” Young said.

A look back at some of our favorite Humans of Meramec from the past year

Humans of Meramec

“[Journaling] was instilled in me when my mother homeschooled me during the summer. First I hated it, then I’m like ‘This is pretty fun!” -Dennis Allen on his interest in journaling

Photo by Amanda Harris

“I enjoy cartooning, realistic drawing, painting, design, photography, photoshop, printmaking – I’ve done a wide spectrum of things. I went around Meramec and filmed different textures, but then I also had somewhat of a plot where I was a character that was afraid of texture kind of running away. What’s intriguing about that is that there is texture everywhere so this person is constantly freaking out.” -Edward Ellerman on his artistic endeavors Photo by Erik Muschinske

Photo by Amanda Harris

“I remember watching the movie ‘You Got Served’ and I was into that. And then I saw ‘Jabberwocky,’ and that’s what sparked up my motivation to become a dancer. I get to be in my own world ... Lately I’ve been meeting a lot of other dancers who show me how to get in tune with the music. It just feels amazing.” -Kenny Nguyen on his passion for dancing

LOOKING BACK 47

STLCC grad receives full scholarship to Webster Katie Hayes, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Aathif Shamail speaks quickly and his pace of life matches his words. While at STLCC, Shamail was the president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), vice president of the Business Club, vice president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK), vice president of Entrepreneurship Club and the treasurer for Service Works Club. “I wanted to gain experience with leadership because I’m going into the business world,” Shamail said. Shamail’s father works in business as well. Shamail was born in Sri Lanka, but his family lived in Saudi Arabia for 15 years for his father’s

job. In 2014, Shamail came to the U.S. to live with his uncle and attend St. Louis Community College (STLCC). “Living with my uncle was a great help because at the beginning, it was a culture shock,” Shamail said. “You know, I came over from a very conservative country to a very, very free country. My uncle guided me to the first steps and it was because of my uncle that I got the scholarships. He pushed me to work hard and my family did the same, too. Without my uncle’s help, I think I would be lost.” Although Shamail knew English before he came to the U.S., he said the language photo by: Katie Hayes

barrier was the most difficult part of coming to the States. “It’s more indirect in America, more polite,” Shamail said. “People would think I’m rude, when I’m not really rude. It takes time, but you learn. Back home, they would say ‘move the chair.’ Here, they would say ‘would you please move the chair?’” Shamail said it took him roughly a year to adjust to U.S. culture. “I remember getting pulled over once and I went to the cop instead of the cop coming to me,” Shamail said. “He got out of the car and he was like ‘put your hands where I can see them’ and I was like ‘What is wrong with you? What did I do?’ And that’s because of the culture difference. Back home you go to the cop, but here the cop comes to you. But when he pulled me over, I just opened my door and walked towards him. Things like this, it just takes time to learn about them.”

“It’s more indirect in America, more polite. People would think I’m rude, when I’m not really rude. It takes time, but you learn. Back home, they would say ‘move the chair.’ Here, they would say ‘would you please move the chair?’” -Aathif Shamail, STLCC graduate

Aathif Shamail received the Dr. George Wang Recognition Scholarship, Honors Scholastic Award, Honors Program Graduate Medallion, Service Learning Award and the Economics Award at the 48th Annual Student Awards and Recognition Dinner in May. The banquet was held at Clayton Plaza Hotel to honor STLCC students for their achievements.

48 LOOKING BACK

Shamail graduated from STLCC in May 2017 with honors. He is receiving a full scholarship to Webster University and plans to study international business this fall. “Missing St. Louis Community College, it’s a hard change. I’ve been here three years, made friends. I know everybody here. It’s a huge change for me because I already left friends and left family and came [to the U.S.]. Then I met [people] here at St. Louis Community College and now I’m moving to another university. So it’s kind of tough, but that’s life. I have to move on.”

Top 4 changes at Meramec last year Katie Hayes, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

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STLCC funding took a big hit In January, less than a month after his inauguration, Gov. Eric Greitens cut nearly $12 million from Missouri community colleges’ core funding. St. Louis Community College (STLCC) weathered a $3.6 million cut for Fiscal Year 2017. STLCC anticipates another cut in funding for Fiscal Year 2018, which begins on July 1.

SLU Transfer made easier STLCC and St. Louis University (SLU) partnered together and launched 2 + SLU. This dual admissions program allows students to use SLU resources, such as the library and academic support, while they are still enrolled at STLCC. Advisers help students from the beginning of their collegiate career with selecting classes that will transfer to SLU.

Campus Police major changes Three high-ranking police chiefs were placed on administrative leave — 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. It never became clear why this administrative change took place. Retired Lt. Col. Alfred Adkins is serving as the interim director of public safety and emergency management.

Graduation Eased • STLCC eliminated the two credit hours of physical education previously required to earn an associate degree. There was a push to reduce the credit hours required to graduate from STLCC to 60 hours, instead of the previous 62 hours. Individual programs can still decide if they will require two credit hours of physical education. • Previously, students were required to take the CAAP Exit Examination before they could receive their diploma. The exam gauged what students retained and was impossible for students to fail. However, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Andrew Langrehr announced in a college-wide email in March that it is no longer a requirement. • Students who are dropped from courses for nonattendance now receive a full refund. These students also do not receive a “W” on their transcript. Previously, STLCC only refunded 80 percent of the course if a student was dropped for nonattendance.

LOOKING BACK 49

Lady Archers set high mark for basketball program DJ McGuire, Sports Editor Emeritus

50 LOOKING BACK

our offensive sets,” Davis said. Ethridge believed this point of the season the team really found themselves. “That’s when we truly found our niche, what people can and can’t do. The girls grasp the concept of ‘this is my role on the team’ and they really played their roles well,” Ethridge said. In the last quarter the season the Lady Archers made a deep playoff run, winning both the Region 16 and District P Championships, which let them advance to the NJCAA DII National Tournament. The National Tournament was held in Harrison Arkansas and the Lady Archers had a record of

Sportsmanship Award. Ethridge admitted she was extremely proud of her team winning this award. “That award is really one I am so proud of; That sportsmanship is awesome because it just tells you about what the STLCC basketball team is all about,” Ethridge said. “We’re teaching sportsmanship and leadership skills, we’re not just growing as players we’re growing as people.” Even with this incredible season many of the freshman look forward to next season. “We have some really good returners coming back next year, myself included, along with Chrishana,” Davis said.

photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

The Lady Archers women’s basketball team’s season could best be described as a similar to a typical Lady Archers game in the later portions of their season. In many games the team would have a slow first quarter, then a much better second quarter. The Lady Archers would then have a dominant third quarter followed by a strong fourth quarter. This game was typical of the Lady Archers during their 13 game win streak. At the beginning of the season the team had high goals for themselves. “Our goal was just to reach the national tournament,” Head Coach Shelly Ethridge said. Ethridge also knew her team had the talent to do it, but she knew they had a lot of work to do in order to achieve their goals. “I knew we had a lot of talent, it was just a matter of everybody progressing through the season like I thought they would and buying into our system; just a matter of when we were gonna gel as a family and that all seemed to happen [this season],” Ethridge said. In the first quarter of the season the Lady Archers did not start out strong, and Ethridge attributed to the lack of returning players. “We had a lot of freshman and a lot of freshman in important roles such as point guard and center, and with only two returners from our past season we were just trying to find our niche,” Ethridge said. Ethridge also attributed the team’s early struggles because of their strength of schedule. “We don’t play an easy schedule and we play a lot of Division I schools and we do that for a reason because it certainly prepares us to do what we accomplished this year and that was to go to the national tournament,” Ethridge said. In the second half of the season the Lady Archers started to hit their stride and it led to their 3rd quarter dominance. In this portion of the season the Lady Archers built and had a season-high 13 game winning streak. Both Elisha Davis, no. 3 freshman point guard and Chrishana Wilson, no. 21 freshman forward, agreed that the team really got locked in at this point of the season. “We just buckled down and concentrate[d]. We worked hard everyday to improve our defense and become better on

Shamiah Oliver shoots a free throw in a victory over Cottey College. 3-1 at the tournament. The Lady Archers won their first game, lost the second, but then won their next two, which won them the fifth place trophy at Nationals, which was the highest finish in program history. When asked about the playoff run Coach Ethridge said this in response: “It’s a lot of pressure; Every game got tougher, the preparation for the teams became a lot more difficult, this team did everything just perfect and i’m so proud of them.” However fifth place wasn’t the only award the team won at the National Tournament. The Lady Archers were also awarded the B.J. Graber Cox

Wilson, who also had many individual accolades such as first team NJCAA DII All American, agrees that the team will be even better next year. “We are looking forward to being better next year, we are actually looking forward to winning the national championship,” Wilson said. Ethridge also knows her team already has a lot of talent and experience. “The returners that we do have and the experience that they gained, that certainly is beneficial. If we get the right pieces to the puzzle in for next season as far as recruits go we should have another decent season.” Ethridge said.

2016-2017

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Art & Life:

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Meramec strives to train campus in basic first aid

Terry Cooper

A journey into psychology

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Former ITT students take advantage of Network Security

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Archers play at Busch Stadium

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Full story on page 2

History Professor Steven G. Collins talks anti-intellectualism

Going for the goal

Art & Life:

‘Theater is my thing’

Fencing Club star ts the semester with a jab

Environmental Health and Safety Specialist John Snider instructs Campus Police Officer Keith Robinson on chest compressions for hands-only CPR.

Fencing Club Adviser William McDevitt and Fencing Club President Matt Willerding explain the surges in fencing popularity, the discipline and how long it can take to become a skilled fencer.

Katie Hayes Editor-in-Chief

Environmental Health and Safety Specialist John Snider offered the American Heart Association General Community Facilitated Learning Course “CPR in Schools” on Friday, Sept. 16. Snider had offered 27 CPR/AED training sessions since National Safety Awareness Month in June as of Sept. 16. That same month, Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill which will require high school students to take 30 minutes of CPR training to graduate, beginning in the 2017-18 school year. “The class that we gave today is ‘CPR in Schools,” Snider

said. “It’s designed both for high schools and for colleges to give 30 minutes of practice of performing CPR to both comply with the statutes of the new laws that require CPR for graduation and also to get people familiar with performing CPR, because a lot of people will hesitate.” As of Sept. 16, 138 faculty and staff were trained this year through his office or traditional AED/CPR certification courses. “[I’m] trying to get each campus trained so they can give basic first aid until the paramedics get here,” Snider said. “Like I stress in all these classes, you are not a doctor, you need to call 911. The intent is to call 911 and prevent the person from further harm or expiring until the para-

medics get here.” Snider said the American Heart Association recommends non-medical professionals perform hands-only CPR on adults if they go into sudden cardiac arrest. Hands-only CPR is easier to perform, which means people are less likely to hesitate giving it. “At the point where the person has fallen down and their heart has stopped — if you do nothing — the person is more or less for sure going to die,” Snider said. “So at this point, there’s not a whole lot of harm. It doesn’t get much worse than having your heart stop and being passed out. So any type of CPR would be better than no CPR.” Snider said the number one reason ...

The secret life of campus A weekend at Meramec

“This is something I want to do for the rest of my life.” Olivia Toombs

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Spotlight:

Meramec student Olivia Toombs talks about her journey into stage management.

Stephen Buechter

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“It’s not so much about preaching religion, it’s about living your life.” Story on page 2

Women’s Basketball

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Meramec’s International Education week focuses on acceptance of refugees into St. Louis society

m Archers win 57-31 in their first game after Thanksgiving break. The team shoots for the national tournament in spring.

Sean E. Thomas Staff Writer

It is the middle of July in Srebrenica; the year is 1995. Soldiers from the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska, or VRS, under the command of General Ratklo Mladic enter the city ignoring the declaration by

the United Nations designating Srebrenica a “safe area.” This results in the murder of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, primarily men and boys, and the forcible transfer and abuse of 30,000 women, children, and elderly. In 2004, by unanimous ruling, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia declared

these to be acts of genocide. The exposure to atrocities such as these is where the differences between “immigrant” and “refugee” start to become clear, a primary piece of the discussion on day 3 of St. Louis Community Colleges International Education Week, which took place from November 14 through November 16.

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Holidays

Spotlight:

Meramec hosts Diversi-tea event to encourage community throught student body. Posters inspire students to think about how they can break down barriers and accept others while enjoying a hot mug of tea. Students spur each other on to be open minded toward others.

Whether you burn a Yule Log, light a Menorah, enjoy New Year’s fireworks or just enjoy the snow and twinkling lights, winter break is here and with it comes a lot of holidays.

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Gov. Greitens cuts nearly $12 million in core community college funding

Sean E. Thomas Staff Writer

On Monday, Jan. 16, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens announced he would be proposing a total of $146 million in cuts to the Missouri budget. Higher education, with an anticipated $82 million in cuts, will be taking the biggest hit. Of the $82 million that will be coming out of spending for higher education, almost $12 million will be coming directly from core funding for Community Colleges. Core funding refers to financial support that covers

basic “core” organizational and administrative costs. This includes salaries for full-time employees, equipment, and facility upkeep. Some other areas of note that may stand to lose funding are the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education Programs at Harris Stowe State University, a historically black college, and the Cyber Security Training Program at Southeast Missouri State University. Four-year institutions will also be facing some of the same core funding cuts that are threatening St. Louis Community College campuses.

Stephen Buechter Staff Writer

The College Academic Council’s (CAC) campus representatives voted to remove the physical education credits from STLCC’s graduation requirements. “It is up to the members of CAC at the district level to essentially vote their conscience, and they are not required to vote as the campus voted,” said Margaret Hvatum, Meramec Campus’ CAC representative

Greitens cited projections that would put the state of Missouri $39 million in the red by the end of the fiscal year as a reason for the proposed budget cuts, but promises no increase in taxes to remedy the issue. Greitens pointed to poor economic growth as a reason for the growing deficit but with individual income taxes holding steady for the current fiscal year, it is unclear what is affecting economic growth in Missouri. In fiscal year 2015 Missouri collected $436 million in corporate tax revenues. In 2016, that number fell to $281 million.

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and professor of information systems. “So at CAC, there was a motion made, seconded, and approved to have a secret ballot, so we voted by secret ballot.” Hvatum said that while it is still required for most individual degree programs, the programs may decide whether or not to include physical education credits in their requirements when they are revised. However the trend in the state of Missouri is to have 60 credit hour programs so physical edu-

Sports:

Brittney Farrow

Archers rally in the second half

‘He’s not my president’

Men’s Basketball Archers vs Blackburn JV

Refusing to let the fear, anger and hatred of the president’s campaign wreak havoc on our lives.

Women’s Basketball Archers vs MCC-Penn Valley

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cation is likely to be one of the first credits dropped from program requirements to meet that benchmark.

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CCAMPIS program aims to keep parents in school at Meramec

Stephen Buechter Staff Writer

The CCAMPIS program is a need-based federal grant program intended to keep parents who need education in school. CCAMPIS stands for Child Care Access Means Parents in School, and has always been called by that same name. It has existed for a number of years, at least two, said Claire Martin, Student Assistance Program Manager. Martin said that the program could be described as a federal grant that the school offers to students with children to help those students pay for childcare services while they are taking classes. The program provides monetary support if parents place their children in a childcare program that is licensed and accredited by the state. Martin said that the amount of money given “takes into consideration the income of the person who applies, how many children they have, the type of classes that they’re taking, the amount of time that they would need to study.” Martin further said the CCAMPIS program “can be combined with state child care… so that provides them with even more money to pay for childcare… They don’t have to use everything at once. The one thing that we always remind them is that it’s use it or lose it, so they cannot carry it over to the next semester. They have to apply each semester.” Martin stated that while state funding for programs similar to CCAMPIS has dropped on a state level, the federal funding for CCAMPIS has remained. CCAMPIS program coordinator Dr. Selena Eunice Washington said that it is unclear as of now whether the amount of federal funding for the program could see cuts in the near future, but that the college

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STLCC may offer baccalaureate degrees

Missouri House votes to pass bill geared toward community colleges

Katie Hayes Editor-in-Chief

Missouri community colleges may soon offer more than associate degrees and transferrable credits. The Missouri House of Representatives voted to pass a bill which would allow community colleges to grant baccalaureate degrees. Chancellor Jeff Pittman was involved in creating HB 758, which was introduced by Representative Steve Cookson. The House voted to pass the bill on March 1. “I think it’s very exciting,” Pittman said. “Missouri would not be the first state, but I think we have some unique programs and we want to develop some programs that are workforce specific.” The baccalaureate degree would be an applied 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”

Baccalaureate Programs at Missouri community colleges

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Photo by: Erik Muschinske

Peanut Butter Project saves 750 thousand lives

Bri Heaney Staff Writer

The charity focus of the year at St. Louis Community College Meramec is Project Peanut Butter. Project Peanut Butter is a charity that is focused on putting an end to the leading cause of child mortality in the world: malnutrition. The scope of the program is

international with primary outlets in the areas most deeply affected, which include Ghana, Sierra Leon, and Malawi. With roots that can be traced back to our city, St. Louis is at the center of action in the USA when it comes to this charity, with Dr. Mark Manary spearheading the project here. Manary’s wife also works with him here in St. Louis along

with Martin Hinstad, Desso Shuckero, and Maleeha Ahmad. “Mark Manary is a doctor from Washington university who does some groundbreaking work on formulating therapeutic food for everyone from starving children to pregnant and nursing women,” Meramec student Kyle Luzynski said. Manary worked to develop a

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Midterm Fuel

Fowler has right to call ‘foul’

Midterms usually mean a lot of studying, often in a coffee shop with a good brew and free wifi. Here are three places to check out this test-taking season.

Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler spoke out against President Trump’s immigration ban, earning him much hate from fans who think he should keep his political opinions to himself.

Photo by: Bri Heaney

NASA has made noise recently about founding a Martian colony, along with Mars One and SpaceX. Rick Menendez, an adjunct physical science professor at STLCC–Meramec and serious amateur astronomer, said he definitely thought this was possible. Menendez said most of the challenges of having a Martian colony will be technological, but some of them will not be.

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

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Art & Life:

For Against

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Andrew Ameer

A democracy starts with the primaries

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

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Art & Life:

Academic departments face change

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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.”

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Photo by: Erik Muschinske

m m

Stephen Buechter

Staff Writer

St. Louis Community College has created plans to undergo restructuring, with an early version of the plan completed. The plan rearranges departments under specific deans across each campus, and is intended to allow for deans to more easily communicate questions and concerns regarding their similar programs in their departments. “[The plan] reallocates what departments potentially could fall under what dean, and… we’re kinda test driving that with the faculty and staff on different campuses so we can see if other folks can see if this will work or not,” restructuring committee member Michael Burke said. He said that the plan would keep the same number of deans, but would follow a model that the Missouri Department of Higher Education uses to identify different career pathways to increase intercampus consistency in which deans are responsible for which department.

Katie Hayes Editor-in-Chief

Hundreds of protesters flooded the steps of Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse and spilled onto 10th Street. Meramec student Madison Bouse sat on one of the grey stone walls while Faizan Syed, executive director of CAIR-St. Louis, addressed the crowd. Pro-

testers out of earshot continually asked one another if anyone could hear what the speaker said, but the answer was always no. Every few minutes though, various chants arose from the crowd, “No bans, no walls, America is home to all!” Nearly a week after President Donald Trump issued the widely-disputed immigration order that barred people from seven predominantly Muslim coun-

tries from entering the U.S., two separate protests merged in downtown St. Louis on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Council on American-Islam Relations in Missouri organized one that met at the Federal Courthouse, while the other met at Union Station and marched to the Federal Courthouse. Both marched down Market Street to the Gateway Arch.

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News:

Gov. Greitens cuts nearly $12 million in core community college funding

Sean E. Thomas News Editor

Gov. Eric Greitens has cut funding to higher education in Missouri by $82 million. Nearly $12 million of this is to come directly from community colleges. With recent studies showing direct correlations between higher education and the health and wellness of the community, some suspect that cuts of this nature may only lead to higher costs, monetary or otherwise, for Missouri citizens in the future.

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Opinions:

Skating on Thin Ice: Students glide through PE class

Dalila Kahvedzic

Women’s March Women march to make their voices heard, to protect their rights and to teach their daughters to be powerful.

Class teaches students to learn more than just how to navigate the ice, said Instructor Susan Smith.

ACP Award Recipient

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2+SLU increases access to bachelor degree from Saint Louis University

Opinion:

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

Andrew Ameer 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.

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Meramec choir serenades Carnegie Hall

STLCC disregards Missouri’s Sunshine Law

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

‘Keep back 500 feet’

Community college students fight back when MO cuts higher education funding

Sean E. Thomas News editor

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

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 landfills — the Bridgeton Landfill and West Lake Landfill. The latter of the two contains radioactive waste resulting from St. Louis’ role in the Manhattan Project. Less than 600 feet from that site sits Bridgeton Landfill, inside of which you will find an SSE (subterranean smoldering event), or in layman’s terms, an underground fire that some in the community believe has been burning since 2010. “So we processed waste from the Manhattan Project, you would have thought that would have been Nevada and all the places Southwest, and Hanford, and the Savannah River, and Rocky Flats and all those horrible places, but believe it or not we started it here,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms. The authorities surrounding the landfill have provided no answers. “I just wanted to point something out today. I was driving behind a truck today and it said ‘Keep back 500 feet’ and the gravity of that really hit me. That I’m supposed to keep a distance of 500 feet from a truck, yet we have a fire burning underground within 500 feet of radioactive debris,” a Bridgeton community member said at the town hall meeting held on Thursday, Feb. 16. If the burning underground fire reaches the radioactive landfill,

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Photo by: Bri Heaney

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

Marie Schwarz

Managing Editor

The Archers won 7558 against the Comets of the Cottey College on their game dedicated to cancer awareness on Saturday, Feb. 18. It was their last home game this season. Two more games, and the team claims their regional title and will go to the regional tournament. The team wore pink socks and wristbands. The cancer awareness game is very special to Coach Shelly Ethridge. “It’s a horrible disease and anything that we can do to help find a cure is the

goal,” Ethridge said. This year, nearly $3700 of proceeds will go to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The game against the Comets was not one of the Archer’s better games, Ethridge said. Defense and shot selection are areas of improvement, she said. “At this point of the season, I don’t like to see us making the same mistakes that we focus in on every single day in practice, and then we don’t put it to work coming game time.” However, the team was in the lead in every quarter played.

Photo by: Dalila Kahvedzic

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‘Dog Sees God’ comments on school violence

Ashley Biundo Staff Writer

On Feb. 15-19, the St. Louis Community College—Meramec Theatre put on a show called “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.” It was about the high school lives of Charles Schulz’ “The Peanuts” gang. Getting involved with drugs, violence, and suicide, C.B. finds out who he really is.

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St. Louis protestors fight travel ban Meramec student and Student Social Action Committee member Madison Bouse marches with protestors against the immigration order on Saturday, Feb. 4 on Market Street.

Photo by: Erik Muschinske

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Sports:

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 12 | THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

Lady Archers win district title

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.”

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CNN is not ‘fake news’

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Sports:

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

Backstage of ‘Violet’

“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-

Adjunct professor has made Jazz his passion

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Katie Hayes

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

The Archers lose 3-0 against MCC-Blue River on Oct. 15. The team needs to work harder, said Amanda Hughes.

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Archers win regional final

Missy Arneson Copy Editor

Defense shines in a losing effort

During a time when journalists are fighting not to be labeled “dishonest,” Buzzfeed fur ther blurred the lines of ethical journalism.

76-50

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

Sports:

‘One grand experiment’

Story on page 3

ACP Award Recipient

How the campus academic governce council voted on the Physical Education requirement.

Story on page12

What Benefits does Mars have that Earth doesn’t?

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

What would a martian Colony look like?

Sports:

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Story on page 5

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The

128

Sweating blood on every shift, does that sound like an easy job?

STLCC removes physical education from college graduation requirements Diversi-tea serves unity to students

Montage

Can we actually colonize Mars?

Credit hours required to graduate from Webster University

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Story on page 9

News:

‘Diversity as a strength’

ACP Award Recipient

Humans have been to the moon. Is Mars next?

Art & Life:

News:

Photo by: Haeferl / Wikimedia Commons Refugee solidarity demonstration, “Gleiche Rechte für alle,” in Vienna in 2013. The demo was fighting for same rights for everyone.

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LIVING ON MARS

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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 8 | THURSDAY JAN. 26, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

Sports:

Appearing on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon does not cover the loss of press on candidates’ flights.

Spotlight:

Credit hours accepted by Webster University for students with an associate degree from STLCC

Background: ITT Technical Institute is no longer a college, said Johnson, who worked for ITT Tech prior to STLCC. “They closed their doors after there was a ruling with the federal government where they were no longer [able to] grant students federal funding to be able to attend school there,” Johnson said. “When all that happened, all the students were kind of left in the dark right before they were supposed to go back to school.” Johnson said the students were told less than a week before the semester should have started that the school was closed.

Montage The Kirkwood Police Department (KWPD) asked the Meramec campus police for help during the lockdown that took place on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 9:50 p.m., campus Police Chief Anthony Russo said in an email. Russo said a home invasion that transpired very close to campus caused the lockdown. The KWPD set up a search area and asked campus police to man locations on the street.

Katie Hayes Americans deserve candidates who answer the tough questions

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 5 | THURSDAY Oct. 27, 2016 | www.meramecmontage.com

Meramec students benefit from attending Webster University

Manager at fast food restaurants deserve respect

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

Campus Police lock down Meramec

Full story on pages 6 & 7

Opinions:

Page 4

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

News:

Johnson is excited for STLCC to be able to help some of these students out. “St. Louis will kind of get to understand that we offer the same current tech programs that some of these for-profit schools around here do, but obviously way better benefits pricewise and the exact same benefits if not more, career wise.”

Story on pages 6 & 7

News:

Drop date for unpaid classes moved from July to August in hopes that it will help students be less frightened of the enrollment process, said Kim Fitzgerald. Full story on page 3

Sports:

Meramec takes to the field

Andrew Ameer

Montage

Ian Schrauth

America’s Drugstore “Missouri is ahead in a lot of things nationally, but in terms of protecting patients, it’s really, really poor form that that type of monitoring system hasn’t been set up and that so many of the protections that are set up have been delayed in comparison to other states.” Darci Schmidgall, Adjunct Professor of Sociology

The

Students granted more time for payment

Opinions:

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Opinions:

Missouri n.

Missouri is the last state to implement a prescription drug monitoring program which prevents “doctor shopping”

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

“I do not have an exact number,” Johnson said. “We are looking into finding that out through our Banner system. But we do know of several students that enrolled here at Meramec and also Forest Park through the IT Program. I believe there are three former ITT students that are enrolled in Chemistry, so that they can start the process of getting into our nursing programs.” Forest Park’s Chair of Information Systems, Brenda H.M. Kahan, said that the campus is working with about 20 students right now. Three of them are enrolled in late start classes at Forest Park since Network Engineering offers eight week courses, Kahan said. Johnson, Hvatum and Kahan expect many more former students of ITT to enroll in spring. “They started coming just in the same week that late-start classes began at Meramec,” Hvatum said. “And late-start classes, faculty don’t want them to join after the first week if it is a late start class because they go much more rapidly than a traditional 16-weeks class does. So it was still a little bit too late for many of those,” Hvatum said.

Spotlight:

Opinions:

Voting for the lesser evil excessively divides our political system

sport games are just some incentives why the Meramec student should not only focus on being on campus during the week. Full story on pages 6 & 7

Comedian Aman Ali shares his love of stories with Meramec

Marie Schwarz Managing Editor

News:

Page 12

Story on page 9

Meramec does not provide a lot of credit classes during the weekend according to the class schedule, however, continued education classes, an open library, an open computer lab and

The

Full story on page 9

Wage law updated to keep up with the times

More students expected to join in spring St. Louis Community College (STLCC) expects an influx in enrollment due to former ITT Technical Institution students enrolling in programs, said Diana Johnson, Career and Technical Education Retention Specialist at the Meramec Campus. Johnson said that while some are already enrolled, the bulk of the transferring students are anticipated to join in spring. Late-start classes are especially useful for former ITT Tech students this semester since ITT Tech closed on short notice in September. “ITT closed their doors in the middle of our semester,” said Margaret Hvatum, Chair of the Business and Information Systems Department at Meramec. “And that’s made it more difficult for students to find appropriate classes.” Johnson said about 50 students have reached out to STLCC so far, and that there are students already enrolled this semester.

Ultimate Frisbee and Inline Hockey

to do that.”

The middle income worker finally catches a break

Nursing

Story on page 12

Story on pages 8 & 9

Sports:

Men and women’s soccer star t the season with a win

IN SPOTLIGHT:

Erin LeClerc: “Service Learning is a big part of what we do here at the college, and it is really just a great learning environment for students

Full story on pages 6 & 7

Full story on page 9

Club sports on the rise

The behavioral health agency works together with the Meramec Interior Design Coordinator Erin LeClerc to redesign The Great Circle cottage.

Only a handful of people who practice Islam are involved in terrorism, but Muslims are often blamed for any act of terrorism in the world. History Professor Rober t Lee and student Noura Abdelghafoor talk about the generalizations applied to Muslims and how Islam is viewed in the United States and in the Meramec classroom.

“Anti-intellectualism has led us to not communicating anymore.” Sports:

Winner of [blank] Pacemaker Awards

In-Depth:

The Great Circle

“I guess when people want to comment, they try as much and as hard as possible to be respectful when they’re talking — especially seeing that I am a hijabi in the classroom.” Noura Abdelghafoor

Art & Life:

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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 2 | THURSDAY SEPT. 15, 2016 | www.meramecmontage.com

Art & Life:

Fifteen years after 9/11: How Islam is discussed at Meramec

Carol Lupardis: “I look forward to listening and getting to know the students well and being out on the campus.”

at STLCC

Control the point

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

ACP Award Recipient

In-Depth:

Meramec welcomes first-ever provost

late start classes

Archers lose 5-2 against Central Babtist College, Arkansas. Cardinals win 4-3 against Pittsburg Pirates on Oct. 1.

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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 1 | THURSDAY SEPT. 1, 2016 | www.meramecmontage.com

News:

Electronics Accounting Cyber Security Electrical Engineering Information Systems Software Developer... “I hope that students see me as having some knowledge in the field, but I hope they see me as a lifelong learner along with them.”

Montage

Montage The

Photo by: Amanda Harris

M ontage The

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

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ACP Award Recipient

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 14 | THURSDAY MAY 4, 2017 | www.meramecmontage.com

News:

Habitat for Humanity uses Meramec students’ tiny house design

News:

Meramec hosts Special Olympics Spring games

Photo by: DJ McGuire

DJ McGuire Sports Editor

The St. Louis Community College Lady Archers defeated the Arkansas Mid-South Greyhounds for the NJCAA Division II District P Championship. The game took place on Saturday March 11, with the final score being 77-56 in favor of the Lady Archers. With this victory the Lady Archers advanced to the NJCAA National Championship. This year’s National Championship was held at Pioneer Pavilion in Harrison, Arkansas. The Lady Archers were given the eleventh seed. The Lady Archers won their first game against Guilford Technical Community College, the number six seed, by a score of 77-59. In their next game the Lady Archers lost against Monroe Community College, the number three seed, by a score of 82-53. In their next game in competition for 5th place the Lady Archers played Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the seventh seed, and ended up being victorious 64-62, on a last second layup by freshman guard No. 11 Erika Harvey. The Lady Archers then faced the 13 seed, Essex County College in the fifth place match and won by a final score of 73-52. The fifth place finish at the national tournament is the highest finish for the Lady Archers Basketball program in school history.

Continued on page 8

Photo by: Sean E. Thomas

Sean E. Thomas News Editor

2+SLU is a new program being implemented to offer students at St. Louis Community College a clearer path to a bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University (SLU). The program is designed to heighten student awareness

upon enrollment of the opportunities available to them at SLU via STLCC. The program is available to both new students and those who may already be enrolled at STLCC. “It allows you to be dually admitted at St. Louis Community College and at SLU so that while you’re taking your classes here you can meet with advisers at

SLU,” said Andrew Langrehr, vice chancellor of academic affairs at STLCC. “You can take advantage of their [SLU’s] academic support services, you can use their library resources, you can get to know that campus so you’ll be better prepared when you transfer from St. Louis Community College to SLU.”

Continued on page 3

Art & Life: Comedian Sayeed Sharieff discusses culture and comfort zones

Dalila Kahvedzic Art & Life Editor

If St. Louis was a seven layer dip, Fenton would be the sour cream, Meramec student Sayeed Sharieff said about growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood. “There were like, three brown families and one of them doesn’t even count because their last name is Brown,” Sharieff said as he laughed. “That’s one of my jokes.” Sharieff is a general transfer studies student at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, with hopes of working with children as an early childhood psychologist. For now, one of his hobbies includes standup comedy, which he started about a year ago at SIUE.

Photo by: Katie Hayes

Continued on page 5

Art & Life:

Fast lunch at Fresh Thyme

Opinions:

Story on page 7

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.

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

Story on page 5

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

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

Marie Schwarz Managing Editor

At the beginning of this semester, students of Associate Professor Erin LeClerc asked her, “When are we ever going to be designing a tiny house [once we are interior designers]?” They asked LeClerc, program coordinator of the Interior Program at St. Louis Community College-Meramec this question because she had just introduced one of the semester’s projects: designing a tiny house. “As designers it’s not about designing large homes, it’s about figuring out problems,” LeClerc said. “And your problem is to design a house in less than 200 square feet and give them everything that they need to be sufficient.” Interior design student Jessica Mendenhall said this project was the perfect learning experience. “Because the space is small, students can really dig in and focus attention on every detail of the home, from exterior to interior,” Mendenhall said. “We don’t always have this luxury, so it made for a wonderful learning experience.” LeClerc and her students partnered with the City of Chesterfield and Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, an organization that focuses on providing affordable and efficient housing.

Continued on page 4

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Maple Woods Monarchs

Full Story on page 4

Photo by: Amanda Harris

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

Continued on page 5

Sports:

Sean E. Thomas

St. Louis MLS stadium: the city and county are not created equal Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a small grocery store devoted to nutritious food and customer service, according to team leader Shannon Chonister

Photo submitted

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Photos by: Amanda Harris

Andrew Ameer Staff Writer

Damp weather did not dampen spirits Saturday, as St. Louis Community College hosted the Special Olympics of Missouri at its Meramec campus. Athletes from all over the St. Louis metro area, including Jefferson and Franklin counties, converged on the Meramec campus Saturday for the area spring games. Joining the athletes in

Lady Archers sweep Patriots

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

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Meramec Campus Provost Carol Lupardus, who was present at the event and says she really enjoyed seeing the reactions from the athletes participating in the games. “We are very lucky to be hosting the Special Olympics today.” Many of the planned events were canceled because of the thunderstorm, but following the opening ceremony several indoor games commenced inside the

Continued on page 8

Sports:

Opinions:

braving the weather were hundreds of friends, relatives and volunteers. The event kicked off in the gymnasium with a performance by the Special Olympics dance team, followed by a rendition of the national anthem by Joseph Niemeyer who said it felt “really good” to sing the national anthem in front of a large audience. Members of the Knights of Columbus were also present for the national anthem.

Archers defeat Morthland College Lady Patriots in Doubleheader, win first game 7-1 and the second game 8-0. Story on page 8

Opinions:

Andrew Ameer Kim Jong Un plays chicken with Trump

Inside the mind of the nation’s first president with no military or political background. Story on page 7